
According to FAO, ‘Climate smart’ pulses are essential to global food security by delivering high nutrition protein to people and critical nutrition to soil. Along with protein, pulses comes with health enhancing minerals including iron, zinc, magnesium and folate.Consumption of pulses can actually help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and other heart diseases.Just as they are beneficial for human health, pulses are good for environment also as they work with bacteria that converts atmospheric nitrogen into useful ammonia or nitrates, that actually improve soil fertility and reduce dependence on energy intensive fertilisers, as well as fostering soil carbon sequestration. In canada, the world’s second largest pulse producer and exporter, the introduction of pulses into field rotation has slashed the need for synthethic nitrogen by two-third. They are deeply rooted crops which make them resilient in times of drought, and can simultaneously adapt to climate change. Moreover, pulses are also highly water efficient, for each gram of protein the average global water footprint of pulses is only 34% that of pork and 17% that of beef. Also, carbon footprint of pulses is less than half that of winter wheat. Hence, pulses and soil are considered to be the symbiosis for life.All the above reasons suggest pulses to be a climate smart food.