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Sojadependiente Europe.
Not produce this vegetable that has expanded throughout the food chain from animal feed to processed food, to the point of being present, directly or through derivatives, 70% of the products commonly consumed foods.
To avoid this food dependency, a specific call of the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union has approved the research project Eurolegume wherein Cartagena Polytechnic University is the only Spanish participant.
Eleven researchers from the School of Agricultural UPCT, led by Professor of Crop Juan Fernández, examined three alternatives to soybeans grown legumes in Europe: the bean, pea or bean and cowpea.
The objective is to develop new varieties nutritious and palatable feed and human consumption for the European farmers grow and in turn, contribute to the sustainability of agricultural production and the fight against climate change through the regenerative effects of soil these crops.
Beans, peas and beans are rich in protein, contain an adequate proportion of carbohydrates and little fat.
They are ideal for diabetics to control their blood sugar levels.
Provide vitamin B, fiber, antioxidants, folic acid, zinc and calcium, being "particularly suitable for vegetarians" adds Professor Fernández.
And if they gained enough demand and large scale would produce a similar soy, which is mainly produced in large farms of North and South America price.
Soy is one of the nine most common allergens in the world and the majority of Transgenic crop varieties generates social, environmental and commercial rejection.
The project will study ways of marketing new varieties of alternatives to soy legumes with high nutritional value products by fourth or fifth category (packaged and ready to eat or precooked, respectively).
"New presentations in pate or more palatable to the consumer energy bars" will also be promoted, detailing Fernandez.
Its impact will also investigate, through animal feed, in the quality of cow and goat milk, the latter product, thanks to the collaboration of the company Murcia KPRA.
Substitute for chemical fertilizers
A second aspect of the project is the selection of bacteria, and the commercial development of inoculants, which, in symbiosis with legumes, contribute to agricultural soil fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, thereby reducing the use of mineral fertilizers, which are a source of contamination and are expensive production remarkably.
Spreading the regenerative effect of the soil of legumes, researchers try to promote their use in rotation techniques intercropping, the practice of sustainable agriculture to diversify ecosystems and contributes to increased biodiversity.
Recovery of residual biomass of these species will also be considered.
The Eurolegume project, one of only two approved in this line of research has funding of 6.5 million euros for the period 2014-2018, is led by the Portuguese university Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro and has with the participation of 18 partners, including the company Murcia UPCT and KPRA.
The works were started last February with a meeting in the Portuguese town of Vila Real.
Source: UPCT
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