As the American consumer's palate evolves toward a more global and expansive diet, enjoying foods from around the world, soybean growers are hoping to capitalize. Though currently the vast amount of soybeans grown in the U.S. are used for cooking oil and animal feed, a growing number of farmers are experimenting with edible soybeans as Americans' interest in edamame increases. Ray Chung, who operates a plant dedicated to processing edamame, said,
"Soy has not historically been viewed as being an edible crop in the U.S. ...more people [are] becoming aware of Asian foods like tofu and edamame... and more people adopting plant-based diets."