RESEARCH PROJECT
A strong pulse - resilient Swedish grain legume supply from field and factory to fork
Updated: September 2025
Project overview
Project manager:
Maud Langton
Contact:
johan.e.nilsson@slu.se
More related research
Short summary
Increasing grain legume production in Sweden, or shifting domestic production from feed to human consumption, could provide a secure and nutritious food supply with low environmental impact now and in future times of urgent need.
The aim of this project is to create a more sustainable and resilient food system by expanding national capacity for protein alternatives, focusing on grain legumes. The project will focus on both expanding grain legume production and developing new varieties of human food using a plant-based intermediate (hydrogel) as a medium for diverse protein alternatives.
Specific objectives are to:
- Build scenarios for expanding Swedish grain legume production, and identify changes compared to current production.
- Investigate the economic incentives at farm level and the life cycle environmental impacts.
- Optimise Swedish grain legumes as substrates for plant-based protein alternatives, for example by developing pre-treatments to reduce anti-nutritional factors and beany flavour.
- Assess the resilience of domestic grain legume production, and evaluate effects on resilience of extensive and unexpected disturbances.
- Evaluate farmers’ willingness to grow grain legumes and consumers’ willingness to pay for Swedish grain legume-based foods, and investigate public policy support.