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The provided sources offer a wealth of information regarding strategies and solutions aimed at enhancing the role of legumes within sustainable agriculture and food systems, particularly in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. These strategies span multiple levels, from farm-level production techniques to broader policy and food system transformations.
A central theme is the potential of legumes to contribute significantly to sustainable cropping systems, address the European protein deficit, and enhance food security. Their natural ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is highlighted as a key advantage, reducing the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.... This reduces environmental impacts like carbon emissions and nutrient runoff.
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Hwalla, N., Al Bakain, R., Trani, A., Mondelli, D., Di Terlizzi, B., Hamzé, M. (2025). Exploring the Nutritional and Nutraceutical Significance of Legumes: A Comparative Analysis Across Mashreq Countries. New Medit 2 (2025). https://doi.org/10.30682/nm2502e
This study investigates the nutritional and nutraceutical profiles of four legume species – bean, faba bean, chickpea, and lentil – collected from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt.
The Role of Legumes in Bringing Protein to the Table
D. Murphy-Bokern, A. Peeters and H. Westhoek - Kroge-Ehrendorf, Lohne, Germany; RHEA Research Centre, Corbais, Belgium; PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague, the Netherlands
This article explores the contribution of legumes to protein supply and nitrogen input within the European food system, tracing the nitrogen cycle from biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) through to its utilization in both human and animal nutrition.
Sustainable Food Systems and the Mediterranean Diet
E. M. Berry, Nutrients, MDPI, 2019
This article investigates the sustainability of food systems through the lens of the Mediterranean diet, highlighting sustainability as a pivotal dimension of food security that integrates environmental, geopolitical, demographic, socio-cultural, economic, scientific, technological, and infrastructural considerations.
Pulses for Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems: The Effect of Origin on Market Price
Acciani, C.; De Boni, A.; Bozzo, F.; Roma, R. Sustainability 2021, 13, 185.
This article analyzes the role of origin labelling in shaping pulse market prices, using lentils as a case study. Employing a hedonic price model, it shows that origin declaration can positively influence market value and enhance farm competitiveness, thereby contributing to sustainability in European food systems.
Nature's pulse power: legumes, food security and climate change
Michael J. Considine, Kadambot H.M. Siddique, and Christine H. Foyer - Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 68, No. 8 pp. 1815–1818, 2017
This article highlights the growing importance of pulses for global food security and climate change adaptation, emphasizing the need for intensive research and development to identify climate-resilient species and cultivars with improved grain traits.
Multiple benefits of legumes for agriculture and sustainability: an overview
Fabio Stagnari, Albino Maggio, Angelica Galieni and Michele Pisante - Stagnari et al. Chem. Biol. Technol. Agric. (2017) 4:2
This article examines the role of legumes in enhancing sustainable agriculture and food systems. Beyond providing high-quality food and feed, legumes reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve soil carbon sequestration and fertility, lower fossil energy use through nitrogen fixation, and contribute to crop diversification, conservation agriculture, and resilience in both high- and low-input systems.
Helena Ferreira, Elisabete Pinto and Marta W. Vasconcelos - Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 5:694121.
This article traces the historical and contemporary role of legumes in food and farming systems, noting their decline in popularity and production in Europe due to cultural perceptions, technological gaps, and competition with cereals and meat. It highlights recent policies and innovations promoting legumes as key to sustainable diets and agri-food systems, while addressing the societal, political, and economic barriers to their wider adoption.
Martinelli, F.; Vollheyde, A.-L.; Cebrián-Piqueras, M.A.; von Haaren, C.; Lorenzetti, E.; Barberi, P.; Loreto, F.; Piergiovanni, A.R.; Totev, V .V.; Bedini, A.; et al. LEGU-MED: Agronomy 2022, 12, 132.
This article presents the LEGU-MED project, which aims to valorize Mediterranean legume agrobiodiversity within biodiversity-based farming systems. By enhancing ecosystem functions and services—such as water efficiency, soil fertility, pollination, ecological connectivity, and pest control—legumes contribute to more sustainable agro-ecosystems and the provision of healthier, protein-rich food.
Matías, J.; Rodríguez, M.J.; Carrillo-Vico, A.; Casals, J.; Fondevilla, S.; Haros, C.M.; Pedroche, J.; Aparicio, N.; Fernández-García, N.; Aguiló-Aguayo, I.; Plants 2024, 13, 1914.
This review examines the potential of neglected and underutilized species (NUS) in Mediterranean agriculture, highlighting their resilience, nutritional value, and health benefits. Integrating these emergent crops into agrifood systems can enhance sustainability, food system adaptability, and local economies, while mitigating the risks of monoculture under changing climate conditions.
Food system strategies to increase grain legume-cereal intercropping in Europe
Tiffanie F. Stone, Jerry Alford, Petra Hanáková Bečvářová, Mohammad A. M. Eisa, Ahmed H. El-Naggar, María José Carpio Espinosa, Magdalena Frąc, Jorge Álvaro Fuentes, Juan C. García-Gil, Kasper Krabbe, Juliana Trindade Martins, Shamina Imran Pathan, César Plaza, Jim Rasmussen, Cosimo Righini & Martin Hvarregaard Thorsøe (2025), Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 49:4, 518-542,
This study investigates legume-cereal intercropping in Europe, highlighting environmental and economic benefits as well as barriers to adoption. Analysis of stakeholder focus groups identifies strategies involving farm practices, governance, advisory support, and networking to promote sustainable food system transitions.
Enhancing ecosystem services in agriculture: the special role of legume intercropping
Kokkini M, Gazoulis I, Danaskos M, Kontogeorgou V, Kanatas P and Travlos I, (2025) Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 9:1547879.
This article highlights legume intercropping as a sustainable agricultural practice that enhances biodiversity, soil health, nutrient cycling, and crop productivity, while reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate-related risks, thereby supporting resilient and diversified cropping systems.
Agro-food systems and environment: Sustaining the unsustainable
Rafael G. Araújo, Rocio Alejandra Chavez-Santoscoy, Roberto Parra-Saldívar, Elda M. Melchor-Martínez and Hafiz M. N. Iqbal - Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2023, 31:100413
This review addresses the challenges to global food security posed by population growth, resource limitations, climate change, and food system inefficiencies, highlighting the role of circular economy approaches and integrated political strategies to promote environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable agri-food systems in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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