Location: Small Grain and Food Crops Quality Research
Project Number: 3060-21650-002-052-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2023
End Date: Dec 31, 2025
Objective:
The goal of this project is to establish the place of pulses within healthy, affordable, and environmentally sustainable diet patterns in the United States. To achieve this goal we will address the following Objectives: (1) Compare the nutrient density of pulses to other protein foods; (2) Estimate the mean intake of pulses among population subgroups in a nationally representative sample; (3) Evaluate whether greater intake of pulses reduces the risk of mortality in a nationally representative sample; and (4) Compare the overall diet quality, diet cost, and environmental sustainability for varying levels of pulse intake.
Approach:
The first objective will use a nutrient profiling system to compare pulses (dry peas, lentils, chickpeas, and dry beans) to other protein foods in terms of nutrients per calorie and nutrients per penny. The second objective will estimate the mean intake of pulses among population subgroups in a nationally representative sample from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The third objective will use survival analyses to evaluate whether greater intake of pulses reduces the risk of mortality in a NHANES sample. The fourth objective will compare the overall diet quality, diet cost, and environmental sustainability metrics (greenhouse gas emissions, energy demand, agricultural land use, pesticide use, fertilizer nutrient use, and irrigation water use) for varying levels of pulse intake.
