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We know pulses have a positive impact on our environment by improving our air, water and earth. Discover why pulses are a fundamental element for a brighter future.

Canadian pulses are some of the most sustainable crops in the world.

Canadian pulses improve our air, water and earth. Find out how these popular plant proteins contribute to building a better planet.

Pulses grown in Canada are especially sustainable.

In addition to the general sustainability benefits of pulses, the production practices used by Canadian growers help to sequester carbon into the soil. Canadian farmers have adopted practices such as minimum tillage and reducing fallowing, which are practices that have been proven to sequester large amounts of atmospheric carbon into soils. This sequestration of soil carbon negates the carbon emissions of producing a pulse crop, creating a carbon neutral or even a carbon negative crop. In effect, these practices make Canadian peas and lentils effectively carbon neutral or negative1.

Life Cycle Assessments:
The Gold Standard of Environmental Impact Data

  • As sustainability becomes a critical driver of food product formulation, there is a clear need to generate in-depth and consistent data for food ingredients across geographical origins and production systems.

    Canadian pulses have a role to play in improving the environmental impact of foods and diets. That is why Pulse Canada has undertaken work to develop detailed Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for Canadian peas, lentils and beans. Life cycle assessment is a widely recognized methodology for quantifying resource inputs and emission outputs throughout a product’s life cycle for the purpose of environmental impact assessment.

    The LCA data for Canadian pulses was collected directly from pulse growers and includes regional breakdowns, for clearer insight into the environmental impact of pulses.

Learn how Canadian peas and lentils can help support your sustainability story.

A life cycle assessment of Canadian peas and lentils was generated using data directly from 600 growers. View the impact of Canadian pulses on 13 different environmental end points.

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See the environmental impact of Canadian faba and dry beans.

A life cycle assessment of Canadian navy, red kidney, pinto and faba beans was conducted using data directly from bean growers.

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Canadian pulses care for the air

Canadian pulses help curb greenhouse gas emissions. A single pulse is small, but Canadian pulse crops have shown big potential while having a low carbon footprint.

Low Carbon Footprint

The production and use of nitrogen fertilizers are a significant contributor to the overall carbon footprint of agriculture and food production. Pulses like beans, peas and lentils have a naturally lower carbon footprint than most foods because they require little to no nitrogen fertilizer to grow. Pulses have a special relationship with certain soil bacteria that convert nitrogen from the air into a form that is usable to the growing pulse crop. This process is known as symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Canadian pulses conserve water

Canadian pulses are resilient and require less water to grow. A single pulse is small, but a whole crop has massive potential because of pulses’ proven yields despite changing climates.

  • Water Efficiency

    Pulses are a protein source with a very low water footprint. Pulses such as peas, lentils and chickpeas are well-adapted to semi-arid conditions and can tolerate drought stress. Pulse crops like peas and lentils also use water in a different way than other crops grown in rotation, extracting water from a shallower depth, leaving more water deep in the soil for the following year’s cereal or oilseed crop.

Canadian pulses give back to the earth

Canadian pulses naturally revive depleted soil, and save on inputs. A single pulse is small but the ability of Canadian pulse crops to improve soil health and provide rotation benefits is mighty.

  • Soil Health & Crop Systems

    Pulses produce a number of different compounds that feed soil microbes and benefit soil health. A healthy and diverse microbial community is able to decompose and cycle nutrients more efficiently, feeding crops naturally as they grow. In addition, a large, diverse population of soil microorganisms acts to ‘crowd out’ disease-causing bacteria and fungi, making for healthier plants. Growing pulse crops in a rotation with other crops enables the soil environment to support these large, diverse populations of soil microorganisms.

  • Rotation Benefits

    Including peas, lentils or beans in crop rotations also confers sustainability benefits for the crops grown after. Crops like wheat and barley produce higher yields and have higher protein when grown after pulses. This is due to the soil fertility, water and soil microbial benefits of pulse crops which also benefit following crops. These benefits also reduce the carbon emissions of following crops due to a reduced need for fertilizer. One study has estimated that including pulses in a rotation with Canadian wheat contributed 1.3 MT of carbon emission savings, approximately 2% of the entire carbon footprint of Canadian agriculture2.

Mini Webinar Series:

Join Denis Tremorin, Director of Sustainability at Pulse Canada, for a 3-part mini webinar series to learn how simple ingredient changes, an often overlooked strategy, can have an enormous impact on your carbon bottom line.

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A Fundamental Part of the Future of Food.

Consumers want sustainable products. Now is the time to innovate and explore the options Canadian pulse ingredients can provide. Incorporating Canadian pulses into food, whether plant or animal-based, can improve the product’s nutritional balance and environmental footprint. Take care of the air, water and earth by incorporating Canadian pulses as a fundamental ingredient.

Cereal-based Foods

In addition to boosting the protein, fibre and micro-nutrients of many cereal-based foods, incorporating Canadian pulse ingredients, such as pea or lentil flour, can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the final product3.

  • Meat Applications

    Pulses are being used in meat applications in a number of ways, but an emerging trend is blending plant and animal protein in a single product. The environmental footprint of 100% beef burgers (both U.S. and Canadian origin) was compared to a blended burger of 67% beef and 33% Canadian lentils. The blended burger had a significantly improved footprint including lower carbon emissions, water use, land use and improved biodiversity4.

Reducing the Impact of Livestock Production

Feed is a significant contributor to the environmental impact of livestock production.

Including pulses in livestock diets reduces the environmental footprint of pork and egg production, and can help to develop and market livestock products with low environmental footprints. A recent life cycle analysis commissioned by Pulse Canada found incorporating peas into pork rations reduced the carbon impact of the feed by 28%, and the overall emissions of the pork by 18%.

  • Impact on Feed

    Impact of peas on the carbon footprint of feed


  • Impact on Pork

    Impact of peas on the carbon footprint of pork


See how Canadian peas can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 28%.

How can livestock and meat companies meet sustainability targets without major system changes? Learn how small changes in feed blends can have a big impact on the carbon footprint of feed and end products.

Download the Report
  1. Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops.
  2. MacWilliam, S. et al. 2018. A meta-analysis approach to examining the greenhouse gas implications of including dry peas (Pisum sativum L.) and lentils (Lens culinaris M.) in crop rotations in western Canada. Agricultural Systems, 166:101-110. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy….
  3. Chaduhary, A. et al. Unpublished data.
  4. Chaudhary, A. & Tremorin, D. 2020. Nutritional and Environmental Sustainability of Lentil Reformulated Beef Burger. Sustainability, 12:6712. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su1217