A vegetable I didn’t realize America could grow???
Where do you think lentils come from?
I assumed Spain or South East Asia. Mainly because I usually eat them in Indian or Spanish dishes.
One of my aunts used to make us lentils around New Year’s Eve. I still remember the taste to this day.
Truly Delicious.
So, why am I bringing this up?
I was at The Snackies recently, a black tie event in NYC applauding the best new snack companies hosted by The Snaxshots. This is where I met the founder of Lenitful, Ben.
WAIT. Before you go clicking those links… listen to what Ben told me:
Lentils are mainly farmed on the Northern border of America. And the world’s largest producer of lentils is Canada.
I WAS SHOOK.
I think I forgot that we farm things other than corn. Maybe it’s because I live in NYC, but this took me through a loop. I realized a few things in our conversation:
Over the last 10 years, The United States has really upped our Lentil Farming Game. We now farm 5% of the global lentil production.
72% of domestic lentils are farmed in Montana — 15% in North Dakota, 8% in Washington.
The global lentil market price relies heavily on India’s imports of the grain and their tariffs. India has a 30% import tax for American-produced lentils versus the 10% import tax for Canadian- or Australian-produced lentils.
Compared to other agricultural exports, Lentils may not be our money maker. But! Here is why I think Lentiful is a dope product with this information background.
Lentils are high in fiber, complex carbs, they have proteins and easily absorb other flavors (ask my mom about the nutrition breakdown, not me).
Lentiful as a product brings you a quick and fool-proof way to conveniently add a nutrient-dense calorie source to your diet. I have eaten it alone or used it to add to rice and chicken.
Ingredients are made domestically. A product like this may not be the powerhouse to American-made products, but it’s pretty awesome that we can fuel from American farmers. Both helping our economy and our own bodies.
The health benefits aside - Building out a market that is domestically supported is a cool way to help your ecosystem, both financially and environmentally. Why fly in thousands of grains when we can eat home grown ones?
I linked here the Lentiful website, check them out. My favorite was the Mexican Green Chili.
Let me know what you think if you try them!
