On October 19, we will be serving up our brand new documentary "Superfood beans" at 21:45 on ARTE! From October 12, the film by author Jasmin Lakatoš in the ARTE media library.

Beans are true all-rounders: they stand for home and tradition, they connect generations and continents, they bring memories to life and are good for the intestinal flora and climate. It goes without saying that we will continue to be interested in beans in the future!

The citizens' experiment

So it's high time that scientists took a closer look at the power legume and conducted a citizen experiment to investigate which varieties of the world's oldest crop will work best in Europe in a climate-adapted way.
As part of INCREASE, over 1,000 varieties of garden beans are being cultivated by amateur gardeners in 27 European countries and characteristics such as growth, flowering time and yields are being meticulously documented for scientific purposes.
The film accompanies the experiment and some of the participants with their different results. How else can knowledge about the diversity of beans be increased?

Research, tradition and taste experience

While Dr. Kerstin Neumann at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben, Saxony-Anhalt, leads the experiment and is committed to the preservation and use of (old) bean varieties, pulses and beans have always been part of the menu in Italian cuisine. In her restaurant in Chiusi, Tiziana Tacchi prepares regional varieties in a traditional climate-friendly cooking box.

Scientists are investigating the genetic characteristics of a bean and maize combination in fields in the south of France. What synergies make certain varieties high-yielding, sustainable plant partners?

In the Rhineland, farmer Karl-Adolf Kremer relies on the field bean as a sustainable, protein-rich crop that not only enriches the soil and provides food for insects and farm animals, but also has great potential for human nutrition.

Researchers in Halle (Saale) are therefore working on improving the digestibility of pulses so that nutritional and physiological benefits can be incorporated into innovative foods.
Because only those who know beans and know how to use them in their diversity will continue to give them value in the future. These are primary school children who rediscover the "dusty" vegetable in the school garden or bean enthusiasts from all over Europe who share and spread their bean wealth in Capannori in Tuscany and thus save it from extinction.

Broadcast date

At October 19 at 21:45 Clock shows ARTE the 52-minute film by author Jasmin Lakatoš on TV. The documentary will be shown on October 12 in the MDR media library available. We will of course publish further news and broadcasting information via our News Section on Facebook or Instagram.