rss feedIn the soybean club: Confucius, Buddhist monks, Franklin, Carver and Ford
In world history, there have been those who embraced the soybean – and those who have pursued other things.
The company SOY JOY has posted a colorful, online graphic linking the bean’s roots, so to speak, to famous people at different points in a vertical, earthy timeline.
Among the people: Confucius, Benjamin Franklin, who signed the Declaration of Independence, and George Washington Carver.
According to the company’s Web site, Confucius apparently had a conversation during the 3rd Century BC about hardship, poverty and lacking food to eat.
One of the sage’s quotes:
If you eat soybeans and drink water, you can be entirely satisfied.
Franklin’s diplomatic stint in the 1770s as U.S. ambassador to France apparently helped open his eyes to the bean, which was growing in Paris, according to the SOY JOY account.
His stature and the bean itself have prompted articles and soybean timelines.
After all, he was one person who helped introduce the food in the colonies. Scholars have even written about soybean facts and myths.
Carver incorporated the soybean in his research and practice when he devised a new idea for crop rotation in the 1900s.
From the SOY JOY account:
Possibly his most famous contribution was rotating in the nitrogen-rich soybean to replenish soils depleted by cotton harvesting. This advancement revolutionized farming practices in the American South.
Henry Ford – long associated with the automobile – is another member of this soybean enthusiasts’ group.
He experimented with the bean and used it to make the body of a car, cookies and candy and a suit, which he wore on his 78th birthday.
And Buddhist monks continue to dine on tofu and have helped spread its popularity in Asia, particularly Japan.
In that country, some even called it the “tuna of the mountains” because of its protein levels, SOY JOY noted.
Recently, even a Chinese artist, Ju Duoqi, has embraced tofu to paint a version of the Mona Lisa, Reuters reported.
An interesting side note: The painting was stolen in 1911.
Which leads me to this: I don’t know exactly why humans have held this great fascination with soybeans and bean curd for thousands of years.
I can understand the attraction of tofu’s health aspects, especially when eaten as part of a regular diet.
But this fascination with tofu and soybeans – as manifested through toys, clothing, robots and animal names – continues.
If anything, I suppose that illustrates curiosity and learning – topics I think we all support.
NOTE: I’d like to thank my friend, Brandy, who sent me the SOY JOY link.
She runs the popular neighborhood Natomas Buzz blog in Sacramento, Calif.
