January 18, 2017 will be a day to remember for beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas. People around the globe gathered to celebrate these astonishing pulse crops - one of the final celebrations of the 2016 UN International Year of pulses - to successfully raise awareness on the multiple benefits of consuming pulses for people and the planet.
Global Pulse Day exceeded all expectations: while last year’s Pulse Feast saw 141 events in 36 countries, this year’s celebrations broke the record of 225 events in 63 countries reaching 62 million impressions via social media.
From the 5 year old boy in Uttar Pradesh, India, who celebrated pulses by planting them in his backyard to a 96 years young grandfather cooking red lentils with fresh rosemary sprigs for his family living in a sustainable farm in South Georgia, there really is no age limit to be passionate about pulses.
We witnessed a great variety of events: some planned pulse-based staff events or parties with friends and families, others launched training for farmers or recipes promoting pulses, some hosted seminars on pulses or simply joined the social media campaign that day. We partnered with our Gourmet Gurus who shared tips to best integrate pulses in your diet through our blog.
The Pulse Feed took over www.pulses.org homepage with instant and live updates about all the events as they were being shared on social media.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses (IYP) to encourage connections throughout the food chain that would better utilize pulse-based proteins, further global production of pulses, increase the efficiency of crop rotations, and address trade challenges. The International Year creates a unique moment to showcase transformative research investments that would allow pulse crops to deliver on their full potential as a critical player in the global food system.
With funding support by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, this initiative is led by Emerging Ag, Inc. on behalf of the Global Pulse Confederation, which has sponsored a wide array of activities for the International Year of Pulses. It is motivated by the large gap between the potential of pulse crops for meeting global sustainability challenges and the current capacity to seize this potential. The 10-Year Research Strategy report will be used to set an agenda for global discussion and mobilize champions to advocate for accelerated pulse research investments.
Development of the 10-Year Research Strategy builds on earlier scoping work such as a global survey of pulse research funding and relies on collaborative engagement with pulse research stakeholders. In September, interviews were held with thirty-three researchers working across many different scientific disciplines, geographic areas, and pulse crop types. In October, a write-shop was held as part of the Second International Legume Society conference in Troia, Portugal and public comments were invited on a draft version of the 10-Year Research Strategy in early November 2016. A final version of the Research Strategy is available here:
10 Year Research Strategy Pulse Crops - Final (1.04 MB)
Download the 10-Year Research Strategy presentation from the IYP Global Dialogue here.
To learn more about key pulse research issues, you are invited to read these recent blog posts from international pulse crop experts:
Authors:
Organizing Author:
Dr. Shoba Sivasankar (Director, CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes, ICRISAT)
Lead Author – Breeding and genetics for improved productivity and resilience:
Dr. Noel Ellis (Professor, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Lead Author – Pulses in integrated crop systems and agricultural landscapes:
Dr. Robin Buruchara (Director of the Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance, CGIAR-CIAT)
Lead Author – Integration of pulses into food systems:
Dr. Carol Henry (Associate Professor of Nutrition and Diet, University of Saskatchewan)
Lead Author – Integration across agricultural, nutritional and social sciences:
Dr. Diego Rubiales (Professor, Spanish National Research Council / Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, CSIC)
Lead Author – Spatially-explicit analyses related to local and global challenges:
Dr. Jeet Singh Sandhu (Deputy Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Government of India)
Coordinating Author:
Dr. Christine Negra (Principal, Versant Vision)
Pulses are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family, such as peas, beans, chickpeas and lentils. Scientists are sequencing the genomes of several pulse crops to help meet the changing needs and challenges of feeding the world.
Click below to learn more about this process, and the importance of pulses as a global food.
Gregor Mendel was an Augustinian friar, and later Abbott, of the monastery in Brno (modern-day Czech Republic), which was a centre of learning and science.
His work with pea plants is the foundation of our modern understanding of genetics.
People around the world have used the science of genetics to innovate and improve pulses - creating an incredibly diverse variety to meet the needs of a growing population, growing conditions and people’s growing taste for delicious pulses!
With such a large variety of pulses to appeal to any taste, there is almost no limit to the number of ways they are eaten today.
Pulses are a high fibre, low fat, source of protein that contain important vitamins like folate and vitamin C and minerals like iron and potassium.
In parts of Africa and the Middle East, many types of beans are eaten for breakfast.
Lentils are loved in France, especially in the classic dish Petit salé aux lentilles.
Azuki beans are a popular ingredient in sweets in East Asia – even ice cream.
Roasted and seasoned chickpeas are a popular snack in India.
Peas were carried by early explorers of North America, because they were light but filling.
Refried beans from Mexico are actually only fried once – and sometimes not at all!
Sequencing the genomes of pulses will give us a better understanding of this delicious and diverse food - and opportunities to make it better.
Pulse crops provide income, nutrition and crop diversity for farming families all over the world.
Sequencing the genomes of pulses will give us more tools to develop pulse plants that are better adapted to the changing climate, and more resistant to the diseases that affect them.
Pulses have a low carbon footprint, enrich the soil they are grown in and use a fraction of the water of other protein sources.
All plants and animals need water to grow, but pulses need less water than many other sources of protein.
Development of more drought-tolerant pulses will help the world to grow more food with less water.
Pulses are great at feeding people, but they can also feed other plants.
The roots of pulses (and other legumes) make ‘nodules’ which are like fertilizer factories where the plant works together with bacteria to obtain nitrogen from the air.
Growing pulses improves soil fertility: this means that other plants grown on that soil perform better. So increasing the area of growing pulses, or increasing their frequency in rotations and intercrops, would have broad environmental advantages.
Increasing the production and improving the performance of pulse crops will enable the world to grow more pulses using water and land more efficiently. Our dependence on fossil fuel will be reduced because these crops do not require nitrogen fertilizer. Researching pulse genomes helps us understand how these plants work which is the key to unlocking the global potential of pulses for sustainable food production.
Genome sequence information helps us to create tools to understand genetic diversity, how plants grow and behave.
When scientists have completed sequencing these genomes, they will have a better understanding of pulses and an improved ability to develop new varieties to meet human and environmental needs.
Future generations will benefit from this increased understanding and the sustainability of this essential food source.
Share your love for pulses and support the International Year of Pulses with bean-themed scarves and earrings from Casibeans! These products were featured at the Global Pulse Convention 2016 in Izmir, Turkey. Drawing a big crowd, the silk scarves and bean earrings are beautiful assets to share your love for pulses for years to come.
The bean scarves come in red and speckled beans, or black eye beans.
Any of the items can be ordered via the www.casibeans.com website - there is also a possibility to order with your personal logo (min 50 pcs).
Proceeds from the scarves and jewellry go towards IYP activities.
