'Raising the Pulse' (RtP): Systems analysis of the environmental, nutritional and health benefits of pulse-enhanced foods

“提高脉搏（RtP）”是基于这样一个概念：如果我们能让英国人更容易地吃更多英国种植的豆类，将会带来相当大的健康和环境效益。最适合英国的豆类是蚕豆，它天然富含蛋白质、微量营养素和纤维，而且对环境的影响是所有作物中最低的，因为它可以“固定”大气中的氮，而不需要污染环境的硝酸盐肥料。然而，除非它们被成功地纳入人们熟悉的外观和味道，经济和方便的主食，如面包，否则大多数人不会显著增加它们的消费量。到目前为止还没有这样做，因为没有经济诱因促使生产者提供具有确定的最终用途质量的原材料，也没有经济诱因促使加工商重新配置其加工厂以适应一种新的原材料。需要像这项研究提供的主要刺激措施来鼓励食品制造商使用英国豆类来满足消费者对植物性和富含豆类的食品的需求，而不是主要进口大豆成分。RtP解决了这一市场失灵的问题，它将联合一个财团，为英国生产的添加了蚕豆的食品开发可行的市场路线。该项目包括环境、农业、食品、营养、健康和消费者行为等不同领域的专家，他们在这一领域有良好的业绩记录，并将与工业界、政府和民间社会合作，应对五个相互关联的挑战：挑战1：如何最大限度地减少为满足特定质量标准而种植的蚕豆对环境的影响？我们将进行广泛的田间试验，以制定种植方案，利用现有的最佳遗传学、农学和收获后技术，最大限度地提高单位面积的养分产量，同时详细测量环境影响。挑战2：如何将挑战1中的蚕豆制备成各种食品，以保持尽可能高的营养价值和最小的味道变化？在进行了成功的面包制作试点试验以证明可行性之后，我们将优化品种选择、预处理和碾磨步骤，以获得可以与小麦粉成功结合的蚕豆粉，制作RtP面包，这是传统面包的可接受替代品，但具有额外的营养和环境效益。挑战三：多吃豆类对营养摄入和人体健康有什么影响？将使用RtP面包进行一项人体研究，以确定营养供应及其对饥饿和健康指标的影响。此外，将进行两项消费者研究，一项在学生宿舍，另一项在雷丁大学校园的餐饮网点。这些研究将调查蚕豆作为RtP面包和其他食品提供时，在提供其益处的信息后，是否会导致更健康的饮食和更好的营养知识。挑战4：如何利用对消费者态度、偏好和行为的了解来实现脉搏摄入量的最佳增加？解决这一关键问题将涉及审查证据、开展焦点小组、调查、选择实验和测试市场启动。这将包括确定人们如何看待RtP面包和相关食品，是否喜欢它们并因此选择它们，以及了解它们的好处是否会促进它们的消费。挑战五：将整个项目收集的所有数据结合起来，创建一个关于豆类（尤其是蚕豆）生产、制造和消费之间相互作用的总体数学模型。该模型将用于确定立法和消费者行为对环境和健康的影响，并预测具体干预措施的结果，以加速英国人口向含有更多豆类的饮食过渡。

'Raising the Pulse (RtP)' is based on the concept that considerable health and environmental benefit would result if we could make it easier for the UK population to eat more UK grown pulses. The pulse best suited to the UK, the faba bean, is naturally high in protein, micronutrients and fibre, and has the lowest environmental impact of all crops, as it can 'fix' nitrogen from the atmosphere with no need for polluting nitrate fertilizers. However, most of the population will not significantly increase their consumption unless they are successfully incorporated into familiar looking and tasting, economic and convenient staple foods, such as bread. This has not been done to date because economic incentives do not exist for producers to supply raw materials with defined end use quality, nor for processors to reconfigure their processing plant to accommodate a new raw material. A major stimulus such as that provided by this study is required to encourage food manufacturers to use UK pulses to satisfy consumer demand for plant-based and pulse-rich foods rather than importing chiefly soy-based ingredients. RtP addresses this market failure by bringing together a consortium to develop feasible routes to market for UK produced foods with added faba beans. The project includes experts in diverse areas, including environment, agriculture, food, nutrition, health and consumer behaviour, who have a demonstrated track record in this area and who will work with industry, government and civil society to tackle five linked challenges:Challenge 1: how can environmental impacts of faba beans grown to meet specific quality standards be minimised? We will conduct extensive field trials to establish growing protocols to maximise the amount of nutrients produced per unit area using the best available genetics, agronomy and post-harvest technologies while making detailed measurements of environmental impacts.Challenge 2: how can faba beans from Challenge 1 be prepared for incorporation into a variety of food products such that they retain the highest possible nutritional value and minimal change in taste? Following successful pilot breadmaking trials conducted to demonstrate feasibility, we will optimise cultivar selection, pre-processing and milling steps to obtain faba bean flours that can be successfully combined with wheat flour to make RtP bread that is an acceptable alternative to conventional bread, but with added nutritional and environmental benefits. Challenge 3: what effects do eating more pulses have on nutritional intake and human health? A human study will be performed using RtP bread to determine nutrient availability and its effects on hunger and health markers. Furthermore, two consumer studies, one in student halls of residence and one in the catering outlets on the University of Reading campus, will be conducted. These will investigate whether faba beans offered as RtP breads and in other foods result in a healthier diet and better nutritional knowledge when information of their benefits is given.Challenge 4: how can understanding of consumer attitudes, preferences and behaviours be used to achieve optimum increase in pulse intake? Addressing this crucial point will involve reviewing evidence, performing focus groups, surveys, choice experiment and test market launch. This will include determination of how RtP bread and related foods are perceived, whether they are liked and, therefore, chosen and whether knowledge of their benefits promotes their consumption. Challenge 5: will combine all data collected across the project to create an over-arching mathematical model of interactions between pulse (particularly faba bean) production, manufacturing and consumption. This model will be used to determine the influence on environment and health of legislation and consumer behaviour and to predict the outcomes of specific interventions to hasten the transition of the UK population to a diet that contains more pulses.