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588. Praskin, Laurie Sythe. 1985. The Farm soy history: An
overview. Document part II. Los Gatos, California. 10 p.
Dec. 1. Unpublished manuscript. [Eng]
• Summary: Continued: In 1975, Farm members started
a company to promote the use of soybean products in the
America diet. The company, named simply Farm Foods
[Farm Food Company], began sales on the East Coast
with full-fat soy fl our (ground fresh on The Farm), TVP
(texturized vegetable protein), Good Tasting Nutritional
Yeast, split soybeans, and Tempeh Starter Kits (developed
by Cynthia Bates and Dr. Lyon). In 1976, under the
management of Leticia Coate and Robert Tepper, Farm
Foods began participating in national health food trade
shows. At the time, they were one of the only companies
representing soyfoods. Along with their packaged products,
they sold cookbooks and served free samples of tempeh,
TVP chili, and nutritional yeast crackers.
“The products and recipes developed over the years led
to the publication of three cookbooks: The Farm Vegetarian
Cookbook (1975) and Tofu Cookery (Oct. 1982), edited by
Louise Hagler, and Tempeh Cookery (March 1984), edited
by Colleen Pride. These books made a major contribution in
westernizing recipes previously Oriental in origin. They were
available in all natural food stores throughout the country.
“The work with soy products on The Farm also inspired
members to start two vegetarian restaurants; the Farm
Foods Cafe [opened Aug. 1976], in San Rafael, California,
managed by Robert Dolgin, was the fi rst “soy deli” in the
United States. Everybody’s, located in Nashville, Tennessee
[opened July 1980], was managed by Judd and Diane
Hoffman.
“The acceptance by the public of Farm Foods Cafe was
overwhelming, and although it only operated from 1976 to
1977, it pioneered the path for many tofu delis that have
followed since. The unique characteristic of this deli was the
tofu and tempeh shop producing fresh products located in
the rear of the store. The Farm Foods Cafe also became the
fi rst [sic] company to market a non-dairy ice cream made
from soybeans. This frozen dessert, marketed under the name
of ‘Farm Foods Ice Bean,’ is still being sold in health food
stores nationwide.
“In 1977-78, The Farm Foods Cafe closed, and the soy
processing equipment was moved to San Francisco. Farm
Food Company began wholesaling soy products throughout
California under the management of Robert Tepper. They
continued marketing Farm Foods Ice Bean, and added tofu
salad [like eggless egg salad], ‘tofu cheesecake,’ a frozen
soy yogurt dessert, and the fi rst fi rm-pressed tofu to hit
the California market. In 1980 it was decided to drop the
perishable tofu business and concentrate on the nationwide
distribution of Farm Foods Ice Bean. The plant in San
Francisco was closed, and large scale production began in
a Memphis, Tennessee, dairy and ice cream factory. This
new location gave the company easier access to East Coast
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 226
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distributors, and they soon established additional warehouses
in Connecticut and California.
By 1984, under the management of Ron Maxin and
Michael Lee, the weekly production of The Farm Soy Dairy
[in Summertown, Tennessee] was 1,000 lb of tofu, 150
gallons of soymilk, 20 gallons of soy yogurt, 20 gallons
of soy ice cream, 400 ice cream sandwiches, and 90 lb of
tempeh. Today, the Soy Dairy produces an average of 5,000
gallons of soymilk a month for Farm Foods to use in Ice
Bean production. The soymilk is shipped by tanker truck
to the Ice Bean production plant [in Memphis], and the
Farm Soy Dairy also markets its products in Nashville and
Columbia, Tennessee.
“The Farm’s uniquely controlled vegetarian diet led
to two offi cial studies of its effect on the children. In 1979,
Dr. Jeffrey Hergenrather, et al., conducted a study on the
pesticide levels in the breast milk of vegetarian nursing
mothers on the Farm. He submitted a letter of his fi ndings to
the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, March
26, 1981. His letter challenged a previous article written by
Rogan, et al, (New England Journal of Med. 1980) which
stated that ‘there are no obvious dietary predictors’ of
chemical pollutant in human milk. Rogan went on to say ‘For
certain fat-soluble chemicals, nursing infants can be regarded
as living at the top of the food chain and are exposed to
much more than background levels.’ Dr. Hergenrather’s
study included 12 women whose breast milk was analyzed
for 17 chemical substances. When compared to the seven
contaminants studied by Rogan, in all but one of the
contaminants, which showed no difference in contaminant
levels, the milk of the vegetarian women had lower levels of
contamination.
“The second study was conducted by Jean Roberts
Fulton in 1980 and was published in the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association. She studied a group of the
Farm nursery school children and found their amino acid and
iron intake to be adequate. (The diet was low on calories,
however.)
“The innovative methods used by the Farm soy
technologists inspired many groups and individuals to
start all over the world to train in the Farm Soy Dairy, and
many who couldn’t come personally were encouraged
through correspondence. In 1977, Plenty, the non profi t
relief organization founded by the Farm, established an
international training program whereby people from other
countries could come and train in soybean processes and
other technologies that The Farm had to offer. The Farm
Soy Dairy received its fi rst trainees from Guatemala and
Mozambique.
“From the beginning days of the Farm Soy Dairy, the
technicians realized the value that soybeans could have in
Third World countries. Eventually they were able to share
their knowledge and training in the fi eld of soybeans by
starting a dairy in an impoverished country. In 1979, Plenty