Viewpoint: Create a bean feast on your menu

Beans and pulses are sustainable and cheap – Lizzie Hennig and Bettina Campolucci Bordi have joined forces and want chefs to put their favourite dish on the menu for a nationwide campaign

 

Beans is How is an ambitious campaign by the SDG2 Advocacy Hub to double the global consumption of beans (as well as peas, lentils and other pulses) by 2028. We at BaxterStorey have become the first caterer to sign up to the pledge.

 

The campaign seeks to amplify and make visible the importance of beans as a simple, affordable solution to our global financial, health and environmental challenges, while uplifting policy and academic research. Beans is How has a multi-layered structure comprising the Bean Board, the Science and Innovation Advisory Council and the Bean Coalition.

 

Beans and other pulse crops are a cornerstone of the transition towards a more sustainable agri-food system, with the potential to address our climate, health and cost of living challenges while increasing the resilience of local and global food systems. However, global bean consumption is estimated at only about 21g per day per capita.

 

Beans are nutrient-dense and rich in protein and dietary fibre, which is great for gut health. They have no cholesterol, are low in fat and rich in micronutrients, including iron, potassium and B vitamins like folate.

 

Meanwhile, incorporating beans into farming can improve soil and water quality by reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers and using less water than many other crops.

 

They’re an ingredient used across so many cultures and cuisines and are a very affordable source of protein. They are also versatile; they can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner or as snacks, can be served as standalone dishes, as toppings or incorporated into sauces, spreads, desserts and beverages.

 

They can make fine dining dishes or street food. You can buy them dry, canned or jarred and they last for a long time. They can be used in a chilli, baked, added to a smoothie, or a burger to reduce the meat content. There are also hundreds of varieties available with different textures and flavours, many of which are under-used.

 

The hospitality sector has a huge role to play here in spreading the word and influencing consumer behaviour towards a more affordable, healthy and plant-forward diet, and the campaign is encouraging restaurants, caterers and other food providers to get more bean dishes on their menus.

 

As one of the first to sign the #beansishow pledge, we plan to get more beans on our menus across the business and inspire, educate, excite our teams about beans and stimulate conversations around how they can be used more throughout our offering. We feed over a million mouths just at lunchtime so the difference we can have is massive. Think how much more of an impact we could have if every caterer in the UK signed up, let alone every hospitality business in the country.

 

Our chef partner Bettina Campolucci Bordi, who is also part of the Chefs’ Manifesto and an ambassador for the #beansishow campaign, has designed seven recipes for us that will be launched across our venues, including a chickpea scramble and chocolate banana muffins made with chickpeas.

 

Getting more beans on our menus will also be a key part of our new environmental, social and corporate governance strategy.

 

It’s already going down brilliantly with our teams and in getting our chefs to think outside the box. We have a plan to spread the campaign further across the business and it ties in with our 5Cs (craft, creativity, community, carbon and cheer). We are always thinking about how we can make more use of beans and they are an example of how we can serve more sustainable food.

 

It’s also going down well with our customers, who are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of what they eat and want us to be doing all we can as a business towards that.

 

All we’re asking is for businesses to sign the pledge, add a delicious bean-based dish to their menu and share the word about the benefits of beans and why they’re key to a sustainable future. The #beansishow campaign has loads of resources and information available at sdg2advocacyhub.org/beans-is-how

 

The more businesses that get involved, the more impact we’ll have, so let’s as an industry get behind it and do what we can to prevent irreversible and catastrophic climate change by signing the pledge and putting #beansonthemenu!

 

Lizzie Hennig is the head of nutrition at BaxterStorey

 

Bettina Campolucci is chef partner at BaxterStorey