Beans in Britain: Fact and Fiction

Nutritious, versatile, affordable and delicious… Why don’t we all eat more beans?

For centuries, beans, pulses and legumes have been staple foods in kitchens around the world. Loved by many, but often also misunderstood – as uninspiring, poor, or just hard to quietly digest!

This Green Libraries Week, you're invited to join us in separating fact from fiction, and exploding any negative misconceptions. Together we will be celebrating beans – in all their forms – and their important place in our shared cultural life.

Bringing together an exciting panel of speakers from the worlds of food, education, and community action, this event will highlight the stories and possibilities of beans, pulses and legumes in a changing Britain.

Hear about the health and nutritional benefits of these protein powerhouses. Discover the wider impact on our food systems of growing and eating more beans. And learn what a broader plant-based diet could mean for our communities and climate. We invite you to come and discover more about the humble, yet mighty, bean.

Included with your ticket will be some delicious bean-based treats, available before the event from 18.30.

Of Scandinavian and Bulgarian heritage and raised in Tanzania, her global perspective informs a philosophy centred on enjoyable, realistic wellness and a more conscious relationship with food. She is the author of three cookbooks, including Happy Food and Celebrate, and an ambassador for Beans Is How and The Felix Project. Through Bettina’s Kitchen, she shares recipes, hosts wellness retreats globally and runs the Retreat Chef Academy, training the next generation of chefs in sustainable, wellness-led cooking.

With a background in agroecology and sustainable food systems, Josiah launched Hodmedod with Nick Saltmarsh and William Hudson to champion crop diversity, better farming and thriving communities. Pulses; delicious, nutritious and good for the soil, are at the heart of his work and Hodmedod aims to put them back in the middle of plates and at the centre of agricultural crop rotations. By celebrating overlooked British pulses like fava beans and carlin peas, and developing new crops for the UK like lentils and chickpeas, the business connects better farming to eaters; helping build a resilient, transparent, food network.

She manages the Global Plant Kitchens programme at community cookery school, Made In Hackney, which support others to start a similar food programme. As a chef and teacher for almost a decade, alongside running supper clubs and other food ventures, she champions the power of food to bring people together. She is passionate about showcasing beans, pulses and vegetables through bold, flavour-packed cooking. Sareta is also Diversity Outreach Coordinator at Sustain, leading initiatives to advance racial justice and diversity across the sustainable food movement.

At DFID Anna led the policy team on nutrition and supported the delivery of the UK’s global commitments to tackle undernutrition. Before joining DFID Anna worked for a number of international organisations including Save the Children and UNICEF and has been at the forefront of international leadership on nutrition for several years, supporting programmes in a wide range of contexts in Africa and South Asia. Anna has also worked for the UK Department of Health. In 2014 she was awarded an OBE for her work to address the global burden of undernutrition. She did a MSc in Human Nutrition at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1994. In May 2017 Anna became a member of the London Food Board to advise the Mayor of London and the GLA on the food matters that affect Londoners. She is a Board member for Veg Power and an advisor to the International Food Policy Research Institute. She served as Chief Independent Adviser to Henry Dimbleby for the development of the National Food Strategy published in 2021.