Soybeans from Illinois Ingredient of Choice for Phoenix Bean

For Chicago-based Phoenix Bean, Illinois grown soybeans are the ingredient of choice for the company’s fresh, artisan-crafted tofu products. Not only are the soybeans locally grown, but they are also a sustainable ingredient choice.

Jenny Yang, Owner of Phoenix Bean is proud to produce products that are 100 percent made in Illinois. To her, sourcing ingredients locally is an important factor for producing tofu products sustainably.

“Illinois is the largest soybean-growing state in the United States. It is so easy to get soybeans grown only 45-minutes, one hour or two hours away,” said Yang. “Buying soybeans locally reduces the carbon footprint of our products. Illinois-grown soybeans are basically in our backyard, so it just makes sense to use them.”         

The low carbon footprint of purchasing soy from Illinois is just one of the sustainability aspects Yang enjoys. Phoenix Bean also follows a complete soybean lifecycle that uses every part of the soybean.

“Another part of sustainability is how we use the soybeans throughout the food cycle,” said Yang. “After we squeeze out all of the soymilk and protein to make tofu, we can use the solid fiber byproducts for human and animal consumption, so there’s no waste.”

When Phoenix Bean makes tofu, they begin by washing the soybeans and letting them soak overnight to begin sprouting. After the soybeans have sprouted, they are ground and cooked. Then, the soymilk and protein are extracted to make the tofu, leaving the solid byproduct. Instead of throwing the solid byproduct away, Phoenix Bean uses some of it to make okara flour for human consumption, while the rest is used by farmers either to feed their animals or as fertilizer for their crops.

While Phoenix Bean takes great care to produce a sustainable product, Illinois soybean farmers are also increasingly implementing technologies and practices to grow soybeans more sustainably. In fact, over the past 30 years, Illinois soybean farmers have reduced land use per bushel, energy use per acre and soil erosion by 90 percent.