TRUE has gone beyond the simple identification of transition paths to enable and facilitate home-grown legume-supported food- and feed-systems across Europe. Many of the innovations are being implemented, and span from novel precision-agriculture equipment and -inputs to clear policy recommendations, identified by multi-stakeholder consultation. Improving legume performance through improved crop breeding and agronomy should remain a focus. However, we should safeguard against an over-focus on production elements of the system, relative to ex-farm gate factors. Greater incentivisation of legume-processing facilities must be encouraged, including the availability of more-affordable smaller-scale capacities, such as empower the short-value chains at local or bioregionalised scales. There is also a dearth of facilities for processing legume to grades which meet minimum recommendations for human food consumption. Nevertheless, the accounting tools, insights, and products which have been established and developed have already impacted positively, commercially, and environmentally. From the early project stages, TRUE has recognised that, ‘sustainability is the language of responsible food marketing”. Despite this, the depth of consumer understanding of legumes, is low and this situation is compounded by the current inadequate nature of (school) educational provisions, value-chain labelling and categorisation regimes (e.g. among wholesalers), and marketing. Greater effort must be made to ensure all consumers are fully aware of the significance of legumes, local legume cultivation, and legume-based products. This foundation is essential if home-grown legume-based systems are to be realised in tandem with resilient local businesses, and good-food cultures. Allied to this, robust monitoring tools are necessary to validate claims regarding the environmental and/or nutrient-density benefits of legume-based food systems and products. TRUE has established these, increasing scales of legume cultivation, and their commercial competitiveness. Life Cycle Assessment is an important facilitative tool in this, and TRUEs LCA tools will move beyond environmental impact assessments, to account key indicators of ecosystem functions (or ‘ecosystem services’) at practical scales - such as that of the catchment, or even farm/field. This will empower improved consumer awareness, positive consumer choice, and consequent benefits for responsive and responsible businesses. Interested parties should therefore continue to monitor the projects legacy website (www.legumeinnovationnetwork.eu) for outputs from TRUE, and the Legume Innovation Network (LIN). The LIN is currently being developed on a voluntary basis, to help enable co-innovation between legume-focused businesses, NGOs (non-governmental organisations), and researchers.
