A praise for legumes
Today is World Pulses Day, which was officially established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 20, 2018. Pulses play an important role in making food systems more sustainable. Our experts at corsus and corsus research are involved in many research projects on pulses and their role in transforming our food systems.
Pulses, i.e. beans, peas, chickpeas, lupins, and lentils, are among the best sources of plant-based protein. In terms of protein digestibility, soybeans score highest among pulses. Their protein quality is rated as very good – just as good as salmon. Animal proteins all have very good protein quality. However, the quality of proteins is not as decisive as is often emphasized. It simply means that other sources of protein should be consumed for a balanced diet, such as various legumes. This is because only products with a value of 100 percent contain all essential amino acids, i.e., the amino acids that our body cannot produce itself.
In addition to protein quality, the nutrient density of products is also a key factor. And here, it is clear that almost all legumes perform significantly better than meat or cow’s milk. Only salmon has a higher nutrient density than legumes.
Legumes are an inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and healthy food that should be consumed much more frequently.
But what about legumes in the German diet?
A look at Germany shows that we currently eat significantly fewer legumes than recommended by the German Nutrition Society (DGE) or the Eat Lancet Commission. This is not only problematic from a health perspective, as legumes are also ecologically beneficial. Compared to animal protein sources, they have a significantly lower environmental impact and also offer many advantages in cultivation:
- They use atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into a form that can be used by plants. In this way, they help to reduce the use of mineral fertilizers.
- They contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases by binding carbon in the soil.
- They add organic matter to the soil, promote the soil microbiome, improve soil structure, and thus promote soil fertility.
In addition, legumes can be grown with little effort in many regions of the world. They are therefore a cost-effective, ecologically beneficial, and healthy food that contributes to food security and should be consumed much more frequently. According to the recommendations of the German Nutrition Society (DGE), we should increase our consumption of legumes by 25 percent, and according to the recommendations for a Planetary Health Diet by the Eat Lancet Commission, by as much as 88 percent!
Protein quality is expressed by the DIAAS score (Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score). It takes into account, in particular, the digestibility and availability of essential amino acids in the human body.
Nutrient density is measured using the Nutrient Rich Food Index (NRF). This index evaluates the content of desirable nutrients in relation to nutrients that are harmful to health and integrates this into a single value.
The NRF* describes the protein quality-related nutrient density. This makes it easier to compare the environmental impact of different foods, as it integrates the ratio of desirable nutrients to unhealthy nutrients into a single value and also takes into account the varying quality of the proteins contained.
World Pulses Day
World Pulses Day, which was officially established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 20, 2018, was celebrated for the first time on February 10, 2019. Following the successful International Year of Pulses in 2016, it was established at the suggestion of Burkina Faso. Its purpose is to highlight the potential of pulses for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to raise awareness of the importance of pulses for sustainable nutrition. The Food and Agriculture Organization puts it this way: “This celebration presents a unique opportunity to raise public awareness about pulses and the fundamental role they play in the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.” [1]
[1] https://www.fao.org/world-pulses-day/en (accessed on: 3.2.2026)
