A Business History of Soy: Japan’s Modernization and the Rise of Soy as a Global Commodity

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Midori Hiraga

A Business History of Soy

Japan’s Modernization and the Rise of Soy as a Global Commodity

Midori Hiraga

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Hardback

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English

Routledge
11 November 2024

Political economy; International business; Management of specific areas; Primary industries; Agricultural science

Series: Routledge International Studies in Business History

This is a business history of soy that reveals how Japanese imperial and military institutions and financial-mercantile-industrial interests created a role for soy as a versatile raw material and global commodity beginning in the 19th century, even before the Western world recognized this “oilseed.” Originating in the rich food cultures of Asia, soy is praised as the “magic bean.” About 360 million tons are produced in the world today, and it is traded globally to become food, feed, and fuel. It is the second largest source of vegetable oil in the world, and soy meal is an essential feed without which the modern livestock industries could not exist. Its dominance today is often accounted for in terms of its versatile nature. This book, however, argues that soy was transformed into a versatile industrial raw material and global commodity through the political-economic strategies of state and business actors engaged in the development of the capitalist world-economy. By studying little-known Japanese historical documents and corporate records, and focusing on the less-researched vegetable oil and industrial uses of soy, this book provides a better understanding of how this traditional Asian food was transformed into a global commodity embedded in contradictions. Promoted as a healthy and sustainable food source, soy is also a destructive cash crop whose cultivation and use have played a significant role in the current climate crisis. Based on this case of soy, the book provides a structural understanding of broader food and agriculture systems in the history of capitalism, making it of interest to students at an advanced level, academics, and researchers in the fields of business history, corporate governance, Japanese business, as well as the political economy of food and agriculture.

Chapters 2, 3, and the Conclusion of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

By: Midori Hiraga
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032673240
ISBN 10: 1032673249
Series: Routledge International Studies in Business History
Pages: 150
Publication Date: 11 November 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Midori Hiraga is an associate professor in the Faculty of Economics at Kyoto Tachibana University, Japan.