'Raising the Pulse': The environmental, nutritional and health benefits of pulse-enhanced foods.

Diet is a key modulator of non-communicable diseases, and food production represents a major cause of environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, 'nudging' people to make better food choices is challenging, as factors including affordability, convenience and taste often take priority over the achievement of health and environmental benefits. The overall 'Raising the Pulse' project aim is to bring about a step change in the nutritional value of the UK consumers' diet, and to do so in a way that leads to improved health and greater sustainability within the UK food system. To achieve our objectives, UK-specific faba bean production systems that optimise both end users' diets and environmental and economic sustainability of production will be implemented in collaboration with key stakeholders (including industry, the retail sector and government). Palatable faba bean flours will be produced and used to develop 'Raising the Pulse' food products with improved nutritional profile and environmental value. Consumer focus groups and workshops will establish attitudes, preferences, drivers of and barriers to increased consumption of such products. They will inform the co-creation of sensory testing and University-wide intervention studies to evaluate the effects of pulses and 'Raising the Pulse' foods on diet quality, self-reported satiety, nutritional knowledge, consumer acceptance and market potential. Nutrient bioavailability and satiety will be evaluated in a randomised-controlled postprandial human study. Finally, a system model will be developed that predicts changes to land use, environment, business viability, nutrition and human health after substitution of existing less nutritionally beneficial and environmentally sustainable ingredients with pulses. Government health and sustainability priorities will be addressed, helping to define policy-relevant solutions with significant beneficial supply chain economic impacts and transformed sustainable food systems to improve consumer diet quality, health and the environment.

The greenhouse gas impacts of converting food production in England and Wales to organic methods.

Agriculture is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and must feature in efforts to reduce emissions. Organic farming might contribute to this through decreased use of farm inputs and increased soil carbon sequestration, but it might also exacerbate emissions through greater food production elsewhere to make up for lower organic yields. To date there has been no rigorous assessment of this potential at national scales. Here we assess the consequences for net GHG emissions of a 100% shift to organic food production in England and Wales using life-cycle assessment. We predict major shortfalls in production of most agricultural products against a conventional baseline. Direct GHG emissions are reduced with organic farming, but when increased overseas land use to compensate for shortfalls in domestic supply are factored in, net emissions are greater. Enhanced soil carbon sequestration could offset only a small part of the higher overseas emissions.