PEAS PLEASE
Would it be better for Scotland’s health and environment if we got more of our protein from plants like peas and beans rather than meat? Louise Gray investigates
Louise Gray extols the virtues of the humble pea
In the old days mushy peas smothered in vinegar were popular in Scotland as a side to chips. The dish, known as a ‘Buster’ in Dundee because of its propensity to bring on flatulence, has long since gone out of fashion. Today we can afford to eat meat or fish with our chips. But are we missing out? New research suggests that eating peas could not only boost our health but tackle climate change and lead to a more sustainable way of farming.
Already peas are a major industry in Scotland. After potatoes, it is the biggest vegetable crop in the country, covering 7,000 hectares. On a hot summer’s day in Perthshire, I join Fred Richardson, the manager at East Coast Viners, to check how tender his crop of petis pois near Perth is looking.
The peas, still in flower, make a refreshing canvas against the rolling fields of tatties and wheat beyond. Fred, who rents land from a number of different owners, says it is not just the aesthetic of peas that attracts farmers, but the opportunity to add a ‘nitrogenfixing’ crop to the rotation.
Peas are a legume, meaning the roots are able to take nitrogen from the air and make it available to the plant. This not only means less artificial nitrogen is needed for the peas, but the next crop can benefit when the plants are cut down and the roots left in the soil.
Fred says peas make an excellent ‘break crop ‘as part of a rotation with cereals like wheat and barley. Indeed, research led by Scotland’s Rural College found that adding legumes into a rotation can increase farm profitability by £46 a hectare because of the added nitrogen in the cereal crop following a legume ‘break crop’. The college want to see a ‘legume premium’ to encourage more farmers to grow peas and thus reduce dependence on artificial fertilisers.
A few weeks after I meet Fred, the viners are going in the same field, cutting the peas. The machine, which looks just like a combine harvester, cuts the stem and then thrashes the pods in a rotating drum until the peas are ‘popped’ out. The stream of green peas piling into waiting trailers is almost a fluorescent green.
Pea farmers in Scotland have a matter of weeks to harvest the crop, since peas will harden if left in the sunshine, so the harvest will operate day and night during the season. All the pea fields are within about half an hour of the only large-scale fruit and vegetable processing plant in Scotland, Dundee Cold Stores. Here the peas are washed and graded and then blasted frozen.
In peak harvest season, the facility operates 24 hours a day, processing in excess of 25,000 tonnes of peas and beans, equating to one sixth of the UK’s total output.
Thanks to the hard work of 25 permanent staff and 130 seasonal workers, the peas should be in the bag and ready to go to the supermarket within two-and-a-half hours.
Contrary to popular belief, frozen peas are just as healthy as fresh ones. In fact, it could be argued that defrosted peas hold more vitamins than fresh vegetables that are kept for over a week at the back of the fridge.
Peas are a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, thiamine (B1), iron and phosphorus. Peas are also a good source
of protein, especially dried peas, like the famous mushy peas boiled up and used in a ‘Buster’.
Professor Alexandra Johnstone of the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen believes it is time Scotland once again took advantage of this accessible plant protein, which we happen to be extremely good at growing. She points out that peas are not only full of protein, but are a good source of fibre. Historically, this is something Scots have struggled to get into their diets, leading to higher rates of colorectal cancer.
Prof Johnstone believes that replacing red or processed meat – which can also be full of fat – with high-fibre plant proteins like peas could be part of the solution. Low-fat plant protein could also help in the fight against obesity by providing healthier yet filling meals.
‘Consumers have a lot to learn about dietary sources of protein, not just from a health point of view, but from an environmental point of view,’ she says.
Prof Johnstone points out that growing peas produces fewer carbon emissions than growing livestock such as cattle. This is not just because of the energy that goes into raising, feeding and transporting cattle, but the methane produced by the animals burping. Therefore a diet lower in meat and higher in plant-based products means a lower carbon footprint.
But how to persuade Scots to trade beef burgers for peas? The Rowett Institute is currently developing recipes to try and encourage Scots to get more peas and legumes into their diets, for example fava bean muffins or pizza dough made with buckwheat flour. ‘I am not saying we should all go vegetarian,’ says Prof Johnstone. ‘But what we could do is eat more vegetarian food a few days of the week and replace meat with plant protein in meals.’
Examples could include a chicken curry with less meat and more chickpeas, or a Scotch pie with lentils in the mince or a beef stew with more peas and less meat.
Or perhaps it is time to bring back the ‘Buster’?
“Peas are full of protein and are a good source of fibre