Canada: New interest in pulses called a trend, not fad

Greg Cherewyk posed a question and then answered it during his recent presentation at the International Grains Council’s Grains Conference 2021. “Is all the interest we’re seeing in pulses fleeting?” said the president of Pulse Canada. “Are pulses just a fad or should they be considered a trend?” He noted that a fad is something that appears out of nowhere, takes people by surprise and then quickly disappears. A trend evolves slowly over time, builds gradually and leads to long-term changes that can influence culture for generations. “I’m a firm believer that pulses are not a fad but are central to a trend that’s here to stay,” said Cherewyk. Pulses have been part of human diets for thousands of years, with the first evidence of lentil consumption found in a cave in Greece dating back to 11,000 BC. “We’re not talking about a crop that only recently emerged on the scene,” he said. More than 170 countries around the world grow and export some type of pulse crop. But what about ...