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The United Nations declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. The aim is to highlight the fundamental importance of securing a sustainable food system to improve our health and dramatically reduce our food footprint, while addressing global food poverty and reversing environmental degradation.
As part of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa has been mandated to include IYP on its 2016 calendar. Its first initiative will be to teach children about the importance of pulses in their diets.
DST will be embarking on a roadshow to science centres and schools around the country, aimed at kids aged 8 to 14 years. “Because pulses are so beneficial to people and to our planet, DST wants to motivate our youth to eat them,” says AGT Foods Africa spokesperson Dean Miller.
DST will visit schools throughout South Africa armed with well-presented material to educate kids to eat pulses. “It explains how pulses are jam-packed with protein, fibre and vitamin B. They are low in fat and salt so they help fight diseases like obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Most importantly pulses are affordable to all, ensuring poor people get to eat good quality food with all the important nutrients,” says Miller.
ENDS 11 MAY 2016
For further information please contact:
Dean Miller
Group Marketing
Tel: +27 11 762 5261
Or
Kelly Barnett
Caro Communications
Cell: +27 82 776 0231
Notes to editors
- The Global Pulse Confederation (GPC) is the global not for profit trade organisation for the global pulse industry value chain. As the sole international confederation for the industry, it enjoys membership from 18 national associations (federations) and over 600 private sector members in an industry worth over $100 Billion at the retail level and over 60 million tons of pulse production and distribution in over 55 countries. GPC is headquartered in Dubai http://iyp2016.org/about-us/global-pulse-confederation-cicils-iptic
- UN Assembly Resolution on the 2016 International Year of the Pulses: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/68/231&Lang=E
Upcoming Activities
- For recipes, nutrition and health information please visit: www.pulses.org or follow #LovePulses on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
- For industry news on IYP go to www.iyp2016.org
Promotion on Social Media
Official campaign hashtags: #LovePulses
Dedicated pulse dish hashtag #PulseRecipes
UN International Year of Pulses hashtag: #IYP2016
Handle: @LovePulses
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May 9, 2016 - “The week ended just too soon,” said Vongai Chekanai.
Chekanai was referring to the PanAfrican Legume Conference and World Cowpea Conference, February 28-March 4, in Livingstone, Zambia. She was one of ten students who received travel grants via Crop Science Society of America (CSSA). CSSA is celebrating the International Year of Pulses (IYP) to promote pulses -- crops of dry beans, peas, and lentils. CSSA’s IYP team, led by Mark Brick, thought educating younger researchers by sending them to Zambia would benefit the pulse world.
“We were honored to grant these students the travel awards,” said Brick.
CSSA worked in collaboration with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Feed the Future’s Knowledge-Driven Agricultural Development (KDAD) project to fund the students’ travel to the conference. “Collaborating with USAID and KDAD was a natural fit. The world will benefit from having more trained scientists knowledgeable about pulses, and the latest in research efforts,” Brick said.
Their students' enthusiasm may be spreading. “Soon the whole world will be legume crazy,” Chekanai predicted.
The conference was the UN-Food and Agriculture Organization’s signature event for Africa. The program focused on the high nutritional value, stable storage, and soil-building qualities of pulses, which are dry beans, peas, and lentils.
The conference boasted over 500 participants from 6 continents and 46 countries. The theme, “Sustainable grain legume systems for food, income, and nutritional security in a rapidly changing climate,” struck a chord with the students.
“Attending offered me the ability to meet many scientists who are conducting the research I’ve been reading about in school. I engaged in conversations that cannot be duplicated in the classroom,” Lance Goettsch said. Goettsch presented one of nearly 400 posters at the conference, broadening awareness of his research and building valuable communications skills.
“I was already pumped about grain legumes before I attended the conference,” Jamin Smitchger said. “I learned so much about the various grain legumes grown in Africa at the conference.”
Goettsch also pointed out the value of collaboration during the conference. “It was a venue for many young scientists, like me, to interact and discuss the way forward for grain legumes. It also helped us create partnerships that will maximize resources more efficiently.”
Olaotan Adediran found renewed focus for her research. “The need to carry out demand-driven, not publication-driven, research was emphasized,” she said.
CSSA also provided support to the conference with conference logistics, abstract submissions, and program booklet development.
Winners of the competitive CSSA-USAID travel grants were Md Nurul Amin, Washington State University; Brijesh Angira, Texas A&M University; Lance Goettsch, Iowa State University; Jamin Smitchger, Montana State University; Olaotan Abimbola Adediran, Federal University of Technology; Courtney Holdt, North Dakota State University; Matthew Berry, Michigan State University; Vongai Chekanai, University of Zimbabwe; Dennis Ndahura Katuuramu, Michigan State University; Awio Bruno, Makerere University.
Travel grant judges were Mark Brick, Colorado State University; Roch Gaussoin, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Michael Grusak, USDA-ARS; Juan Osorno, North Dakota State University; Jennifer Long, USAID; Bir B. Singh, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology; Clarice Coyne, USDA-ARS.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses (IYP). In celebration, the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) created a web page for the public about pulses, www.crops.org/iyp. Special tabs for the public include K-12 Education, Beans in the News, Grown Your Own, and Delicious Ideas. CSSA has also compiled links to various recipes, so you can increase your consumption of pulses.
CSSA will release more information about pulses during the 2016 IYP celebration.
Check out more stories about the International Year of Pulses here.
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Beautiful scarves and earrings will be sold at the GPC Convention next week in Cesme, Izmir, Turkey to raise funds for IYP activities. Be sure to purchase pulse-themed jewelry for yourself and friends to show your support for the International Year of Pulses!
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Food and drink lovers from around Australia and the world will now be able to enjoy the best of South Australian produce at an annual Tasting Australia festival.
For the first time Tasting Australia will become an annual event in 2017, with the festival set to be staged around the state from April 30 to May 7.
“Premium food and wine is such an important part of South Australia’s story and it’s for that reason that the South Australian Government has supported the move for Tasting Australia to become annual,” said General Manager, Events South Australia, Hitaf Rasheed.
Tasting Australia presented by Thomas Foods is South Australia’s premier eating and drinking festival and one of the pre-eminent food and wine festivals in Australia.