Pulse Innovation Miami highlights health and sustainability
By ASHLYN TOLEDO The American Pulse Association hosted the first Pulse Innovation Miami event at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management on Saturday, October 22, 2016, to raise awareness about pulses - the dried seeds of legume plants such as lentils, chickpeas and other dry beans. The event also celebrated the United Nations’ designation of 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. Pulses play an important role in human health. Because they are both rich in nutrients and very inexpensive to farm, environmental scientists and health experts alike believe pulses are a key part of our agricultural future. Brian Machovina studied ecology and food sustainability as a doctoral student with the Department of Biological Sciences at FIU. He was a guest speaker at the event and believes we should all be eating more plants. For years he has advocated a 90/10 diet, where just 10% of your food intake comes from animal products. “Increasing the consumption of pulses is a very important - and delicious - strategy for promoting environmental sustainability,” he said. “Pulses are a great source of protein that can help us reduce our intake of meat. By replacing some of our meat consumption with pulses, we can help reduce the amount of land required to produce food and the large amounts of soil erosion, water use, chemical biocide use, antibiotic use and biodiversity loss associated with livestock production.” Robyn Webb, a nutritionist and award-winning cookbook author who specializes in diabetes, was a panelist at the event. She recommends pulses to many of her clients. “Pulses are perfect,” she said. “I personally eat pulses most days...they are the perfect food to control blood sugar, which in turn prevents diabetes complications.” As [...]
