The Bean – Naturally Bridging Agriculture and Human Wellbeing

Abstract

Human existence requires a steady supply of food containing a multitude of vitamins, min‐ erals, trace elements, amino acids, essential fatty acids and obviously starch. Advances in crop production have mostly occurred in cereals like rice, wheat and maize, whereas grain legumes like bean and lentils only have experienced a quarter of these advances [1]. The shift have had consequences on the human wellbeing [2] as cereals after polishing or de‐ husking only contain small amounts of protein and micronutrients. The plant family Leguminosae is particular interesting as it is protein rich and possesses the capability to fix atmospheric N2 , which makes it independent off fuel-driven supplies of ni‐ trogen fertilizers. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is without comparison eaten more than any other grain legume [3]. Because of its importance it is often considered the ‘poor man’s meat’ although this comparison may not give full justice to the bean. Beans are rich in the amino acids lysine and methionine, making beans complementary to cereals. In addi‐ tion, they are rich in dietary fibre and low in oil content. Beans are genetically very diverse, adapted to local conditions and dietary preferences. An evaluation of the various collections by in particular CIAT and USDA Plant Germ System for useful traits has started but sophis‐ ticated plant breeding of the bean is sparse [e.g. 4, 5]. Beans are consumed as mature grain and immature seeds as well as green pods and leaves taken as vegetables [6]. As early as 1958, the UN organisation FAO organised a conference where the production and consumption of bean were discussed. In this context, [7] noted that data on production and consumption on grain legumes generally were incomplete. It seems plausible that this condition prevails till today given that a large proportion of the bean crops are produced for home consumption in backyards and small gardens and fre‐ quently it is also intercropped with maize by smallholders as a secondary crop. Consequent‐ ly, reliable statistics may be difficult to obtain regarding production. Bridging agriculture and human wellbeing is the answer to major challenges like world hunger, diminishing natural resources, and climate changes. The bridging can be done in two ways, either by enhancing the content of nutrients in the starch-rich stable food or by enhancing the accessibility of nutrient-dense food in the diet. Acknowledging beans impor‐ tance in the diet of large segments of the world population, we will in this chapter explore possibilities to bridge the production side with the consumption side. This we will do by fo‐ cussing on enhancing the amounts of important nutrients in our dominant diets. Enhancing the content of nutrient in the available food can be done via traditional fortifica‐ tion through the processing of diet elements. Or it can be done via the so-called ‘biofortifica‐ tion’, which aims at improving the genetic basis for making plant foods more nutritious as the plants are. Improving our access to nutrient dense food elements requires a different look as such food elements already may be part of the traditional diet. Such a look requires that local produc‐ tion and productivity is our vantage point and that peoples’ specific preferences and cul‐ tures may influence their preferences for cultivating particular cultivars. Such a vantage point requires that people are involved in the process [8] and this chapter will pursue this using the Phaseolus bean as a model for one nutrient-dense element of the diet.