Ahead of Pulses 23, Bronwen Evans caught up with Paul Newnham to gain his insights on reaching the SDGs, Beans is How, and what he’s looking forward to as a keynote speaker at the convention.
Paul Newnham is the Executive Director at the SDG2 Advocacy Hub, which brings together “NGOs, agricultural networks, nutritionists, campaigners, civil society, the private sector and UN agencies to co-ordinate advocacy efforts and achieve SDG2 (Sustainable Development Goal 2: zero hunger) by 2030”
Paul Newnham is the opening keynote speaker at Pulses 23, taking place on May 28-31 in Sydney Australia. Not registered yet? SIGN UP HERE!
Pulses 23 is a unique opportunity to learn about industry trends, engage with thought-leaders and maximize networking with organizations across the world. I’m most looking forward to learning more about the world of pulses; I’m continuously amazed by the benefits and progress that pulses present to the world, and am eager to meet the businesses across the industry who are innovating in their products and marketing.
Conventions such as Pulses 23 are important because they provide a specialized space for experts in the field to come together, share experiences and knowledge, and go home with new ideas for collaboration and progress. We cannot work in silos, we have to come together to discuss, share, and learn. I’m honored to be the opening keynote speaker, to present Beans is How and to explore new collaboration opportunities to increase pulse consumption across the globe.
Beans is How was officially launched this past November at COP27 by the SDG2 Advocacy Hub and a coalition of partners. It aims to double the global consumption of beans (as well as peas, lentils and chickpeas) by 2028. The campaign will look to amplify and make visible the importance of beans as a simple, affordable solution to our global financial, health and climate problems while uplifting policy and academic research, and galvanizing significant stakeholder action to reach its ambitious targets and goals.
To transition beans from a ‘should’ to a ‘want’, we will engage key audiences across food systems and beyond to champion beans in their work: the farmers who grow them, scientists who study them, companies who sell them, chefs who serve them, and people who consume them. Everyone, everywhere has a role to play in elevating beans to their rightful place.
In the next five years, the campaign aims to move the needle on a broad set of behavior change, policy and sustainable development targets:
Shift diets globally, emphasizing less meat consumption due to increased plant protein alternatives (in the form of beans, among others) accessible and affordable to all; increase the number of staple foods consumed (maize, wheat etc.) from 4 to 5 crops.
Improve malnutrition rates due to the highly nutritious value of pulses that can be made accessible through services and markets.
Reduce food waste, beans and pulses can be dried or canned to ensure longevity as a cupboard staple.
Increase production as well as innovation/research for additional crops each year; and boost arid environment beans and pulses that require little water to grow.
Contribute to climate change stabilization by promoting agricultural practices related to bean harvests that respect the environment.
Decrease soil degradation and improve soil quality overall (pulses are the cornerstone of agroecology, converting atmospheric nitrogen to a plant usable form and thus increasing soil nitrogen, and making protein rich seeds).
The ways in which we grow, process and transport food – our food systems – are damaging the health of our planet. Agriculture contributes up to a third of greenhouse gas emissions while a third of all food is wasted.
Climate change and zero hunger goals need to be addressed and urgent action delivered on multiple levels across food supply chains. We must ensure that the farmers who grow pulses have the tools and safety nets needed to address the many challenges posed by climate change, including soil degradation, loss and damage, seed diversity, unpredictable weather patterns, water scarcity, access to technical innovations such as weather data and improved agricultural practices, and more.
Suppliers and sellers, who bridge the gap between the producers and eaters have a big role to play in more sustainable production, packaging, transportation, food waste and in nudging consumer behavior.
We must ensure food security for people in the most fragile settings and ensure they receive the nutrients they need; we must also provide support to those in more food secure places to increase access to healthy, climate-friendly diets while educating about how these food choices impact the climate and their health.
“We must ensure that the farmers who grow pulses have the tools and safety nets needed to address the many challenges posed by climate change”
Engaging with diverse stakeholders and showing the complementarity between actions is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution; we must instead pursue multiple actions and inspire actors to work together in parallel. Beans is How is a solutions-focused campaign that encourages the adoption of existing climate-positive behaviour changes. Pulses as a crop, are an uncomplicated yet powerful gamechanger: good for people, good for the planet, and good for prosperity. Alongside other initiatives to address converging global issues (and crises), pulses offer a fundamental added value. They play an important role in addressing malnutrition, climate change, and the rising costs of living. We need to build this story in an accessible and enticing way.
At the same time, we need to bring together actors from across sectors to break down silos and find a way to engage in food systems transformation. Scientists, nutritionists, food industry professionals, chefs, farmers, humanitarians and development workers, everyone has a story to tell with beans (as well as lentils, peas and chickpeas) and can play a part in elevating them to help reach the goals.
While more and more awareness is entering mainstream communications, there are still obstacles related to convenience, taste and shifting food trends. At the same time, while we see a growing consortium of stakeholders jumping on the beans bandwagon, there is a risk of duplication, overlap and fragmentation in approaches. We also need to ensure an equitable and inclusive shift along the supply chain to ensure smallholder farmers don’t get left behind. For this reason it’s incredibly important that actors work together to achieve these goals, with a unified voice and mission, rather than in silos.
Chefs and restaurants play a big part in showcasing the versatility, diversity and tastiness of pulses. Food marketing, media, communications and the food industry also have a big role to play. People’s food choices are driven mainly by price, convenience, and taste. Therefore, we are making an effort to include these social influencers to help us change perceptions around pulses to make them more desirable while educating about all their inherent benefits.
In this day and age, public and private sectors alike are aware and held accountable for promoting and upholding sustainable practices and food which are good for both people and planet. As more organisations, companies, and industries in the food system assess their own impact and define their approaches, they are increasingly challenged to think about how to improve these practices, including how they grow and source food and what those foods are.
In the public sector, for example, governments providing aid to some of the world’s most urgent humanitarian crises are promoting pulses through food baskets to address malnutrition, and some countries promote pulses in their own national dietary guidelines, although more needs to be done on this front.
In the private sector, multinational food and beverage companies, tech and foundations, among others, are recognizing the importance of ensuring accessible, affordable healthy diets to ensure the health of entire communities and nations. This has led to a global call for improving our food systems and diets, part of which includes reducing animal protein consumption in many parts of the world, and promoting plant-forward protein options which are affordable and accessible as well as being better for the planet.
Citizens are also more aware, and often hold the public and private sector to account through their purchasing and voting power.
Citizens are also more aware, and often hold the public and private sector to account through their purchasing and voting power. Since pulses play such a key role in regenerative farming and healthy diets, it would be difficult to ignore their ability to help drive action on the SDGs. These tiny but mighty foods are already a major part of many cultures and have been a critical core commodity throughout time. It has been wonderful to see they are starting to gain renewed recognition globally. However, while awareness may be increasing with some target markets, we must continue to drive education in order to influence all aspects of food systems and beyond. We have seen increasing shifts towards “western diets”, heavy in saturated fats, refined sugars, salt, and animal protein consumption. The public and private sector need to work together to advocate for and implement policies which make nutritious, healthy food accessible and affordable.
Disclaimer: The opinions or views expressed in this publication are those of the authors or quoted persons. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Global Pulse Confederation or its members.
