Northarvest Bean Growers and the Plant Protein Innovation Center are digging into ways to unleash the uses of dry b ean proteins for consumers hungry for healthy, sustainable solutions.
Grains and meats are both great sources of protein that often hold the spotlight.But legumes, like dry edible beans, offer protein with the benefit of fiber that helps unleash protein’s power. They are also a sustainable crop offering nitrogen fixation that’s beneficial to other crops in a rotation.
This is information that Northarvest Bean Growers executive director Mitch Coulter said he and others in the dry bean world need to continue to talk about in order to better market a crop to a world looking for sustainable, healthy options.
Getting more beans in consumer diets is key, Coulter explained. While the U.S. consumer may have their eyes on more protein in their diet, they should not ignore the fiber in beans that can help harness that protein.“The U.S. consumer is very short on fiber, and so if you can get fiber implemented with that, it'll help digest protein quicker and more compete,” Coulter said. He sees that fiber as a significant driver for consumers.“So that's where some of the interest with dry beans is, is, ‘Hey, there's this great fiber source that comes with that product when you're trying to isolate protein, and it would help break it down,’” Coulter said of bean capabilities.
