Miller Magazine Issue: 139 July 2021

78 INTERVIEW MILLER / july 2021 Food production’s environmental impact is anticipated to increase with the dual challenge of feeding a growing pop- ulation and rising incomes. The growing global middle class is putting pressure on the food system to produce more pro- tein and more calories. Shifting diets will not only impact the environment, it will also impact the incidence of non-commu- nicable diseases. Pulses are well-positioned to positively impact both of these factors and we believe we’re only scratching the surface of the opportunities that exist for this future food. If readers are interested in exploring the above-mentioned studies in more detail they can visit www.pulsecanada.com or contact our office for more details. NEW POST-PANDEMIC NORMAL IN THE MARKET How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the pulse markets? What are the effects of the pandemic on Cana- da’s pulse exports? I’m sure we all heard and perhaps even experienced some of the panic buying that occurred in the early days, weeks and months of the pandemic. From March 2020 through to June there was a surge in buying of shelf-sta- ble foods. People were obviously cooking from home and looking for ways to stock the pantry. Canned pulses were a good fit so there was reportedly a bump in sales in the early stages of the pandemic. Hotel, restaurant, institutional and foodservice sales were down so while there may have in fact been a surge in retail sales and steady sales through- out the year, it was offset by losses in these other market segments – particularly food service. So while retail grew 14%, foodservice (institutional canned and dry pack) saw a 31% drop in demand between the 2019-2020 calendar year. Beyond beans and into the plant-based foods space, there’s better news. Plant-based meat substitute sales spiked in the early months of the pandemic and were consis- tent throughout 2020. Consumers cut back on food service in many cases out of necessity and turned to home meal preparation. Mintel reports that 33% of plant-based protein consum- ers reported eating more than a year ago and 50% of those who specifically eat meat alternatives reported eating more than the year prior. Why? Consumers say it’s because there’s more selection and because of the health halo – that is they feel it’s a healthier way to eat. Ingredient and product sales support those statements as well. Euromonitor reports that global pea protein demand (not incl pet food) was up 12% on the year with North America and Europe driving it – making up 85% of demand. North America had the highest growth in milk and meat substitutes demand with a 40% increase in meat substitutes sales by volume and 17% increase in milk alternatives sales. We’ll be watching to see how these patterns evolve as we find our new normal at home and around the world. It’s difficult to examine exports to traditional markets and isolate the impact that COVID-19 had on buying behavior. For major markets for Canada, like China – new demand was fueled in large part by the recovery of the swine indus- try and growth in demand for feed. Perhaps one could make a case that COVID-19 played a role for a period of time in India with the Government providing 1 kg of pulses to each household covered under the National Food Security Act, but domestic production, domestic prices to farmers, food price inflation all factor into decision-making so it is difficult to link changes specifically to the pandemic. Many countries have implemented restrictive measures against grain exports to safeguard national food security. You are a strong advocate of free trade and transparency in trade policies. What is the importance of functioning international trade in terms of world food security? In March of 2020, the heads of the WTO, the WHO and the