Miller Magazine Issue: 141 September 2021

58 COVER STORY MILLER / september 2021 On September 23 2021, the UN the Food Systems Summit is taking place in New York City. The summit will discuss how we can leverage global food systems to aid in the achievement of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, a series of objectives designed to help combat poverty, climate change, hunger and inequality. For those in the pulse industry, it is an op- portunity to present pulses as a key player in future food systems as they take on these issues. The agri-business sector is facing a serious challenge: how to feed a global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 while simultaneously dealing with the effects of climate change. Even with the population at its current levels, 820 million people go to bed hungry at night and an additional two billion run a high risk of malnutrition. This, combined with the ongoing impact of COVID-19, the growing loss of biodiversity in ecosystems and soil degradation in farmlands, among other issues, makes this chal- lenge all the more complex and far-reaching. With the IPCC’s 6th assessment predicting rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns, it is inevitable that farming crops in almost every country in the world will become increasingly diffi- cult. The report also highlighted the urgent need to greatly reduce not only carbon dioxide but alsomethane, a powerful greenhouse gas produced heavily in animal livestock farming. The need for sustainable practises to be introduced at every level of the agri-business sector is thus essential when it comes to tackling the issues highlighted by the SDGs. Since, as the UN states, these issues are intrinsically linked both to each other and to the world’s food systems, it is clear that a holistic approach is required. Pulses, with their long-held slogan of “Healthy People, Healthy Planet”, can provide such an approach. PULSES: THE SUSTAINABLE SUPERFOOD Since the UN’s introduction of the International Year of Pulses in 2016 and the subsequent designation of February 10 as World Pulses Day, knowledge and understanding about the economic, environmental and nutritional benefits of producing and consum- ing pulses have been gaining attention on the global stage. In terms of mitigating the effects of climate change, pulses are key to sustainable agriculture. Pulses are nitrogen-fixing crops, meaning they have a much lower carbon footprint than other food sources. Since they draw their nitrogen from the air, they do not require nitrogen fertilizers, which are responsible for just under half of the total greenhouse gases produced by the ag- riculture industry. These nitrogen-fixing qualities also mean that As the UN Food Systems Summit approaches, the pulse industry is primed to position it- self as a solution to both the climate crisis and global hunger. With the need for a holistic solution increasingly apparent, pulses represent a solid foundation for the world’s food systems to move towards a more diverse, sustainable and resilient future. The Role of Pulses in Future Food Systems Cindy Brown President Global Pulse Confederation