Europe imports over 70% of the protein concentrates required for animal feed, mostly as soyabeans or soyabean meal. This situation is problematic in several economic and environmental respects. The objectives of Work package 'Economic and Environmental Analysis' of the European GRAIN LEGUMES Integrated Project (GLIP), were twofold: 1) to assess the economic and environmental impacts of grain legumes in animal feed and human nutrition and 2) to identify constraints to the increase of grain legume use. Two tools were used to analyse these questions: (i) economic feedstuff modelling (linear programming), allowing the calculation of optimal feedstuff formulas based on the composition and price of raw materials and the cost of transport and (ii) life cycle assessment (LCA), addressing the environmental impacts of products and production systems throughout the whole life cycle. In this special report we present a summary of the main results. Dossier from "Grain Legumes" magazine No.50 (February 2008) (AEP Editor) More...

In matters agricultural, it is useful to compare; the new with the ancient, the northern hemisphere with the southern, the good with the bad, the poor with the rich, the triumphs with the fiascos and to glean from all these differences, those practices that have advanced civilisations and those that have not. In this special issue devoted to the role of vetches (Vicia spp.) in agriculture, we have selected examples that are ripe for a concerted effort, not just to modify their genetic composition, but to use all the skills we have as scientists and agriculturalists, to raise these extraordinary legumes to a higher plane of usage and economic value for everyone. More...

Grain legume crops could offer many economic and environmental benefits if they were to be grown more widely in European crop rotations. The potential for increase would be great since grain legumes, such as peas, faba beans and lupins, represent only 1%–7% of the arable crops area in the EU, compared with 15%–25% outside Europe. Grain legumes are particularly relevant for sustainable cropping systems as shown by the results of economic and environmental studies undertaken within the scope of the Concerted Action GL-Pro1 supported by the EU. More...

Seeds of peas and faba beans have a mixed profile of raw materials, providing both energy and protein to feed humans and animals. Protein was the major reason for their development especially in Europe. Where the advantages of local supply are recognised, and as the deficit in material rich in protein is still rising in the EU (76% in 2003/4), increasing EU production of grain legumes would have a positive effect on EU supply. Crop yield and seed protein are the two key parameters for increasing this protein supply, and the enhancement of seed protein should be both quantitative and qualitative (acid profile amino and digestibility). More...

Lupin seeds have a high protein content and have been consumed for centuries especially in Mediterranean countries. However, they are still under-exploited in the food industry. Partners in Healthy-Profood (1) have carried out scientific and technological work on lupin seeds for the production of food ingredients useful in different food applications, and they have investigated their role in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
(1) EU project entitled 'Optimised processes for preparing healthy and added value food ingredients from lupin kernels' (QLRT 2001-002235, 1st January 2003 – 31st December 2005) More...

Abiotic stresses such as drought or salinity are interconnected with secondary stresses such as osmotic and oxidative stress. In tolerant plants, after the initial stress signals the downstream process involves transcription controls activating stress-responsive mechanisms that maintain or re-establish ion homeostasis, facilitate retention and/or acquisition of water, protect chloroplast functions and membrane integrity (1). In legumes, because soil related stress interacts with root systems and nodules, the specific relations with symbiotic nitrogen fixation require a special focus. (1) More...

With the 4th European Conference on Grain Legumes which takes place in Kraków, Poland in 2001, and with the forecasted enlargement of the EU, this is a good time to look at grain legumes in Central and Eastern Europe (1). These countries have a long tradition for growing these crops but, in general, the growing area and production have declined significantly over the last ten years. The major reasons have been the poor competitiveness of grain legumes compared with other crops and the increasing imports of cheap soyabean meal, which now forms a main protein component in animal feed rations. More...