Soybean Carrier Oil

The soybean (Glycine max) is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses. The plant is classed as an oilseed. Soybean meal is a significant and cheap source of protein for animal feeds and many packaged meals; soy vegetable oil is another product of processing the soybean crop. Soybeans produce significantly more protein per acre than most other uses of land.  The oil is used in many industrial applications. Soy varies in growth and habit. The height of the plant varies from less than 0.2 to 2.0 m. The pods, stems, and leaves are covered with fine brown or gray hairs. The leaves are trifoliate, having three to four leaflets per leaf, and the leaflets are 6–15 cm long and 2–7 cm broad. The leaves fall before the seeds are mature. The inconspicuous, self-fertile flowers are borne in the axil of the leaf and are white, pink or purple. The fruit is a hairy pod that grows in clusters of three to five; each pod is 3–8 cm long and usually contains two to four (rarely more) seeds 5–11 mm in diameter. Soybeans have been adapted across a wide area of Australia from the northern Queensland to the Darling Downs and inland river valleys south to the NSW coastal hinterland and coastal sugar belt to the inland cropping regions of southern NSW and Victoria. They are also grown in the northern irrigation areas of Western Australia.