2016 International Year of Pulses - the food kind

The General Assembly of the United Nations has declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses. Pulses are dry seeds of leguminous plants, such as beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils. The term ‘pulses’ is limited to crops harvested solely for dry grain, therefore excluding crops harvested green for food (vegetable crops). Pulses are annual leguminous crops yielding between 1-12 grains or seeds of variable size, shape, and colour within a pod, used for both human food and animal feed.

Pulses, or legumes, are low in fat content and are a high source of protein, with numerous health benefits. Pulses are part of a healthy diet to address obesity and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, coronary conditions, and cancer.

During humanitarian crises pulses form part of the general food baskets distributed to communities. The agriculture of pulses plays a significant role in global food security. Pulses also contribute to healthy soils and climate change mitigation through their nitrogen-fixing properties.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has been nominated to facilitate the implementation of the International Year of Pulses in collaboration with governments, organizations, NGOs, and other interested groups.

The International Year of Pulses aims to heighten public awareness of the nutritional benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production aimed toward food security and nutrition. The International Year of Pulses will create the opportunity to encourage food chain connections to more effectively use pulse-based proteins, further global production of pulses, more effectively use crop rotations, and address the challenges in the trade of pulses.

http://www.fao.org/pulses-2016/en/

MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).