The many benefits to beans

If you read our last post on why we made the transition from cashews to beans, you will know that beans were the tastiest and most sustainable alternatives to use for our cheeses. Here are some of the biggest benefits of choosing white beans as our new base ingredient:

• History - There is a long history of growing white beans in the Netherlands. Until our supply chains began to be globalised, and before the Netherlands became a dairy powerhouse, white beans were grown extensively on Dutch soil

• High in fibre - The European Food Safety Authority recommends a daily intake of 25g for adults. Most adults do not eat enough Fibre in their diets in Europe

• Nitrogen fixation - Beans are also an excellent nitrogen fixator which means they are able to store nitrogen in soil. The Netherlands has one of the highest nitrogen emission levels per unit of area due to its intensive livestock farming

• Soil restoration - In a 6 year cycle beans are an excellent rest crop crucial to restoring the soil

• Transitional farming - Beans provide a means for dairy farmers to transition away from dairy farming and onto beans and pulses

• Emissions reduction - Our bean based cheeses are up to 25 times less than the dairy cheese we replace whilst our sole remaining cashew based cheese is 2.5 times less than the dairy cheese it replaces. This is before we grow the beans in the Netherlands so the emissions reduced will increase further still