Neglecting legumes has compromised human health and sustainable food production

Abstract

The United Nations declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (grain legumes) under the banner 'nutritious seeds for a sustainable future'. A second green revolution is required to ensure food and nutritional security in the face of global climate change. Grain legumes provide an unparalleled solution to this problem because of their inherent capacity for symbiotic atmospheric nitrogen fixation, which provides economically sustainable advantages for farming. In addition, a legume-rich diet has health benefits for humans and livestock alike. However, grain legumes form only a minor part of most current human diets, and legume crops are greatly under-used. Food security and soil fertility could be significantly improved by greater grain legume usage and increased improvement of a range of grain legumes. The current lack of coordinated focus on grain legumes has compromised human health, nutritional security and sustainable food production.

Accelerating genetic gains in legumes for the development of prosperous smallholder agriculture: integrating genomics, phenotyping, systems modelling and agronomy

“…In addition, legumes can recover unavailable forms of soil phosphorus, possibly lower the emission of greenhouse gases, and are prospective assets in future cropping systems (Stagnari et al, 2017). A recent review gives a good summary of the many virtues of food legumes and sets an agenda for their improvement in the decades to come Foyer et al, 2016).…”

“…High tolerance to environmental stresses of many rainfed legumes, when compared with soybean, is required for sustainable production in often harsh soil and climatic conditions in dryland agriculture (Foyer et al, 2016;Sita et al, 2017). Erratic rainfall increases the occurrence of drought stress necessitating drought-tolerant legume varieties that can produce in water-limited environments.…”

Perennial Grain Legume Domestication Phase I: Criteria for Candidate Species Selection

“…Legume carbohydrates include substantial quantities of starch, oligosaccharides and an especially high dietary fiber content [91]. Oil content is variable among grain legume seeds ranging from one percent oil content in some species to more than 30% in species like soybean, peanuts and lupins [92]. We expect that the seeds of most wild legumes will be nutritious, and the nutritional profile of potential domesticates should be at least partially considered as a criterion for evaluation with preference given to species whose seeds are high in protein and oil.…”

Pod Shattering: A Homologous Series of Variation Underlying Domestication and an Avenue for Crop Improvement

“…With their capacity for symbiotic nitrogen fixation, they are important sources of dietary protein, and important members of crop rotations or intercropping schemes. Declining utilization of legumes in crop rotations and their declining consumption following the green revolution contributes to dietary imbalances such as protein and micronutrient deficiencies, and unnecessary reliance on synthetic nitrogen inputs into agricultural systems and the pollution that entails [23][24][25]. Legumes, along with cereals, were some of the most ancient domesticated crops in each of the regions where agriculture arose independently (ie, Vavilovian centers of domestication).…”