Collaboration among sectors to increase pulse consumption Ann N Y Acad Sci ISSN 0077 8923 ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Issue The Potential of Pulses to Meet Today’s Health Challenges Sta[.]
Ann N.Y Acad Sci ISSN 0077-8923 A N N A L S O F T H E N E W Y O R K A C A D E M Y O F SC I E N C E S Issue: The Potential of Pulses to Meet Today’s Health Challenges: Staple Foods Collaboration among sectors to increase pulse consumption Julianne Curran,1 Milla McLachlan,2 Richard Black,3 Irv Widders,4 and Mark Manary5 Pulse Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Rapid Results Institute, Stamford, Connecticut Tufts University, Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy, Boston, Massachusetts Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan School of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Emergency Medicine, Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri Address for correspondence: Julianne Curran, Ph.D., Vice President, Food & Health, Pulse Canada, 1212-220 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3C 0A5 jcurran@pulsecanada.com The United Nations declaration of 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP) provided an unprecedented opportunity to showcase pulses on the global stage for their contribution to affordable nutrition, health, and sustainability Despite the IYP’s successes in stakeholder engagement, continuing to foster and strengthen partnerships and collaborations is necessary to meet the IYP goals of increased pulse production and consumption for human benefit Shifting consumer behavior to increase pulse consumption emerged during IYP meetings as a shared priority for all stakeholders Focusing on this shared priority provides an opportunity to strengthen collaboration among all stakeholder groups for research, education, marketing, and ingredient/food production Although the IYP officially closed at the end of 2016, the pulse community has an opportunity to continue building successful collaborations The future research agenda can foster increased pulse production and consumption to address global nutrition, health, and sustainability challenges, provided that it is developed with multisectorial perspectives and cross-disciplinary collaborations But, most importantly, the research agenda for pulses must be centered more deliberately on the end consumer and how to drive shifts in behavior toward increased pulse consumption, as this is the common shared priority around which all stakeholders can rally Keywords: pulses; agriculture; multisectorial collaboration; shifting consumption; research agenda A special issue of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (Ann NY Acad Sci 1392: XX–XX (2017)) highlights how increasing consumption of pulses can help address challenges related to the health of the population and the planet Pulse industry collaboration with all sectors and scientific disciplines is necessary to drive this change The United Nations (UN) declaration of 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP) provided an unprecedented opportunity to showcase pulses on the global stage for their contribution to affordable nutrition, health, and sustainability Objectives established by the global pulse community for the IYP included (1) to increase pulse production by 10% from 2015 to 2020, (2) to increase pulse consumption by 10% from 2015 to 2020, and (3) to improve market access to facilitate local, national, and international trade Perhaps the greatest achievement of the IYP has been the development of many successful collaborations and partnerships among countries and sectors IYP facilitated the establishment of 38 national committees and attracted 29 companies as sponsors and over 25 global partners to carry out IYP initiatives Four international committees comprising experts in the areas of food processing innovation, human health, food and nutritional security, global trade, agriculture, and environmental science came together to develop a common vision and action plan for 2016 As a result of international cooperation among these stakeholders, activities took place in over 30 countries, reaching billions of people worldwide For example, on January 6, 2016, a collective campaign called Pulse Feast reached a total of 21 million people through 141 events taking place doi: 10.1111/nyas.13321 C 2017 The Authors Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Ann N.Y Acad Sci xxxx (2017) 1–3 published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc on behalf of New York Academy of Sciences This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes Collaboration to increase pulse consumption in 36 countries on that day Throughout 2016, food product innovation with pulses was encouraged in 10 different countries through a global product development initiative Thousands of products were developed by students and professionals, demonstrating the versatility of pulses across an array of applications, food product categories, and cultural contexts Despite the IYP’s successes in stakeholder engagement, new and strengthened partnerships and collaborations will be necessary to meet the IYP goals of increased pulse production and consumption for human benefit Four different terms are often used interchangeably to describe partnership behaviors These four behaviors, or “4 Cs,” are communication, cooperation, coordination, and collaboration Communication refers to the sharing of information openly and transparently Cooperation involves accepting input from other stakeholders while maintaining complete control over a project Coordination ensures that there are no overlaps in communication strategies or research projects, that major opportunities are not missed, and that any given project is developed to meet the needs of as broad a group as possible Collaboration involves co-ownership of an agenda, pooling resources and expertise, and open access to the benefits of collaboration for all partners involved Given the wide range of stakeholders, all with different priorities, collaboration on the pulse agenda requires a shared understanding of each other’s priorities and agreement on the core purpose of the collaboration The first step is to understand the broad range of interests of the diverse partners, acknowledging areas where interests compete, and to pursue consensus and joint effort in areas where there is alignment of interests Pulse stakeholders are a diverse group with varied challenges and needs Pulse producers, including small-, medium-, and large-scale farmers, need to balance a complex array of priorities that include increasing pulse yields and reducing input costs through improved, integrated crop-management practices They desire new technologies, such as improved pulse varieties that are adapted to local agroclimatic conditions, are suited for mechanical harvest, and possess traits valued by markets and end users Both pulse producers and pulse traders want unimpeded access to existing and emerging markets, especially opportunities to add value and to enhance Curran et al long-term market growth and stability For example, a rapidly growing sector of the pulse industry is processing and selling ingredients derived from pulses into new and/or higher