2016 year of legumes, sustainable and beneficial
2016 year international of legumesThe FAO, the United Nations organization for agriculture and food, dedicates 2016 to legumes, a precious food useful for feeding the world population. Economical, healthy, and allies of the environment, they are indeed characterized by excellent protein and nutritional power.
Declaring 2016 as the year dedicated to beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas, broad beans, lupins, to name the most common types, is the way devised by the UN to promote their consumption worldwide. And the reasons abound. They are an excellent source of protein, much less expensive than animal-based ones. Naturally gluten-free, they contain very little fat, are rich in soluble fiber and nutrients, and when dried, they can be consumed throughout the entire year.
Equally important is the environmental safeguarding function performed by these plants. Growing them improves soil fertility, increasing productivity and reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. A set of advantages well represented by the slogan “nutrient seeds for a sustainable future,” adopted by the UN General Assembly in promoting 2016 as the year of legumes.
