Miller Magazine Issue: 128 August 2020

50 COVER STORY MILLER / August 2020 in protein, building block of human body. UN declaration for 2016 as “World Pulses Year” was not a coincidence. Pulses like lentil, chickpea, bean, pease, broad bean and kidney bean are ‘the food of past, today and future’. Pro- duction and consumption of pulses should be promoted for the future of life. It is effective against chronic diseases like diabetes or cardiac diseases and preventing high cholester- ol and anemia. Pulses do not contain genetically modified organizations. They don’t have gluten. They have the high- est vegetable protein. It is a non-allergic product; nobody has been identified as allergic to pulses in the world. Pulses are not only healthy they are also eco-friendly. They give the soil its nitrogen back. So the need for fertilizers and carbon emissions decrease. Environmental pollution can be prevented. Our water resources are scarce. And water con- sumption for cultivating or for cooking pulses is very low. Production and consumption for pulses are growing rap- idly in the world thanks to increasing awareness about this product group. Pulses production has grown by more than 50% from 2000 to 2017. India is the leading country for production, consumption and exports of pulses. Other im- portant producers are Canada, Myanmar, China, Nigeria, Brazil, Australia, the US and Russia. Main exporters are Canada, Argentina, France and Ethiopia. India produces 25% of the world’s pulses. Pulses are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family. They grow in pods and encompass a diverse group of food crops that includes peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans. Be- cause pulses are nutrient-dense and a high-quality source of protein, they can help address the problems of hunger, malnutrition and obesity. And because pulse crops use fewer chemical fertilizers and water than most competing crops, they are vital to the sustainable food systems we need to feed a global population projected to hit 9.5 bil- lion by 2050. Equally important, pulse production provides a livelihood to millions of smallholder farmers, in much of the developing world, and can, therefore, play a key role in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of no poverty and zero hunger. Beyond their health benefits, pulses are environmental– friendly. Pulses enrich the soil they grow on through nitro- gen fixation and thus increase soil fertility. Moreover, pulses are efficient water users: the water requirement to grow one kilogram of pulses is about 40 times less than the water requirement to grow one kilogram of beef. Therefore, puls- es are one vital key to sustainable protein security. It’s not surprising, therefore, that we are seeing pulse production on the rise. According to the UN FAO, between 1998 and 2018, world pulse production grew by 36 million metric tons, a 63% increase. “There is still much to do, of course. For instance, re- search is needed to boost yields and more must be done to improve the livelihood of pulse growers in the developing world. But people everywhere, whether consumers, food manufacturers or farmers, are coming to the realization that, in this era of climate change and exponential popu- lation growth, pulses are the key to the sustainable food systems of the future. Which is why pulses are the future of food.” Ms. Cindy Brown, the President of Global Pulse Confederation says.