A Business History of Soy

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.”...

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Glavni autor: HIRAGA, Midori
Format: Online
Jezik:engleski
Izdano: Taylor & Francis 2025
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Online pristup:https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/98195
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author HIRAGA, Midori
author_browse HIRAGA, Midori
author_facet HIRAGA, Midori
author_sort HIRAGA, Midori
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description 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 By studying little-known Japanese historical documents and corporate records, and focusing on the less-researched vegetable oil and industrial uses of soy, this book provides a better understanding of how this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.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1519352025-07-21T15:44:41Z A Business History of Soy HIRAGA, Midori Japan,Agriculture,Food,Soy,Food Regime,Political Economy,Geopolitics,Asia,International Business,Capitalism,Oil thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJK International business thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KN Industry and industrial studies::KNA Agribusiness and primary industries::KNAC Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJZ History of specific companies / corporate history thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJR Corporate governance: role and responsibilities of boards and directors thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJK International business thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KN Industry and industrial studies::KNA Agribusiness and primary industries::KNAC Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJZ History of specific companies / corporate history thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJR Corporate governance: role and responsibilities of boards and directors 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. 2025-02-17T01:07:56Z 2025-02-17T01:07:56Z 2025-02-04T13:25:43Z 2025 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/98195 9781032678733 9781032673240 9781032678726 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/151935 eng Routledge International Studies in Business History open access Taylor & Francis Routledge 10.4324/9781032678733 10.4324/9781032678733 fa69b019-f4ee-4979-8d42-c6b6c476b5f0 Chapter 2 Importing Manchurian soy meal as fertilizer (19th century to WWI) Chapter 3 Expanding soy’s versatility in multiple markets (the interwar period) Chapter Conclusion 9781032678733 9781032673240 9781032678726 Routledge open access
spellingShingle Japan,Agriculture,Food,Soy,Food Regime,Political Economy,Geopolitics,Asia,International Business,Capitalism,Oil
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJK International business
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KN Industry and industrial studies::KNA Agribusiness and primary industries::KNAC Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJZ History of specific companies / corporate history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJR Corporate governance: role and responsibilities of boards and directors
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJK International business
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KN Industry and industrial studies::KNA Agribusiness and primary industries::KNAC Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJZ History of specific companies / corporate history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJR Corporate governance: role and responsibilities of boards and directors
HIRAGA, Midori
A Business History of Soy
title A Business History of Soy
title_full A Business History of Soy
title_fullStr A Business History of Soy
title_full_unstemmed A Business History of Soy
title_short A Business History of Soy
title_sort business history of soy
topic Japan,Agriculture,Food,Soy,Food Regime,Political Economy,Geopolitics,Asia,International Business,Capitalism,Oil
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJK International business
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KN Industry and industrial studies::KNA Agribusiness and primary industries::KNAC Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJZ History of specific companies / corporate history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJR Corporate governance: role and responsibilities of boards and directors
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJK International business
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KN Industry and industrial studies::KNA Agribusiness and primary industries::KNAC Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJZ History of specific companies / corporate history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJR Corporate governance: role and responsibilities of boards and directors
topic_facet Japan,Agriculture,Food,Soy,Food Regime,Political Economy,Geopolitics,Asia,International Business,Capitalism,Oil
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJK International business
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KN Industry and industrial studies::KNA Agribusiness and primary industries::KNAC Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJZ History of specific companies / corporate history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJR Corporate governance: role and responsibilities of boards and directors
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJK International business
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KN Industry and industrial studies::KNA Agribusiness and primary industries::KNAC Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJZ History of specific companies / corporate history
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJR Corporate governance: role and responsibilities of boards and directors
url https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/98195
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