Congress finds that—

(1) soybeans are an important source of nutritious foods that are a valuable part of the human diet and are an important feedstuff for the livestock industry;

(2) the production of soybeans plays a significant role in the economy of the United States in that soybeans are produced by thousands of soybean producers, processed by numerous processing entities, and soybeans and soybean products produced in the United States are consumed by people and livestock throughout the United States and foreign countries;

(3) soybeans and soybean products should be readily available and marketed efficiently to ensure that consumers have an adequate supply of soybean products at a reasonable price;

(4) the maintenance and expansion of existing markets and development of new markets for soybeans and soybean products are vital to the welfare of soybean producers and processors and those concerned with marketing soybeans and soybean products, as well as to the general economy of the United States, and are necessary to ensure the ready availability and efficient marketing of soybeans and soybean products;

(5) there exist established State and national organizations conducting soybean promotion, research, and consumer education programs that are valuable to the efforts of promoting the consumption of soybeans and soybean products;

(6) the cooperative development, financing, and implementation of a coordinated national program of soybean promotion, research, consumer information, and industry information are necessary to maintain and expand existing markets and develop new markets for soybeans and soybean products; and

(7) soybeans and soybean products move in interstate and foreign commerce, and soybeans and soybean products that do not move in such channels of commerce directly burden or affect interstate commerce in soybeans and soybean products.

Congress declares that it is in the public interest to authorize the establishment, through the exercise of the powers provided in this chapter, of an orderly procedure for developing, financing through assessments on domestically-produced soybeans, and implementing a program of promotion, research, consumer information, and industry information designed to strengthen the soybean industry’s position in the marketplace, to maintain and expand existing domestic and foreign markets and uses for soybeans and soybean products, and to develop new markets and uses for soybeans and soybean products.

Nothing in this chapter may be construed to provide for the control of production or otherwise limit the right of individual producers to produce soybeans.

(Pub. L. 101–624, title XIX, § 1966, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3881.)