history of soy yogurt, soy acidophilus milk and other ... - SoyInfo Center

soybeans in America (Continued–Part III). Soyfoods No. 5. p.
56-60. Summer.
• Summary: Continued: “Later years in America (1931-
1959): Morse returned to America in March 1931 with great
enthusiasm and interest in transmitting to America all that he
had learned in East Asia. He was now a principal agronomist
at the USDA Bureau of Plant Industry. With the stage set
for the fruition of years of work and research that would
transform the place of the soybean in the Western world, let
us pause for a minute to ask, ‘What kind of a man was Bill
Morse?’
“In appearance, he was tall and lean, with a kind face
and soft features. Farmers all over America, with whom he
had met and talked in their fi elds, might remember his baggy
suspendered pants, loose tie, and slouched hat, his great
interest in their problems and successes.
“George Strayer, editor for 27 years of the American
Soybean Association’s Soybean Digest, who had
known Morse since 1927, said of him: ‘He was a quiet,
unassuming, yet brilliant fellow, not particularly dynamic as
a speechmaker, but intensely interested in seeing soybeans
progress. He would sit up half the night talking with people
about soybeans and soyfoods.’
“An article by Mary Burr Pieters in the September 1944
Soybean Digest described Morse as ‘modest and retiring
but sure and right as rain... He studied, he traveled, he
toiled, he experimented–he exhorted–and the result of all of
this singleness of purpose and devotion surely borders on
fantastic.’
“Edward J. Dies, his close colleague, described him in
Gold from the Soil as ‘heedless of material gain or personal
honor, shy, modest, agreeable, and easy going, but with the
repressed intensity of a crusader.’ Martin G. Weiss, who
worked under Morse for many years and succeeded him
when Morse retired, said of him: ‘He was a kindly man,
always willing to encourage and give moral support to
his subordinates. He was loved by all, and his employees
worked hard–they never wished to disappoint him.’ His
daughter Margaret described him in 1980 by saying: ‘He was
a gentle, soft-spoken person, who liked others and they liked
him. He liked to tease, and the secretaries at his offi ce all
loved it. He was a very easy person to get along with; he was
slow to anger and never cursed. He wasn’t aggressive; where
some might push, he would give in. He was intelligent. His
work came fi rst. He was not fi nancially ambitious.’
“After returning from East Asia, Morse was more
interested than ever in soyfoods, and much of the subsequent
increasing interest in America derives from his efforts.
He expanded his work with the USDA Offi ce of Home
Economics in Washington, D.C. and interested researchers
in the Department of Home Economics at the University of
Illinois to get involved with research on soyfoods, especially
on use of the large-seeded, vegetable-type soybeans he had
brought back from East Asia. He encouraged development
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 182
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of soyfoods recipes suited to American tastes and talked
a lot about soyfoods at American Soybean Association
meetings and many other gatherings. Working with others,
he was largely responsible for the development of soy fl our
and grits. One entire wall of Morse’s Washington offi ce was
covered with fl oor-to-ceiling shelves, fi lled with soyfood
samples from Asia.
Except for Dr. Harry Miller, Morse was probably the
fi rst soy researcher in America to make soyfoods a regular
part of his diet. While in East Asia, he and his family had
become very fond of Oriental cooking, and especially of
soyfoods, and they enjoyed them often after returning to
America. Of the many recipes they brought back from
the Orient, Morse’s favorite was sukiyaki. He built a low
sukiyaki table with a hot plate on top and cushions around
it on the fl oor in his home and at every opportunity would
invite over guests to serve them his specialty which of
course featured tofu and sprouts. He also liked to take family
and friends out to a good Chinese or Japanese restaurant.
The family enjoyed using soy fl our when making breads,
muffi ns, or waffl es. Morse’s mother liked to cook him
fresh green soybeans and his wife regularly fi xed him her
favorite Boston Baked Soybeans. Morse loved soymilk ice
cream; one magazine ran a full-page photo of him happily
eating it. He also regularly enjoyed tofu, soymilk (plain and
acidophilus), and soymilk yogurt, and these foods became
increasingly important in his largely meatless diet after he
found he had an ulcer. In fact he once told George Strayer
that, with his ulcer, he felt these soyfoods had greatly
extended his life and good health.
“Morse also actively continued his soybean selection
and propagation work at the Arlington Farm. He realized
more than ever that if the soybean was to become a
national crop that hundreds of different varieties, adaptable
to different latitudes, soils, and climates, would have to
be found and developed by breeding. He was especially
interested in working with farmers and the USDA to
stimulate research and development on the vegetabletype
soybeans, which had been little more than a curiosity
prior to his trip to East Asia. While Morse was the fi rst to
popularize the vegetable-type soybeans, he was not the fi rst
to introduce them. The variety Easycook (which took less
than half as long as most fi eld-type soybeans to become
tender after boiling) was introduced to the U.S. in 1894 and
the Hahto was introduced in 1915. Morse mentioned both of
these in The Soybean in 1923 but did not mention the term
‘vegetable-type soybeans,’ and was apparently unaware of
their signifi cance. Many of the vegetable-type soybeans
that Morse brought back from East Asia were grown out
and starting in 1934, distributed to various state agricultural
experiment stations for trial.
“Up until 1928, Morse, in charge of soybean research,
had been the only USDA employee working full time in this
fi eld. In 1928 the USDA hired a second full-time soybean