Legumes as a Cornerstone of the Transition Toward More Sustainable Agri-Food Systems and Diets in Europe

Abstract

Legume grains are important sources of nutrients in human and animal diets and have been so for millennia. Their history as part of traditional diets dates to the origins of agriculture when their benefits for soil health and agricultural productivity started to be realized, mostly empirically, by farmers. In time, legumes have lost their popularity as human food, either because of a negative connotation as “poor man's meat,” occasional gastrointestinal side effects, or habitually longer preparation times when compared to other types of plant foods. Also, the steep rise in the consumption of meat derived foods in the last half of a century has taken a toll on replacing legumes as a major protein source. Alongside this negative trend in consumption, a negative drift in production was also observed, especially in Europe, where legumes currently occupy a minimal fraction of agricultural land. One of the main factors is a loss in competitive edge amongst farmers due to sustained lower public and private investments in breeding programs and legume adapted technology for planting, managing, harvesting, processing, and storing, when compared to cereals. Recently, increased awareness of the need to move to sustainable food systems is revitalizing legume production and consumption in Europe, leading to a compilation of policies and initiatives that aim to put legumes again as foundations for this transition. Legumes have been reinvented in a multitude of products (drinks, cereal bars, bread, meat replacers, snacks, flours, and several others) and included in farming systems of conservation agriculture, organic production, intercropping, and crop rotation, combining ancient traditions of legume production “with a spin,” incorporating new legume technological knowledge in farming systems. However, the transition has been slow and hampered by many cultural, societal, political, and economic impediments. This paper summarizes initiatives that aim to enable the comeback of legumes and their placement in a more prominent position in human diets and agricultural fields and highlights strategies that aim at overcoming the obstacles that impede achieving the development of more sustainable agri-food systems and sustainable diets in Europe.

Separate foliar sodium selenate and zinc oxide application enhances Se but not Zn accumulation in pea (Pisum sativum L.) seeds

“…In 2020, the world production of dry peas amounted to 14.6 million tons, with cultivated areas covering 7.2 million hectares (FAOSTAT 2022). Pulses (including peas) are beneficial for sustainable agriculture and environment, biodiversity, global health, and food security ( Powers & Thavarajah, 2019 ; Ferreira et al., 2021 ). These crops are of high nutritional value, play an essential role in cropping systems, enhance soil health, and reduce synthetic nitrogen fertilizer applications and associated fossil energy consumption ( Sahruzaini et al., 2020 ; Ferreira et al., 2021 ).…”

“…Pulses (including peas) are beneficial for sustainable agriculture and environment, biodiversity, global health, and food security ( Powers & Thavarajah, 2019 ; Ferreira et al., 2021 ). These crops are of high nutritional value, play an essential role in cropping systems, enhance soil health, and reduce synthetic nitrogen fertilizer applications and associated fossil energy consumption ( Sahruzaini et al., 2020 ; Ferreira et al., 2021 ). Peas are a good and affordable source of high-biological-value protein ( Ge et al., 2020 ), complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, starch, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that may favorably affect human health ( Dahl et al., 2012 ).…”

Valorization of Local Legumes and Nuts as Key Components of the Mediterranean Diet

“…For example, in 2018, of all the European crop land, only 1.4% of it was used for legume crop farming, while cereals occupied a total of 31% of total land crops [ 24 ].…”

Dietary Change and Global Sustainable Development Goals

“…To adopt the healthy diets, food systems should improve their supply of affordable, palatable, diverse, and acceptable food commodity options (e.g., plant-based protein sources, fruits, vegetables) for people worldwide (Ferreira et al, 2021). Policy in this case could help advance the development priorities such as high yielding crop varieties of insufficient foods [e.g., legumes and nuts in undernourished regions; Ofori et al, 2021], resourceefficient agriculture practices (Davis et al, 2017;Rosa et al, 2018;Rothrock et al, 2019;van Wijk et al, 2020;Jin et al, 2021;Obirikorang et al, 2021), sustainable fisheries management, alternative food and feed (Gold et al, 2018;Caporgno et al, 2020) through fiscal and other interventions.…”