L-Star Beans: Soy Foods Without The "Beany" Flavor
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 01.30.06
Coming to your soy milk and tofu, via Japan, and the University of Georgia, "food scientists have developed new soybean food products that have all the health benefits but less of the beany taste of most soybean products. The scientists used "L-Star" soybeans, a new variety developed by the National Agricultural Research Organization in Japan. A naturally deodorized soybean, L-Star is lipoxygenase-free". We know what they're talking about. It's that slightly off taste kids call: "Eeewww-Yukenase," and which justifies the nickname "Toe Food" given to that "white stuff." The high-plus side of this venture is that: "Traditional soy milk is made by grinding soaked soybeans with water and then filtering out solid and insoluble materials,...whereas the new L-Star soy milk is made by grinding the soybeans with water and not filtering out the solids". UGA scientists also are working on tofu made from L-Star soybean curd, which is whole beans versus only the soluble part of the soybeans. More nutritional value per hectare harvested is good news for a crop like soy which requires water, fertilizer, and pesticidal inputs.
With funding from the American Soy & Tofu Corporation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program, UGA food scientists are developing the test products, which have yet to be marketed. The next step is to develop a quality control test that will "assure soybean buyers they are truly buying L-Star soybeans". Read the full story here.
We saw no evidence one way or the other indicating that L-Star was bred using genetic engineering techniques. Perhaps someone else knows and can update our readers with a comment.
this article at agriculture.com says it's not GM. (yay) it also said this bean is high in protein and vitamin E.
it seems like most of the GM crops are to reduce costs/improve profits for the agribusiness companies (roundup ready crops, cold tolerant tomatos, BT corn, 'terminator' seeds) while crops that taste better or are more healthy for consumers come from standard breeding methods. that's just what i've noticed. it's hardly a scientific survey. but it's good to note -- when my friends/family ask why i'm against GM crops citing those examples of GM crops and demonstrating how delicious and beautiful foods from traditional breeding methods are.
Hello. I work for ASTC, the company in GA that owns L-Star. I am pleased to see this article on your site. To answer your question L-Star is completely non-GMO. Check out our site.
www.l-starsoy.com
(the event info is old, so ignore)