The value of legumes in feeding the planet is reaffirmed by FAO in its report The Global Economy of Pulses. (1) The primary role of these foods in the diets of populations, the health benefits associated with their consumption, and the ability of related crops to nourish soils-in favorable relation to ecosystems-are still underestimated. It therefore seems incumbent to promote its productions, under the banner of agroecology.
Legumes, food security and food traditions
Legumes are an indispensable food category in the diets of populations in both affluent and Low-Middle Income Countries (LMICs). From both perspectives of nutrition – and thus of
food security
i.e., security of food supply and combating malnutrition – and health. With good memory of Hippocrates’ teaching(let food be Thy medicine) and the food traditions of every human civilization, from the Neolithic to the present.
Legumes are found in every food culture, from the Mediterranean diet to Asian diets (in the Middle East as well as Central Asia, to China and Japan), Africa and the American continent. Their long shelf life, among other things, allows food reserves to be set aside in areas where it is scarce. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) intended to underscore these values by declaring 2016
The Year of Pulses
.
Legumes, nutrition and health
The nutritional values of legumes-to be favored in the forms of unprocessed or minimally processed foods (including in the form of pasta, which is easy to use)-relevant in several respects. Starting with the richness in protein, the ‘building blocks of life,’ which are essential for children’s development and health at every stage thereafter. And therefore:
– protein. The protein content, ranging from 18 to 34 percent depending on the legume, is significantly higher than that of cereals. (2) And just as the two crops are synergistic in agriculture, their combination within individual meals allows the body to be supplied with all the essential amino acids for proper nutrition. In fact, the mix of grains and legumes belongs to the traditions of every people, where rice or corn, pasta or bread is combined with beans, lentils, peas etc. Certainly healthier than the
lab meat
(the ‘non-lab meat,
– Dietary fiber. The most extensive research ever conducted on the subject, published on 10.1.19 in The Lancet highlights how a diet rich in fiber-which includes whole grains and legumes, as well as fruits, vegetables and other plants (e.g., “The hemp) are rich-reduce risks of premature mortality by up to one-third. With reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer. Other studies show the favorable interaction of fiber with gut microbiota, metabolism, and weight control,
– particularly low glycemic index, thanks in part to its richness in soluble as well as insoluble fiber. (3) Controlling the postprandial glycemic response is an important factor in preventing cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as, because of the sense of satiety they induce, keeping weight under control.
– vitamins and minerals. The legume, in its variety, is a valuable source of micronutrients. Especially B vitamins and folate, as well as minerals such as iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, etc. (4)
Legumes, environment and soil fertility
The resilience of leguminous plants places them among the most suitable crops for ensuring food production in the current climate emergency. The modest amount of water these plants require favors their cultivation even in arid and semi-arid areas.
The fertility of soils is also promoted precisely by the cultivation of leguminous plants, which are precisely called ‘improving crops’ and make it possible to reduce the use of fertilizers in agriculture. Microorganisms in legumes enable them to fix nitrogen in the atmosphere and make it available to other living things. Thus reducing, among other things, the damage caused by intensive agriculture and the risks of soil desertification.
Low production and low consumption. The dictatorship of commodities
Global legume production increased by 20 million tons/year between 2001 and 2014 to 77 million tons. The greatest growth is seen in sub-Saharan Africa, North America, Australia, India and Burma. India remains the leading producer and at the same time the largest market in the world. However, legume production remains very low-considering the benefits it can bring to people’s health and the environment- compared to the 2.712 billion tons of grain harvested in the same year (FAOSTAT data).
The dictatorship of commodities reigns everywhere, directed by the Big 4 and supported by public agricultural policies. Which favor intensive industrial-scale monocultures over biodiversity-driven ecoagriculture, effectively excluding thepeasant agriculture on which the livelihoods of most of the planet’s populations are based.
Production and consumption in Italy
Italy has finally seen a recovery in legume production after a drastic decline over the past half century. And yet it continues to import about 65 percent of its needs because of environmental and food safety dumping from Canada, the leading global producer of lentils, and other countries where the use of glyphosate and other agrotoxics, including for desiccant use, is still in use at the pre-harvest stage.
Italian processors and distributors, blinded by the ‘price drug,’ thus continue to buy lentils laden with glyphosate instead of valuing the short supply chain. Unable to meet the needs of consumers who instead – as seen in the2018 Immagino Observatory – are well disposed to recognize the greater value of ‘100% Made in Italy‘ foods. All the more so in that they are truly sustainable and valuable, that is, organic.
Prospects and development needs
The FAO study under review emphasizes the need to strengthen the legume production system, planet-wide, through public investment in the development and research of more resilient and productive varieties, as well as the dissemination of modern agricultural techniques.
Subsidies are to be extended to small farmers as well, in order to boost legume cultivation and insure crop risks. Not to mention the need to strengthen knowledge and promote the improvement of storage infrastructure, in Middle and Low Income Countries (LMICs), to reduce food loss and subsequent food waste.
Nutrition education is also essential, to promote healthy and balanced diets where it is important to include and dedicate space to legumes. These foods represent true ‘health ingredients,’ as it turns out. And they are critical, in particular, among those who follow vegetarian and vegan diets. (5)
Dario Dongo and Camilla Fincardi
Notes
(1) Rawal, Vikas & Navarro, Dorian & Bansal, Prachi & Bansal, Vaishali & Pais, Jesim & Sarma, Mandira. (2019). The Global Economy of Pulses. FAO, Rome, ISBN 978-92-5-109730-4, http://www.fao.org/3/i7108en/I7108EN.pdf
(2) See note 1, table on page 10.
(3) Idem c.s., table on page 12
(4) Ibid, see table on page 13
(5) See the guidance offered in the Indian Guidelines for Healthy Nutrition, on page 18 of the study in footnote 1
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in Law at the University of Bologna and in Italian-French law at the Université Paris Nanterre, she is currently enrolled in the Master in Law and Food Safety Consultant at the University of Bologna.
