Pulses Twice a Week in Replacement of Meat Modestly Increases Diet Sustainability

Abstract

The French food-based dietary guidelines recommend eating pulses at least twice a week and to reduce meat consumption. This study assessed the impact on the sustainability characteristics (nutrition, cost, environment) of individual diets of meeting the pulse guideline. Dietary data of 2028 adults from the Esteban survey were completed with the nutritional content (considering bioavailability on iron, zinc and protein), price and environmental impacts of foods. When the pulse guideline (i.e., 57 g/day) was not met, two substitution scenarios raised the quantity of pulses to the recommended level, in replacement of an equivalent portion of (i) starches or (ii) meat. Only 9.6% of the participants reached the pulse guideline. Diet sustainability characteristics improved with the meat scenario (nutritional indicators improved; diet cost, greenhouse gas emissions and acidification decreased), while several indicators deteriorated with the starches scenario. Zinc available for absorption slightly decreased in both scenarios while iron available for absorption decreased in the meat scenario only. Increasing pulse consumption to two portions/week could modestly improve the sustainability of diets when pulses replace meat but not starches. Cultural acceptability of that substitution still needs to be proven, and iron and zinc status of individuals at risk of deficiency should be monitored.

Partial replacement of red and processed meat with legumes: a modelling study of the impact on nutrient intakes and nutrient adequacy on the population level

“…Overall, the results of this study are in accordance with earlier scenario studies from Sweden (21) and France (20) which also focused on the replacement of meat with legumes. Röös et al (21) found a 50% reduction of meat and corresponding increase in pulses to be beneficial regarding fibre and folate intakes.…”

“…Röös et al (21) found a 50% reduction of meat and corresponding increase in pulses to be beneficial regarding fibre and folate intakes. Gazan et al (20) showed that the increase in the consumption of pulses (twice a week) in place of meat improved several nutritional indicators. However, our study provides an additional dimension by showing that the population shares below RI or AR diminished substantially for fibre and folate already in https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980022002440 Published online by Cambridge University Press…”

“…Thus far only few studies have modelled the consequences of replacing red and processed meat with legumes on the nutrient intake and nutritional adequacy of diets in general adult https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980022002440 Published online by Cambridge University Press Accepted manuscript populations. A recent study comprising about 2000 French adults showed that raising the quantity of pulses (including dry beans, dry peas, chickpeas, and lentils) to the recommended level (57 g/day cooked, i.e., twice a week) in a replacement of an equivalent portion of meat improved several nutritional indicators (20) . For example, adherence to current French food based dietary guidelines improved as assessed both with a dietary score and the mean adequacy ratio which measures achievement of recommended intakes of 23 nutrients.…”

“…In addition, legumes contain a wealth of bioactive compounds that may hamper bioavailability of certain nutrients, including iron and zinc (19) . Earlier studies have shown that substituting plant-based foods or legumes for meat introduce lower adequacy or lower average intake of bioavailable iron and zinc (20,40) . Like our result for men, Seves et al showed an increase of total iron intake across their replacement scenarios suggesting an impact of non-haem iron found in plant foods (39) .…”

Food Industry Views on Pulse Flour—Perceived Intrinsic and Extrinsic Challenges for Product Utilization

“…In addition, pulses are a key component of sustainable diets. Like other legumes, pulses demonstrate biological nitrogen fixation which reduces dependency on commercial fertilizers [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. About 2.9 million tons of common bean, pea, chickpea, and lentil are produced in the U.S. annually (5-year average of 2016–2020) [ 3 ].…”