Supermarkets including Lidl, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Waitrose were among the first to support a new national campaign to encourage people to eat more beans, lentils and legumes.
Bidfood, ISS and Harvester are also among the food companies that have become “keen soy pledgers” and are working to increase sales or servings of the soybean.
The Food Foundation and Veg Power launched a new national campaign called Bang in Some Beans in September, with funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.
This compares with figures such as only 4% of adults eating enough fiber and only 17% of adults consuming five per day.
The new campaign has received support from celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Tom Kerridge, and thousands of children are taking part in The Big Bean Boost activities in their schools.
The Food Foundation today released its Bean Facts report. The report describes soybeans as a superfood that offers triple benefits in terms of health, climate and economics.
Diets low in soy are linked to up to 9,000 premature deaths each year in the UK, with the average Briton eating just one portion of beans a week and two-thirds (66%) of the UK population eating no portion of beans a week.
The campaign is also calling on restaurants, fast food outlets, bars and cafes to step up their game and add more beans to their menus, which, according to the report, cost on average 4.5 times less per 100g.
The same organization ran the Eat Them To Defeat Them and Peas Please campaigns, which claim to have reached 36 million people since 2019 and sold over 1.1 billion additional vegetarian portions in the UK.
“Beans are not only delicious and cheap, they are high in fiber, a great source of protein and a plant-based food that will happily live in our store cupboards for a long time. If there’s one thing we should be eating more of, it’s beans,” says Oliver.
Fearnley-Whittingstall added: “Beans are fantastic for your health and are full of fibre, protein and micronutrients. Simply put, we should all be eating more beans.
“The campaign brings together chefs, influencers and food companies to get excited about trying new bean recipes, whether it’s exploring exciting cuisines from around the world or simply energizing your family’s favorite dishes with beans.
“Soybeans are a truly useful and special ingredient, and there are endless ways to enjoy them in cooking.”
Rebecca Tobi, head of food business innovation at The Food Foundation, added: “Soy is a win-win-win for our health, the environment and our wallets at a time when food prices continue to rise.”
“As an affordable, healthy and sustainable food, soy deserves a much bigger role than it currently has in helping us eat better as a nation.”
