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Between March 8th and 11th the Japan Pea and Bean Importers Association exhibited the World of Pulses booth at the 41st International Food and Beverage Exhibition, FOODEX JAPAN 2016. This booth promoted the International Year of Pulses and highlighted the numerous benefits of pulses! Over 75,000 people visitors registered for this event and had the opportunity to try some of the delicious pulse based dishes served from the World of Pulses. Mr. Ishikawa, awarded the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award in 2014 and a farmer in Hokkaido, cooked 7 different dishes for consumers to try during the expo. These dishes were:
- Yogurt with AN
- Rice mix with Tiger beans, Azuki beans, Black soybeans and grains
- Stew with Tiger Beans
- Curry soup with Tiger beans & White beans
- Consomme soup with Lentil & White beans
- Curry with Tiger beans
- Clam chowder with Large white kidney beans
In Japan, pulses are often used to in desserts and are not cooked in main dishes. The World of Pulses booth showed the versatility of pulses with the seven dishes cooked and the numerous snacks given out. Not only did the World of Pulses booth hand out delicious cuisine, it also distributed 18 different kinds of pulses, provided cookbooks, IYP leaflets, and various exciting pulse products.
All pulses samples, cooking books, pulses products distributed were donated from members of Japan Pea and Bean Importers Association and customers, Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives and Japan Pulses Foundation.
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On November 19, 2015, the Academy's Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science and Bush Brothers and Company sponsored a full-day conference on pulses, titled Little Beans, Big Opportunities: Realizing the Potential of Pulses to Meet Today's Global Health Challenges. The event celebrated the United Nations' declaration of 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, a measure intended to highlight the potential of dry peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas to improve both human health and the sustainability of global agriculture.
The keynote presentation focused on how these little beans could help solve the synergistic threats of malnutrition and environmental degradation worldwide. Speakers in the morning session discussed the many health benefits of pulses. Clinical trials have shown that legume-based supplements can prevent childhood growth stunting in developing countries. Bean consumption also leads to improvements in markers associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and promotes a healthy intestinal microbiome.
Humans have grown and eaten pulses for over 10 000 years, and in many countries the agricultural techniques for pulse production are virtually unchanged. Speakers in the afternoon session described the urgent need to improve the efficiency of pulse production and discussed ideas for increasing supply and demand for these crops.
The Little Beans, Big Opportunities: Using Pulses to Meet Today's Global Health Challenges eBriefing considers how pulse consumption contributes to health and how food systems could be improved to promote pulse production in 2016, the International Year of Pulses.
Visit the New York Academy of Sciences website to view the eBriefing!
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Research on grain legumes is critical to advancing the triple goals of poverty alleviation, improved maternal and child nutrition, and sustainable intensification of smallholder production systems. To those ends, USAID/Feed the Future is requesting your input on defining the research agenda for grain legumes.
Log onto Agrilinks to join a 24-hour AgExchange discussion that will inform the next phase of USAID grain legume research, including the structure of the next Feed the Future Grain Legume Innovation Lab. Our facilitators, Tracy Powell (USAID/Ethiopia), Jennifer "Vern" Long (USAID Bureau for Food Security), and Noel Ellis (Independent Consultant), will be online from March 22-23 to ask questions that get to the core of what, and how, innovations in grain legume research and development can be more effective for sustainable agricultural development.
Join us on March 22-23 to help define the USAID/Feed the Future research agenda for grain legumes. Please note that you must log into Agrilinks to join the discussion.
Please make sure to read the White Paper before you participate- it lays out the context, rationale, and questions for the AgExchange.
The actively facilitated times on March 22-23 include:
- Tracy Powell will begin the AgExchange from Addis Ababa at 8 am Ethiopia time/ 1 am EDT (March 22)
- Vern Long will take over in Chicago Illinois at 4 pm Ethiopia time/ 9 am EDT (March 23)
- Noel Ellis will wrap up the chat from Auckland at 9:45 am Auckland time/ 10:45 pm Ethiopia time / Midnight EDT (March 23)
To learn more, and to join the AgExchange, visit their website!
If you have any questions or need more information, please email the Agrilinks Team's Laura Ostenso at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Pulse Canada has been hosting its Mission ImPULSEible competition for several years and included it in the Product Showcase this year as part of their IYP activities. The Canadian competition that took place at the CIFST conference in February in Vancouver was a great platform to showcase many innovative products with pulses as core ingredient. The winner was a team of two students from the University of Guelph in Ontario. They developed a product called “Fiberger”, a high-fiber meat extender containing red lentils, green peas and chickpeas.
Another team stood out at the competition: three students from the University of Alberta who arrived second. They impressed the judges so much that their product will also be showcased at the Institute of Food Technologist Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Chicago. They created a gelato made from fermented beans and called “BiotaGelata”. The fermentation process broke down the beany base and turned the concoction into something that tasted like yogurt. In addition to being rich with nutrients (including fibre, protein, high levels of iron, zinc and phosphorus) the gelato (called gelata because it has no milk in it) could prove popular with those seeking dairy-free foods.
The Chicago event is one of the biggest food expos in the world, with more than 20,000 people from the food industry in attendance. We can say that the innovation in the Pulse industry will be very well represented by Canada this year!