Pulses good for the body, the planet and for local farms, says Alberta farmer
If you’re looking for dietary options that are not only good for your health but also good for the planet, Alberta farmer Ryan Kubinec has a simple answer: try pulses.
Nutrient dense chickpeas, lentils, dried peas and beans—the edible dried seeds of legumes that are known as pulses—are a great way to reduce the environmental footprint of your grocery cart.
“From a farming perspective, they’re a fairly profitable crop compared to others,” says Kubinec, who has been growing pulses for more than a decade. “When it comes to the environmental side, they’re sustainable. You don’t need as much water to grow pulses. They have a small carbon footprint, and they add to your soil health. They work with your whole group of crops.”
One of the features of pulse crops which makes them agricultural all-stars is their ability to fix their own nitrogen. In other words, they don’t rely on the addition of nitrogen to the soil to grow because they’re able to draw nitrogen gas from the air and store it in their roots.
“For the farmer, that means these little plants are giving themselves fertilizer,” says Leanne Fischbuch, executive director of Alberta Pulse Growers. “It means less energy cost to the environment for the production of fertilizer, real cost savings for the producer and one less step for the producer to grow crops.”
“The other neat thing about pulses—with peas, lentils and chickpeas, for example—is that you can take them from the field and use them in your cooking,” says Kubinec. “You don’t need to process them. There aren’t a lot of middle steps. It’s a close relationship to the consumer.”
Together with his parents and one of his brothers, Kubinec tends to about 4,000 acres of crops at his Sunniegrove Farms, northwest of Westlock. They grow the major crops most often associated with Alberta farming—wheat, canola, some barley—but they also devote about 20 per cent of the crop rotation to green and yellow peas. Kubinec says he hopes to grow that number until pulses make up a third of his crops.
Over the past 25 years, Canada has emerged as a powerhouse in the multi-billion dollar pulse and special crops industry. It is currently the world’s largest exporter of lentils and peas, and one of the world’s top five exporters of beans. Numbers from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, which declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses, show that the demand for pulses is likely to continue growing, and production will most likely lag behind demand.
Within Canada, the leading producers of pulses are Saskatchewan and Alberta. Fischbuch says there are over 6,000 pulse growers across the province, stretching from the far northwest corner of Alberta to the southeast corner.
“Most of our production is shipped around the world because it’s a staple food around the world,” says Kubinec. “We’re helping to feed countries like India and the Middle Eastern countries where pulses are like their rice or their potato.”
But Kubinec would like to see Canadians increase their consumption of pulses too. He and his wife have seen the health and nutrition benefits of pulses firsthand with the eldest of their three young children, Ruby.
Four years ago, Ruby was diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. Now 11 years old, Ruby has become an enthusiastic champion of pulses. Because she can’t eat wheat, barley or rye (they all have gluten), she turns to pulses as a source of protein and fibre. An avid baker, she has also become a pro at baking with pulse flour.
Ruby has even brought her baking to school to show people that pulses aren’t just healthy, they’re tasty and versatile too. “I have this one cookie recipe that’s for chocolate chip chickpea cookies,” she says. “I used them for my science project, and all the judges were scared to eat them. But you can’t taste the chickpeas.” Despite the nervous judges, she won an award for that science project.
Both as a producer and a consumer, Kubinec sees no downside to investing in pulses. “They’re good for the environment, good for my farm’s bottom line, and good for consumers,” he says.
“As farmers, if we grow pulses we improve the whole system. As a consumer, by including pulses into your diet, you improve the whole range of your diet.”
For more on pulses visit pulse.ab.ca