What do tofu and soy milk have to do with each other? What do cheese and cow milk have to do with each other? You've got it!
History: Soy milk probably predates tofu, per the historic record. Evidence of the first soy milk dates back to the first century CE, in China. Tofu was made starting just a few hundred years later, during the Han Dynasty, also of course in China.
Processing: It's quite simple to make soy milk. First, you dry soybeans. Then you either grind them into flour and add water, or just add the water and grind the whole beans into the water. This mixture can be adjusted until the proportions of fat and protein are about the same as those found in regular milk. Most of the tofu that is eaten, especially in this country, is simply made by adding a coagulant (most commonly gypsum) to soy milk. This is identical to the process of, say, making cottage cheese. The resultant curds are pressed and there you have it, tofu! Tofu "skin" is made by boiling the soy milk and collecting the stuff that coagulates at the surface.
Health Information: Tofu and soy milk maintain pretty much all of the health benefits of whole edamame, except that the fiber is lost. Ounce for ounce, these processed products have more protein, and more fat. The usual fat content of soy milk is 2%, which is the same as reduced-fat cow's milk. So what about those heart-healthy claims? In 1995, a meta-analysis of 29 studies by J.W. Anderson et al., published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that a diet heavy in soy protein decreased total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides. This paved the way for an FDA-approved "heart-healthy" claim from 1999 onwards. However, as is often the case in these sort of things, another review of studies by F.M. Sacks and colleagues, 10 years later, did not find anywhere near as high of a benefit as the prior studies had. In fact they found that you needed a diet where half the protein came from soy, and then you only got about a 3% reduction in LDL.
Sustainability: Here's one misconception - legumes such as soy beans only replenish the nitrogen in the soil if they are plowed under. So the harvest of soy leads to nitrogen depletion, which leads to heavy fertilizer use and as already mentioned, heavy pesticide use. But, the balance of soy milk versus cow's milk definitely favors the vegetable product, in terms of the resources needed and used.
Where to Find: Anywhere.
Relevant Blog: Organic Health Blog: The link is to a well-commented post on soy milk.
Bottom Line: This products have been around for a long time and are standard fare for a vegetarian trying to get their protein. Use in moderation while the science continues to be inconclusive.
References:
1. Wikipedia
2. Tofu nutrition facts
3. Image of Mapo Tofu from Flickr Creative Commons
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