ETN 202: Pulses are Racing
Hello
I know the price of everything and the value of nothing, as the great man said.
Well, I don’t, but I’m trying.
More on the Price of Pulse Protein
A couple of further considerations emerged from my brief dive into the cost of pulse proteins compared to livestock, dairy and eggs. One is the cost of preparation which, leaving aside all the other factors, is effectively the cost of the energy needed to render the food edible. Again, despite looking quite hard, I’ve not been able to find anything definitive. Clearly some part will depend on the relative costs of gas and electricity, but then there’s the cooking method. A saucepan on top of the stove is going to cost more than a pressure cooker, for sure. An electric pressure cooker, or slow cooker, might be less expensive still.
That conclusion is borne out by one study that attempted a life-cycle analysis for dry beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils. Cooking in an electric pressure cooker decreased the overall environmental impact considerably, while a stovetop pressure cooker had a large impact only for dry beans and chickpeas. Quantity makes a difference too: cooking 1kg rather than 60g decreased the overall environmental impact by somewhere between 50 and 90 percent. I normally cook 250g batches, but if I cook more than 250g I either have to freeze some or else get very, very bored. Any suggestions?
The study “identified the consumer stage as the hotspot for environmental impact in the supply chain of pulses in the United States,” largely the result of using electricity. But that is for total environmental impact, and says nothing about price per gram of protein.
Maybe buying pre-cooked pulses would be best for the environment, but not if they come from too far away. It would definitely be more expensive than cooking them yourself, but how about a friendly local bulk supplier for the best of all worlds? I also wonder how a slow cooker might compare with a modern haybox? And what about a low oven that is maybe preparing some other stuff too? So many variables, so little information.
The other consideration, raised by a subscriber to the newsletter, is the “completeness” of pulse proteins compared to animal sources. That, I don’t think, needs too much further analysis. Every culture knows that the amino acid shortages of pulses are balanced by the surpluses of cereals, and vice versa, whether it is chapatis and dal, tortillas y frijoles, or beans on toast. With all the other unknowables out there, factoring in the additional cost of the cereal amino acids needed to complement the pulse amino acids is surely a comparison too far.
Solar Pulses
One high-tech way to lower the environmental impact of pulses might be to grow them under solar panels, according to an article in Anthropocene. Reporter Emma Bryce points out that “It’s an ironic fact that sun-harvesting solar panels function better when they’re not too hot”. Planting crops beneath them can cool the panels down, increasing their efficiency and probably prolonging their life too.
The details matter, of course. The height of the panels above the crops is important, and depends on things like average wind speeds. Still, panels 4m above a crop of soybeans were 10°C cooler than panels 50cm above bare ground. In a model.
Will any grower — or electricity utility — be tempted to put that into practice?
Recognising Indigenous Seed Savers
You may know, by now, that I have something of a keen interest in plant varieties selected and cared for by farmers because they suit their needs, varieties that are usually shared freely with others. That’s in distinction to most commercial seed companies who select varieties that suit their business models and their customers — big growers, generally — and who shroud their varieties in all kinds of restrictions, even when those varieties depend originally on some of the freely-given farmer varieties.
One approach to rewarding indigenous farmer communities is the multilateral system of access and benefit-sharing of the International Seed Treaty, which is, you know, OK. I am more heartened, though, by a recent piece about Fedco, a highly-respected seed company based in Maine.
Since 2018 Fedco has been designating some of the seeds it sells as “indigenously stewarded,” and returning 10% of seed sales to Nibezun, a local project that serves the Penobscot and Abenaki people.
Direct reward is not without its complications, as the article in Modern Farmer makes clear. I suggested to my compadre Luigi that Fedco was bypassing the multilateral system.
“Complementing the MLS 😇” he replied.
I think he has to say that.
Water Wealth
David Zetland, who spoke to me about speculation and markets, drew attention to the importance of global water supplies in his book The End of Abundance. A new study on the trade in virtual water — especially crops that use water in one country and are exported to another — suggests that the entire trade in embedded water is “only a temporary solution to a local-to-regional unbalance between populations and food production”. Increased demand for water in the exporting countries, the result of growing populations, is bound to curb exports. What will the wealthy countries that import embedded water in food do then? The researchers look at three possible solutions.
Nations will cooperate, so that water-rich countries set aside part of their food production for export.
Consumption patterns will change, so that importing countries require less embedded water to feed their people.
Demographic growth will spur technological innovations that reduce crop water requirements.
Maybe.
Fish Trends
Last week I made myself a supper of sardines on toast (with steamed agretti). Nothing too remarkable about that, except that, without even knowing it, I was totally on trend. Apparently #tinnedfishdatenight is a thing, a ”sensation sweeping the planet” fuelled by, er, tinned fish, FOMO and the cost of living.
I happened to be date free on that night as the date was otherwise engaged, so I took the opportunity to catch up on my reading: Inside the Fraserburgh factory fuelling worldwide TikTok sensation Tinned Fish Date Night. Fascinating, if a little breathless.
The Last Word on the Price of Protein?
I doubt it, and some of the options do not include the cost of cooking, but 20 healthy, cheap protein sources has the virtue of actually offering calculated comparative prices to obtain 25g of protein in the US.
Take care.
