Consumption patterns of legumes and related dietary guidelines across Europe: a specific focus on peas and chickpeas

Legumes such as peas and chickpeas hold a variety of beneficial qualities. Therefore, their consumption is recommended by several international bodies. To understand how different countries in the European Union judge the importance of legumes as a part of a healthy and sustainable diet, we compared the current food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) in the EU member states. In most dietary guidelines across Europe, legumes are categorized either as "fruit and vegetables" or as "proteins." Only the Portuguese guidelines define legumes as a separate food category (i.e., pulses). In seven countries, legumes were suggested as a suitable substitute for animal proteins. Spain and Portugal had the highest recommendations (at least 4 portions a week and 1-2 portions per day, respectively). Serving sizes varied greatly from country to country, ranging from 60 g in the Netherlands to up to 300 g in Bulgaria (cooked weights). To estimate recommended annual consumption, both serving sizes and recommended frequencies were considered for countries that provided respective information. Spain and Portugal emerged with the highest amounts (approx. 30-60 kg/year). In contrast, the lowest recommendations are found in the Netherlands and Germany (approx. 6 kg/year). A cross-country comparison reveals notable variation in FBDG, even among culturally similar countries like Austria and Germany. It shows that unambitious legume recommendations in FBDG reflect a cultural unfamiliarity that persists even as environmental and health imperatives grow.