You Probably Ate Mashed Peas as a Child

And it’s high time you gave them another shot, at least, according to The New York Times. Surprisingly, their recipe and subsequent tweet for green pea guacamole received a lot of attention with responses from President Obama and Jeb Bush (albeit those last two weren’t exactly positive). This attention and daresay controversy is purportedly great according to the lentil lobbyists at USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council. The timing is excellent considering the California drought and how production of the water-hungry avocado is affected, giving way to alternatives, in this case, pulses with more than enough benefits for lobbyists to push them into American homes ASAP:

Pulses are high in protein and dietary fiber, require little water to grow and fix nitrogen to enrich the soil they are grown in. They are among the most sustainable crops on the planet . The U.N. hopes to draw attention not just to pulse crops’ nutritional benefits but also to their potential contribution to food security.

Lobbyists emphasize their flexibility in recipes, from guacamole additives and pastas made from pea and lentil flour to smoothies. While doing previous research on how the avocado is affected by the drought I came across this article in which the future of avocados is pondered and compared to previous fad foods – and I use the word “fad” on purpose. Perhaps today fad foods are more affected by the factual benefits of said foods (avocados are one of the healthiest foods you can eat, we know this), or perhaps it’s just a matter of whatever Dr. Oz suggests to his millions of viewers (see: Dr. Oz Effect), I don’t know as I’m not a trend analyst, but the article specifically mentions other fad foods throughout the last hundred years and it’s so eerily similar:

As for the future of avocados, he says, “It’s not even that complicated. The prices will get out of control.” Morgenstern has seen this happen before—for example, with pine nuts. He once served a signature salt-and-pepper pine-nut cookie, but when pine-nut prices went way up, he tried to swap in peanuts instead. But people didn’t want peanuts. They wanted pine nuts. So he embraced the obvious solution: “We’re going to serve the pine-nut cookie and raise the price.” And people bought the cookie. He sees a similar future for avocados. “As long as people want it, they’ll figure out how to grow it, and then people will just want it more,” he says. “You’ll go to the supermarket and an avocado is, like, six bucks. And you’ll say, ‘Yeah, I’ve got to have that thing.’ ”

Original article & image source: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122230/guacamole-just-appetizer-americas-pea-lobby-has-crazier-plans