Sustainable agriculture advocates, public health bodies, nutritionists and chefs around the world are today celebrating World Pulses Day (10 February 2025).  

The event is backed by the United Nations  to recognize the importance of pulse crops like chickpeas, dry beans and lentils as a global food. 

Pulses are the edible seeds of leguminous plants cultivated for both food and feed. Beans, chickpeas and peas are the most well known and commonly consumed types of pulses, but there are several more types of pulses from around the world, all with great benefits for food security, nutrition, health, climate change and biodiversity. The Day aims to raise awareness about the nutritional benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production with the aim of enhancing food security and nutrition.

In 2025, the theme for World Pulses Day is: “Pulses: Bringing diversity to agrifood systems” while the slogan is: “Love pulses for a healthy diet and planet”. This year’s theme will underscore the vital role of pulses in promoting crop and ecological diversity – both above and below the ground. 

Pulses bring diversity to agrifood systems in multiple ways: on the farm, through diets and value-added products. They boost biodiversity on farms by enriching cropping systems with more species. With more than 100 types of pulses available, farmers have many options for crop rotations and/or intercropping. 

World Pulses Day also sets out to show consumers how they can enjoy pulses as part of healthy diets, as an affordable, protein-rich food source (19–25 percent protein) high in essential minerals and fibre, and low in fat.