6-28 IAN What's Pulse

 There is a big to-do about the health benefits associated with pulse crops and their introduction to school lunch programs.  But what does pulse mean?

 There are enough bean producers in Idaho to justify having an Idaho Bean Commission. And there’s a big buzz about beans and peas and lentils as the United States Senate has introduced legislation to increase these foods into school lunches. They are called pulse crops and include dry peas, dry beans, lentils, and chickpeas, are nutritious, inexpensive and support thousands of agriculture jobs in in our area. Okay so dry beans, dry peas, lentils and chickpeas I get. The part I didn’t understand is why are they called pulse crops. I called up the Idaho Bean Commission and got this answer: “Why do they call it pulse crops? I’d have to Google it ( laughter).”  I’m not high-tech enough to know how to Google so instead I called Tim McGreevey, CEO of The American Pulse Association:  “Why is it called a pulse crop? Pulse is a fairly international term for these crops. But the word pulse in its Latin root means thick soup.” One of the reasons I love my job is that I love to have fun with the good folks in agriculture.