Lentils: A low-carbon, climate-smart crop [Interview]

One of the biggest sustainable advantages that pulses such as lentils offer is that, thanks to a special symbiosis with soil bacteria, they are capable of fixing their own nitrogen. This cuts out the need for fertilizers.

Growing pulses in Canada also makes sense because these crops are suited to its climate. The main pulse-producing regions of Canada – Alberta, Saskatchewan and, to a lesser extent, Manitoba – have a semi-arid, cold climate where there is a risk of drought. Lentils are well adapted to these dry conditions and can produce yields with little water. The fact they are not water-thirsty also benefits the rotation crop that is planted following the lentil harvest because they leave more water in the soil for these rotation crops, typically wheat or oil seed crops such as canola.

Another distinction that sets Canadian pulse production apart in terms of sustainability is the zero-till policy practiced by most Canadian farmers. Most began phasing out soil tillage in the late eighties and early nineties and today, around 82% of lentil producers have adopted this practice, Trémorin said.

Lentils as a tool for Corporate Social Responsibility

Consumer awareness of lentils and other pulses was given a boost in 2016 when the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) selected it as the Year of the Pulse and worked to raise the profile of this cheap, nutritious and sustainable food.

According to Trémorin, the Year of the Pulse helped boost consumer knowledge of the nutritional benefits of pulses but the environmental benefits are less well understood and more work is needed to educate the market. With climate change increasingly at the forefront of public debate, however, consumers are growing more and more receptive to learning about the carbon footprint of food and finding out how ingredients can be grown sustainably.

The sustainability of Canadian pulse crops has the advantage of being backed up by decades of research and robust datasets that companies can use for in-depth analysis of their products such as life cycle assessments, Tremorin added.