The Skåne Bean
Green proteins from Skåne
Increased cultivation of legumes such as yellow and green peas, gray peas, field beans, lentils and lupins in Sweden is good for several reasons. First of all, it is good for the Swedish food supply because today’s lack of Swedish raw materials makes us dependent on imports. Legumes are an excellent emergency food because they are easy to dry and store.
Legumes are nitrogen-fixing crops that improve the quality of the soil and reduce the need for fertilizer in the fields. This means that an increased proportion of legumes leads to reduced dependence on imported commercial fertiliser.
Legumes are rich in protein and a climate-smart alternative to animal proteins. The market for plant-based proteins is growing globally, which means export opportunities for Swedish food companies. The problem is that too little is grown in Sweden, and the crops are not even enough for the domestic market.
In order to put a Swedish flag on more plant-based foods, it is necessary that it becomes more profitable to grow and that more processing facilities are built both at the farm level (cleaning, drying, peeling) and on an industrial scale (production of preserves, frozen products and ingredients for whole products including meat substitute). Skåne has the potential to become a leading region in Sweden when it comes to protein from legumes and pave the way for increased cultivation and processing throughout Sweden.
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