O Y now,” says Kara VanKleek, global marketing director, CHS Processing and Food Ingredients. “It’s important to consumers and it is signifi cant in their purchasing decisions.” Soy has long been used to increase nutritional value of food products, including meal replacement beverages, energy and snack bars, and cereals. According to Innova Market Insights 2016 Trends, soy demand is projected to grow as “consumers continue to seek added protein in a broad variety of product categories.” Today, the consumer market is favorable for plant-based proteins, which include soy and other sources, such as rice and peas, according to Mintel research. While 86 percent of Chinese consumers have reported eating supplemental plant proteins, only a third of consumers in the U.S. and U.K. have tried them, although nearly another third say they are willing to try them. “There is growing global demand,” says VanKleek. “Consider India and its growing middle class. Consumers in general tend to consume more protein as income levels increase. In India, where the population is about 80 percent vegetarian, the growing middle class is seeking and is willing to pay for more and better vegetarian protein products.” U.S. Soybean Production by State, 2014 (million bushels) 202.5 305.3 230.0 78.8 92.0 14.7 288.9 505.7 29.6 547.7 307.4 254.1 142.6 260.4 84.0 74.1 25.7 69.2 15.4 10.3 160.5 114.4 80.1 19.0 11.6 Bland Is Grand At the recent Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) trade show > U.S. farmers produced just over 1.9 billion bushels of soybeans in 1986. By 2014, that amount had grown to more than 3.9 billion bushels. Source: American Soybean Association Your CHS Connection 7