History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

There are probably very few U.S. soyfood
manufacturers that have enough volume that they need to
contract directly with farmers. But those that are big or have
a large need for organic soybeans must contract directly with
farmers to assure themselves an adequate supply of the type
of soybeans they want.
Ron would be very interested to know more about how
the composition of a soybean affects its fl avor. He has a good
deal of respect for Pioneer Hi-Bred Seed Co. He thinks they
have good seeds, a good staff and research department, and
a good distribution system. And they have generally ben
reliable. They have helped Ron fi nd soybeans for certain
growing areas that they sell. He likes the fact that they are
national, spanning the breadth and width of the U.S. soybean
growing area, and selling all maturity groups. However,
3-4 years ago, Pioneer Seed Co. got into the cultivation,
cleaning, bagging, and export of organic soybeans–with their
Better Life program (no pesticides or herbicides, but they
can use chemical fertilizers). So they began to compete with
Ron for organic farmers to grow their seeds, and they pay the
farmers more than Ron does.
Pioneer has a pretty extensive base of soybean
customers in Japan for regular soybeans, Better Life
soybeans, natto beans, large-seeded soybeans, and organic
soybeans. Their Specialty Crops Division has penetrated
the Japanese market in many areas. Their employees travel
frequently to Japan, they speak Japanese, they have an offi ce
there, and they’re plugged in. They study those industries in
Japan, fi nd out what they want, then they come back and try
to breed that into a soybean. As far as Ron can tell, Pioneer
is the leader in breeding soybeans for food uses in terms of
both volume and specifi c varieties.
Another company doing research in this area is Jacob
Hartz Seed Co. in Arkansas. They are working on some
large-seeded soybeans but they are having a lot of trouble.
Ron has a low opinion of the soybeans Hartz breeds for
making natto; he studied that market intensively.
There has been a demand from Japan to supply some
organic beans, so many of the U.S. companies that supply
soybeans to Japan have begun small organic programs
(not because they want to–they hate it), just to satisfy their
Japanese customers. Even though Mitsui or Mitsubishi or
Marubeni don’t want a lot of organic soybeans, they want
enough in a tight market to drive the price way up. It was
because of the Japanese demand plus a small soybean crop
that organic soybean prices were so high in 1994. Country
Life went out of business, with unpaid debts of $400,000
to $500,000. Some of the farmers formed cooperative
marketing groups; they grow varieties desired by the
Japanese, and pool their resources in cleaning and bagging,
so they can export containers to Japan and eliminate U.S.
middlemen or soybean brokers. Ron feels the price for
organic soybeans will stabilize at about $10-$12 per bushel.
If Ron worked closely with a soybean breeder and
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HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 456
seed company, he would want the right for the farmers with
whom he contracts to be able to buy the seed from the seed
company. His company is unique in having a large number
of cooperating organic growers, and that gives ASP the
lowest price and highest quality. If Ron contacts the growers
early and tells them what ASP will pay per bushel of organic
beans, that becomes the standard base contract price for
other companies too. Word travels fast. Nichii buys directly
from soybean farmers, but Ron thinks Vitasoy buys from a
middleman (a soybean broker or trading company such as
Pacifi c Soybean and Grain). Some soyfoods manufacturers
buy through soybean brokers–the biggest of which are
Pacifi c Soybean and Grain, American Health and Nutrition,
and Purity Foods. Domestic soyfoods manufacturers get
deluged with calls from farmers who want to grow soybeans
just for them at a premium price and sell direct without a
middleman. The middlemen or soybean brokers tend to
survive on export business.
This is a very complicated issue–particularly seen from
the viewpoint of a seed company that wants to breed better
soybeans for food uses. Address: President, American Soy
Products, 1474 N. Woodland Dr., Saline, Michigan 48176.
Phone: 313-429-2310.
1481. Davi, K. Kundala; Devi, G. Ibemhal; Singh, -.
1994. 10. Bacterial fl ora in hawaijar (Fermented soybean).
Proceedings of the Indian Science Congress 81(Part IV):69.
*
• Summary: “Hawaijar, the fermented form of soybean is
a favourite and popular food item in Manipur.” Address: 1.
Aerobiology, Microbiology and Plant Pathology Lab., Dep.
of Life Sciences, Manipur Univ., Canchipur 795 003, India.
1482. Esaki, H.; Onozaki, H.; Osawa, T. 1994. Antioxidative
activity of fermented soybean products. In: M.T. Huang,
ed. 1994. Food Phytochemicals for Cancer Prevention I,
Fruits and Vegetables. Washington, DC: American Chemical
Society. SCS Symposium series 546-547. See p. 353-60.
Index. 24 cm. [Jap]*
• Summary: “Developed from a symposium sponsored
by the Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry at the
204th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society,
Washington, D.C., August 23-28, 1992.” Two volumes.
1483. Sarkar, P.K.; Tamang, J.P.; Cook, P.E.; Owens, J.D.
1994. Kinema–a traditional soybean fermented food:
Proximate composition and microfl ora. Food Microbiology
11:47-55. [31 ref]
• Summary: Kinema (the name is Nepali) serves as a
meat substitute for the majority of people in the eastern
Himalayas. The average moisture content of kinema was
62%. On a dry weight basis, kinema contained about 48%
protein, 28% carbohydrate, 17% fat, and 7% ash. The energy
value of 2.0 MJ/100 gm (MJ = mega-joules).