Development of plant-based alternative food, opened way to utilize domestic soybean in South Korea

[Reporter Lee Hyeon-woo of The Korean Rural Newspaper] A study has found that domestic soybeans can be used as a raw material for vegetable substitutes. As a result, it is noteworthy whether it will lead to the expansion of consumption of domestic soybeans by replacing soybean protein isolate, which is an essential ingredient for vegetable substitutes, but which is entirely dependent on imports. According to the Rural Development Administration (headed by Cho Jae-ho), the global plant-based substitute food market is expected to grow by 448% compared to 2020, reaching 214 trillion won in 2030. The domestic vegetarian population is also on the rise from 150,000 in 2006 to 2.5 million in 2022, and the market size is expected to grow from 22.6 billion won in 2020 to 29.3 billion won in 2025. An essential ingredient in vegetable substitutes is soybean protein isolate. Separated soybean protein is a key material for making vegetable tissue protein, an intermediate raw material for ...