Some faba beans and a nice Chianti : prospects and challenges for increasing the production of faba beans as food

Abstract: Swedish produced faba beans have recently been acknowledged as a sustainable food product containing important nutrition and are produced with low environmental impact. Faba beans belong to the group of protein crops and have great potential to replace resource-demanding proteins, but today the crop is exclusively used as feed in Sweden. This study aims to understand how faba beans can play a role in the transition towards a sustainable diet as well as to investigate what prospects and challenges such transition may face. Cultivators and food processors constitute important actors within the production chain as well as possess certain valuable knowledge. The aim is hence narrowed into three research questions concerning how cultivators and food processors view faba beans and work practices related to the production, possibilities and restrictions in increasing the production of faba beans as food, and how the views from cultivators and food processors differ from each other. To approach the aim and questions, nine qualitative semi-structured interviews with cultivators and food processors were conducted, followed by applications of a summative content analysis and a conventional content analysis on the interview materials. The two content analyses aim to, in different ways, identify, summarise and adequately reflect the interview content. The findings suggest that the role of faba beans is wide as it functions as food and feed as well as a means to gain economic returns and a means to address sustainability issues. The cultivators tend to view faba beans as feed and a tool to generate economic returns, and experience cultivation as positive, negative and neutral. However, they view food processing as mostly negative. Often, the cultivators experience the work practices in relation to the possibility to gain economic returns. The food processors tend to view faba beans as food and a means to combat sustainability issues, and experience cultivation and food processing as most positive or neutral. Often, the food processors experience the work practices in relation to a progressive work that mitigates environmental impact. Further suggested by the findings, the cultivators experience four aspects of possibilities for increasing the production of faba beans as food, which include access to knowledge, possible economic returns, cropping advantages and health benefits. Restrictions include cropping disadvantages, low economic returns, unsuitability as food and suitability exclusively as feed. The food processors experience six aspects of possibilities, including food security, environmental benefits, possible economic returns, cropping advantages and product development. Restrictions concern structural obstacles, cooperation networks, cropping disadvantages and novel food. Finally, the cultivators and food processors understand possibilities and restrictions differently, and a conclusion drawn is that depending on the perspectives reasoned from, possibilities and restrictions are understood differently. The results supplement previous research and contribute to an understanding from a Swedish perspective and a food production perspective. In combination with previous research, the results may enable a transition towards a more sustainable diet, which in the longer term is a means to combat critical environmental issues.