Because soybeans contain only 18–21 wt% of oil, this oil can only be produced by solvent extraction. Accordingly, growing soybeans became more widespread as solvent extraction was developed. Then, it gained importance because the soybean meal started to be used as a feed ingredient and greatly reduced the cost of pig and chicken farming. Soybean oil was the most important vegetable oil before palm oil took over in 2006. This article describes the production of soybean oil, its composition, refining, and modification for food use.