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Legumes at re:publica!

Author: Elisabeth Berlinghof, Tiny Farms, and Anne Moïta Ngarboui, intern for PR at Global Bean

At this year’s Re:publica, an event in Berlin from the 8 to the 10th of June, Carla Ulrich (Tiny Farms, Slow Food Youth), Sofia Elisabeth Berlinghof (Tiny Farms, Slow Food Youth) and Ekkehard Spiegel (Weltacker/Global Field, and Global Bean) held a workshop on “Leguminati Calling: The solution for the food of the future lies in legumes” as part of Our Food our Future.

Carla Ulrich and Sofia Elisabeth Berlinghof. Photo© Moritz Niebeling & Carla Ulrich.

In addition to trying out legume snacks from Benedikt Sprenker, Hülsenreich and Bohnikat, the workshop also worked on the foundations for a digital legume map that is to be created with Slow Food.  The aim of this map is to facilitate the link between legume producers and consumers in a given area. Indeed legumes – i.e. beans, lentils & Co – are underestimated heroes in the field. They enrich the soil, reduce our need for industrial fertilizers, provide us with low-resource-costly protein and taste delicious too.

Ekkehard Spiegel from the Global Bean, explaining how legumes are important for the soil. Photo© Moritz Niebeling & Carla Ulrich.

It was the first re:publica event in two years, and many visitors came to the workshop. According to Ekkhard Spiegel, it was a great to be able to exchange on legumes with the public, and the setting really enabled to have engaging conversations. Many had previous knowledge, and were really invested in the topic.

Important questions are: which legumes are growing around us? What does bean diversity taste like? And what would help us, on a map, to eat more local legumes?

Further articles

Become a Pulse Ambassador Workshop

The importance of pulses (lentils, Phaseolus beans, peas (Pisum and Lathyrus), chickpeas, fava beans, cowpeas) for sustainable cropping systems and healthy diets is widely and increasingly recognized. This workshop highlighted the benefits of pulses and the opportunities to use their potential to enhance the diversity of cropping systems and in diets for the protein transition, combining agronomic, sociological, nutritional and gastronomic aspects. A large space was given for interaction between participants about ways to promote pulses in their own communities.

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