The University of Northampton has recently interviewed Milan Shah, a leading pulse and spice trader and a big pulse advocate, who also served as Director of the Grain and Feed Trade Association in the past. During the interview, Mr. Shah shared his excitement about the International Year of Pulses and explained the importance of it:
"When I was a student, there were over a billion chronically undernourished people in the world. Today there are approximately 800m in this category, but we now have 1.9 billion overweight adults as well. The social, political, economic and environmental ramifications are concerning to say the least. But what can we do? Acting alone, very little. But acting in concert, maybe we can move the needle in terms of impact." noted Mr. Shah.
Adding that "I’m really excited that the UN has dedicated 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, that’s peas, beans and lentils (before our paramedics get too excited). A high fibre, high protein food, full of vitamins that can be grown with minimal water and that actually puts nitrogen back into the soil as a natural fertilizer for subsequent crops. Good for consumers, good for farmers and good for the environment. It won’t solve the problem, but it will make a difference in the right direction. And that’s worth doing."