November 19, 2020 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM EST

Description: A webinar that explores and compares the health, environmental and food systems impacts of plant-based proteins and cell-based meats.

Background: Retail and restaurant data confirm that consumers are increasingly interested in swapping out meat for plant-based options for reasons of health and sustainability. Food companies are quickly responding with a myriad of new products, while supermarkets make more room on the shelves. In fact, U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods grew 11.4% in 2019 to a record $5 billion (Good Food Institute). These products, often marketed as better for health, the environment or animal welfare offer consumers an easy swap; however, research indicates that these products have varying impacts on public health and sustainability indicators. Absent from much of this conversation is the humble bean. Beans and legumes have long been an alternative to meat-heavy meals, and offer many benefits beyond protein, from lowering the risk of chronic disease for consumers to improving the soils in which they grow.

During this webinar, we will highlight a 2020 paper by The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) that reviewed the current knowledge of the public health impacts of both processed plant-based meat substitutes and cell-based meats. We will follow with a presentation on the role of legumes in public health and sustainability, as well as barriers to scaling up bean consumption globally. We’ll finish with a discussion on how practitioners can help consumers incorporate more plant-based proteins and a mouth-watering food demo by a Slow Food Chef.

Part 1: Meat Alternatives and Public Health, Raychel Santo

A new review from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) is the first holistic evaluation of meat alternatives using a public health and food systems perspective. It also provides the most comprehensive review to date of the greenhouse gas footprints, land use, and blue (i.e., irrigation) water footprints of plant-based substitutes and cell-based meat as compared to conventional meats, seafood, and whole legumes.

Part 2: The valuable role of legumes in public health and the potential for scaling up production and consumption globally, Becky Ramsing

Although legumes (beans, lentils and peas) have long been a part of our global diet, their capacity to provide adequate nutrition, as well as consumers’ willingness to incorporate them into their menus have both limitations and opportunities. Building on the CLF Meat Alternatives review, we will take a closer look at legumes and their important role in public health and sustainable diets.

Part 3: Farmers come together around Beans, Carolina Modena (Chef Demo and Slow Food )

The Slow Beans Network brings together bean producers farmers from around Italy to promote the culture and importance of beans in their communities for nutrition and sustainability. As a part of Slow Food Italy, they incorporate the priniciples of hospitality, responsibility, respect for the environment and socio-cultural dynamics of their communiities, working to ensure that everyone has access to nutritious and tasty food. Indeed, the core values expressed in the Slow Beans manifesto are Ethics, Sobriety and Responsibility.

Incorporating Beans into your weekly menu, Slow Beans Chef Gabriella Cinelli

A tantalizing demo and tips for making delicious bean dishes a part of your weekly menu.

FREE TO ATTEND

REGISTER AT: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_akBNn3f5QnWZZscU9G2k3w

MORE INFORMATION AT: https://meatless-monday.hivebrite.com/events/45336