An assortment of soya products: dried soya beans, soya milk (blue bowl, upper left), and two different types of tofu or bean curd, dried tofu (upper right) and fresh tofu (brown bowl, lower right). Soya beans, the seeds of the soya bean plant Glycine max, are one of the world's most important sources of oil and protein. They were originally grown in eastern Asia, the beans and their products forming an important part of the traditional Chinese and Japanese diet. They are now grown in many parts of the world, particularly in the American corn belt. In the west, soya beans are largely used for the production of oil and margarine.