Exploring the Potential for Philippine Orphan Legumes to Replace Meat in The Diet: An Evaluation with Reference to The EAT Lancet’s Planetary Health Diet Guidelines

The over consumption of meat, sugar-sweetened, and over processed food has led to a rise in non-communicable diseases in the Philippines.Pork, the preferred meat, is consumed by people in all stages of life.Studies have shown that a reduction of meat intake will be beneficial both to human health as well as the environment.In 2019 the EAT Lancet Commission released a reference diet, called the Planetary Health Diet, which placed a large emphasis on reducing the intake of animal protein and increasing the consumption of based plant-based protein.In the Philippines, there are several orphan legumes crops available that are rich in protein and have the potential to replace meat in the diet.These orphan legumes are underutilized for various reasons, including preference, cost, availability, and accessibility.This project reviewed literature to determine the feasibility of including three orphan legumes, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and rice bean (Vigna umbellata) in the Philippine diet to increase legume consumption according to the prescribed amount in the EAT Lancet reference diet.By examining the protein bioavailability, macro and micronutrient content and cost, it was determined that cowpea has the most potential of these orphan legumes to be included in the Filipino diet to reflect the intake of legumes in the EAT Lancet diet.