February 10th is a brilliant day, because it celebrates a food that very much deserves recognition: pulses. For today, I want to share a few fun and educational resources I hope you will enjoy. Happy World Pulses Day, everyone!
What Are Pulses?
First off, let’s make sure we are all on the same page. What exactly are pulses, anyway? Here is a video explaining that. Or, if diagrams are more your style, check this link for a written explanation (and lovely diagram, of course) that explains the difference between the terms legume, pulse, and bean.
Videos About Pulses
Pulses are incredibly versatile and are loved around the world by adults and kids alike. I think we can all agree on one thing, though: kids are cuter sharing about their favorite pulses than adults are. Thankfully, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations knew that and kept it in mind when making this adorable video. What are the favorite pulses of kids in your life??
How Do Pulses Promote Global Nutrition Security?
The Beans Is How Campaign, Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball, and I partnered to write this article to share about the incredible power of pulses! Here is the opening, and then please click the link to see the full article.
A staggering 2.3 billion people – nearly 30% of the world’s population – were food insecure in 2021, and an even larger number of 3.1 billion could not afford a healthy diet. While numbers like these may be hard to fathom, they paint a stark reality. We need immediate action moving beyond primary food insecurity response (i.e., providing sufficient food supply), to advance nutrition security, or consistent access to nutrient-dense foods that promote well-being throughout the supply chain. Thankfully, we already have a perfect solution: beans and other pulses. Through the power of partnership, we are uniting to amplify a clear message on the power of pulses. Beans is how (#BeansisHow) we can help tackle our seemingly insurmountable nutrition insecurity problems.
Read the rest of the article on Nutrition Connect, here.
Looking for More Information About World Pulses Day?
2016 was the International Year of Pulses. Building on that momentum and wanting to make sure pulses continued to be recognized, February 10th was named World Pulses Day. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has endless fantastic resources. You can find those here.
Spread the Bean Love
Pulses truly are the perfect food. Please share in the comments why you love pulses, how you like to enjoy them, fun pulse resources you like, or really anything pulse related. We can all learn from and be inspired by one another!
May your day – and the rest of your year, and life 🙂 – be full of delicious, nutritious, sustainable pulses!
PS Looking for a way to bring a smile to someone’s face? Write them a bean Valentine and share a fun fact about pulses.