value markets for utilization in food, feed, and industrial applications Other sectors, such as food industry groups, recognize the nutritional, health, and sustainability benefits of pulses and thus seek to promote these attributes to stimulate market growth Like primary producers, the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry selling pulse-based products benefits from increased pulse consumption but is challenged by low consumer awareness of and demand for pulses Many CPG stakeholders are seeking to expand markets by incorporating pulses into reformulated products or novel applications that meet nutritional targets (government mandated or voluntary) while concomitantly addressing regulatory, consumer, and cost pressures Public and private sector organizations that support or serve as advocates for pulse industries seek to address a complex set of nutrition, health, environmental, and economic challenges important to society through the development of tools, such as policies, regulations, guidelines, and public intervention programs The research community plays an integral role in generating effective evidence-based solutions that can be translated into actions by government agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and food industry groups Stakeholders of pulse value chains are optimistic about the future because pulses provide solutions to these challenges owing to their affordability, high nutrient density, promotion of good human health, and contributions to the sustainability of agricultural systems To date, the setting of research priorities for pulses has involved discussions among scientists and pulsegrower associations that represent the needs of both producers and processors The scientific community seeks to identify gaps in knowledge and the potential of new technologies and knowledge to solve problems or create opportunities Pulse growers, grain traders, and processors tend to prioritize research based on the need to sustain current high-demand markets In order to achieve the goal of increased pulse consumption, however, the pulse research agenda must focus first and foremost on how to shift behavior of nonpulse or limited pulse consumers Some of C 2017 The Authors Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Ann N.Y Acad Sci xxxx (2017) 1–3 published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc on behalf of New York Academy of Sciences Curran et al these potential consumers live in regions and cultures where pulses are not a familiar food Others live in traditional pulse-consuming regions and societies where dietary preferences and patterns are evolving toward more convenient and/or Westernized types of foods Some nonpulse consumers lack knowledge about pulses and thus an appreciation of the benefits they offer or have negative perceptions about their flavor or other attributes Certain groups of consumers are interested in increasing pulse consumption, especially those who desire to move toward a more nutritious, healthy, or sustainable diet but are challenged by limited knowledge on the preparation of pulses or are discouraged by long cooking times and reluctant to use canned products Some may also lack access to ready-to-eat pulse-based foods Understanding these nonpulse consumers and their behaviors that would foster increased pulse consumption is critical to sustaining and growing the pulse industry In the midst of conversations about challenges and opportunities by pulse value chain stakeholders during IYP events, the importance of shifting consumer behavior to increase pulse consumption has emerged as a shared priority for all Focusing on this shared priority presents an incentive to strengthen collaborations among all stakeholder groups on research, education, marketing, and ingredient/food production The research agenda therefore must be interdisciplinary and innovative and generate outputs that catalyze consumer behavior shifts Elucidating the research necessary to inform efforts to engage new consumers requires a deep understanding of why and how consumers might change behaviors and increase pulse consumption in their diets The food industry uses consumer behavior as a guide in developing new or reformulated products and strategies to market them Governments and NGOs should also consider implementing policies, regulations, and programs to achieve widespread behavioral change among consumers and populations By focusing on the consumer, the pulse industry will have more opportunities for collaborations and Collaboration to increase pulse consumption public–private partnerships with sectors that share societal goals that rely on consumer and industry change Although the IYP officially closed at the end of 2016, the pulse community is committed to building on its momentum by continuing to foster new partnerships and collaborations It could be argued that commitment is the fifth “C” needed for partnership A long-term vision and an ongoing commitment from core stakeholder groups will be critical to realize the goals of the IYP A committed group of pulse industry stakeholders must work together on developing and implementing two agendas The first is a focus on shifting consumer behavior toward increased pulse consumption through education, marketing, and actual food offerings The second is a research agenda to address fundamental knowledge gaps regarding consumer perspectives and dietary decision making Regular communication between the two streams, incorporating findings from research into the advocacy and consumer information agenda, and informing the research agenda with insights from communication activities will, over time, grow the pulse industry by shifting pulse consumption and utilization to unprecedented levels To quote Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The papers included in Ann NY Acad Sci 1392: XX–XX (2017) summarize the opportunity for pulses to address global concerns with respect to nutrition, health, and sustainability The future research agenda can foster increased pulse production and consumption to achieve these benefits, provided that it is developed with multisectorial perspectives and cross-disciplinary collaborations But, most importantly, the research agenda for pulses must be centered more deliberately on the end consumer and how to drive shifts in behavior toward increased pulse consumption, as this is the common shared priority around which all stakeholders can rally C 2017 The Authors Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Ann N.Y Acad Sci xxxx (2017) 1–3 published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc on behalf of New York Academy of Sciences ... focusing on the consumer, the pulse industry will have more opportunities for collaborations and Collaboration to increase pulse consumption public–private partnerships with sectors that share societal... reluctant to use canned products Some may also lack access to ready -to- eat pulse- based foods Understanding these nonpulse consumers and their behaviors that would foster increased pulse consumption. .. consumer behavior to increase pulse consumption has emerged as a shared priority for all Focusing on this shared priority presents an incentive to strengthen collaborations among all stakeholder