Pea power: Can the humble crop save the planet?

When Tyler Lorenzen first started selling protein powders derived from peas, he received some "weird shapes".

A former professional athlete, he stayed with the NFL's New Orleans Saints until 2011. He knew a lot about nutrition and believed in pea protein, but others were not sure about the benefits.

In 2013, he was working for Puris, a family business in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who just developed his own pea protein.

But when they tried to sell, the customers were vague. "What are you doing … Pea protein? I didn't even know there was protein in peas."

The company also had to fight childhood memories of those who eat peas, which wasn't necessarily cute for their products.

"Most people's memories of eating peas are not pleasant or delicious."

But the company's timing was good. Health-conscious consumers were looking for alternatives to dairy products and beans.

Peas protein can be found in all kinds of food for many years, turning into a boom, from meatless burgers to dairy-free cheese. You can also drink pea "milk".

Historical trends

For decades, soybeans were the main source of vegetable protein, but as millennium changed, they became less popular.

Some people are simply allergic to beans, so they needed something else.

The fact that soy protein often comes from genetically modified soybean crops has led to the withdrawal of other consumers, especially in Europe.

In addition, hexane, a solvent extracted from oil, is commonly used to extract proteins from soybeans. The industry says almost all chemicals are removed before soy protein is brought to market, but for some consumers, hexane use is a trade breaker.

Thus, pea protein, which does not require chemicals in the production process, has become an attractive alternative.

In addition, the crops are rich and fond of crops, which are yellow crops.

“Dogs are a really good crop,” said Bill Gel, who has raised a family for three generations in southern Saskatchewan in Canada.

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Relatively dry weather is suitable for the production of pulses-peas, beans and lentils are common in his fat.

Bill says farmers like yellow peas because, like other beans, they carry nitrogen from the air to the soil and make it more fertile.

Gehl said, “There are financial incentives.

Peas do not produce as much wheat as per acre, but the price per bushel is generally higher and does not require more fertilizer.

"them [peas] It would not have affected the downtown of the world economy. "

As demand for pea protein surges, Bill's demand for peas will likely be supported.

Henk Hoogenkamp, ​​a food company's advisor on pea protein technology, expects the industry to produce 340 to 350 tonnes of pea protein next year.

Processing plants are opening at a rapid pace to supply demand. Furis received a $ 75 million investment from the US food giant Cargill all summer long and is a new plant in Minnesota that can double the production of pea protein.

The initial demand for pea protein was in powder form and was used as a supplement for shakes and drinks.

But recently it has been integrated into more products.

“The market is as advanced as we've never seen before,” says Hoogenkamp, ​​who advises food companies on pea protein technology.

He says he receives more than one call a week from a company that wants to consume pea protein.

There is a need from companies that manufacture vegetable "meat" products and dairy-free yogurt, cheese and milk.

Perhaps the best known is Beyond Meat, which makes vegetable meat products and rose to the stock market worth $ 1.5 billion this year.

Hoogenkamp said the increase in plant protein surprised traditional or traditional food giants.

"Three years ago, the legacy industry was laughing at these companies. No more laughing."

"The millennium generation has awakened fundamentally and their taste is changing dramatically by replacing animals with vegetable proteins in affluent countries."

Green support

Environmental groups expect to support vegetable protein to curb meat consumption.

Richard George, director of greenpeace forests, said, “The world's top scientists have consistently said that they should cut meat consumption by more than half to prevent climate destruction.

"Pea protein is undoubtedly one of the many options. Changing our eating habits won't be easy. But the more options we have, the better our chances of success."

But the rise of pea protein must remain in perspective.

Global meat consumption is 330 million tons per year, one million times higher than the annual production of pea protein.

If meat consumption is expected to continue to increase, modest peas will still be modest for some time.

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