Soy Milk, Before and After Fortification
A brief history of soy milk in the US, and how it became so nutritious
I recently read a study that demonstrated how a mathematical model could enhance vitamin B12 production in fermented soy milk.
Aside from that study and its results being cool as shit, I took an interest in it because it got me thinking of human intervention when it comes to food production. If you ask me, food science stands atop the list of achievements of humanity, and after doing initial research, it seems like soy milk and its enrichment is a shining example of why that is. I wanted to recount the general history surrounding soy milk in America, as I feel like it can (and should) be better documented.
Before I start, I think it’s important to look at the nutritional profiles of unfortified soy milk against that of enriched soy milk. Maybe my enthusiasm for food science will make a bit more sense.
Fortifying Foods: A Brief History
Simply, food fortification is the process of adding vitamins and minerals to food. It has a history rooted in US public health: in the 1920s, iodine was added to salt to prevent goiter, a disease stemming from a deficiency.
The US experimented with a few more food enrichment moments - milk in the 30s, flour in 1940 - but momentum really took off with the National Nutrition Conference For Defense in 1941. FDR’s administration decided to recommend adding nutrients to all types of flour and bread due to malnutrition in young WW2 draftees, and more robust fortification protocols were put into place.
Since then, the world has become a lot more accustom to the practice, as multiple studies have shown the effectiveness of fortification in reducing deficiencies (page 6 and 7). For most countries, malnutrition is no longer an issue, but large scale food fortification has become a common technique deployed to help countries still developing, and to help populations with unique circumstances.
Fortifying Soy Milk
Plant-based milk has roots going back to WWI, and soy milk in particular was used as a stand in for real dairy when the US had to ration. While it served its purpose, it didn’t catch onto the mainstream immediately.
Earnest attempts to change that were made from Dr. Henry Miller, the first pioneer of American soy milk. Seeing the ease of milk fortification, and believing in the future of soy from his travels in China, Miller conducted early experiments of soy milk production, focused on both taste and nutrition. Some years later, Hong Kong company Vitasoy seemingly perfected the balance, and took soy milk further by removing the need for refrigeration. Since then, soy milk has been able to sustain itself into the mainstream ever since, and arguably, its consumer base is stronger than ever, as vegetarians/vegans continue to question Big Dairy and its dubious ethics.
Soy Milk and B12
I wanted to focus on soy milk because of its obvious benefits to vegetarians and vegans, namely its protein and B12 amounts.
For most of the population, B12 deficiency doesn’t seem to be a huge problem; only 6% of the human population under 60 proves deficient. However, about 20% of those over 60 are deficient, and the number jumps up to 40% for vegetarians. I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone that being deficient in a specific vitamin can cause negative effects.
At the end of the day, I guess this post is meant to be both an ode to soy milk, as well as a plea to vegans: drink more enriched soy milk!