Lubomir Nokov, Co-founder and CEO at Harmonica Foods, recently posted something that made me stop scrolling: "Ще готвя боб за Бъдни вечер. Моят е гръцки." In a few short sentences he managed to talk about Christmas Eve, Greek beans, global trade, European history, and the future of sustainable food systems.

He goes on to explain that, contrary to the popular legend that "all the beans here are from China", much of the bean supply in Bulgaria actually comes from Egypt, Kyrgyzstan and Greece. Bulgarian beans, he notes, are now a rarity, under 10% of what you find on the market.

That opening struck me because it captures something essential: beans are both deeply local and profoundly global. They sit on our holiday table, but their story crosses continents, centuries and policies.

Beans as Global Citizens

Nokov writes about his Greek beans, probably from Prespa or Florina, regions where cooler nights create thinner skins and better flavor. Then he asks, half-jokingly, whether his Greek beans are patriots. His own answer is the line that really stayed with me:

"Бобът е глобален гражданин."
Beans are global citizens.

He reminds us that beans were first domesticated in the Andes. Only after Columbus did they arrive in Europe, where they would go on to help save populations from hunger. At a time when protein was scarce and expensive, beans entered European diets with around 24% protein, about 15 g of fiber per 100 g, zero cholesterol and a very low glycemic index.

Together with two other crops from the Americas – the potato and maize – beans reshaped European demography and cities. Nokov points out that these three "Americans" helped drive a demographic boom and urbanization in Europe. With more abundant and reliable calories and protein, people could move to cities, societies could support more non-farm labor, and the conditions were created for the Enlightenment and, ultimately, the Industrial Revolution.

When we scoop a ladle of bean stew on Christmas Eve, we are eating a food that literally changed the trajectory of European history.

From Forgotten Crop to Protein Hero

Nokov also touches on something more technical but incredibly important: agricultural policy. For decades, the European Union heavily subsidized cereals and livestock. Beans and other pulses were largely ignored.

Only in the last decade or so, through reforms in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), has the EU begun to seriously recognize beans as a "protein crop" – a kind of agricultural superhero that is good for soil, climate, and food security at the same time.

Why are beans so powerful in this sense?

Nitrogen fixation: Beans (and other legumes) fix nitrogen in the soil through their symbiosis with bacteria. This reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers, which are energy-intensive to produce and can pollute water and air.
Low carbon footprint: Compared to meat, beans have a dramatically lower carbon footprint per gram of protein. They require fewer resources, less land, and produce fewer greenhouse gases.
Soil health: When integrated into crop rotations, beans help break disease cycles, add organic matter and improve soil structure.
Nutritional security: Beans are dense in protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins, and they are shelf-stable and affordable.

Nokov is right to describe their new role in policy as a kind of late but glorious entrance. Beans are finally being treated as strategic crops for Europe’s resilience, not just as a cheap side dish.

Why Bulgaria Still Plants Wheat, Corn and Sunflower

And yet, as he notes, Bulgaria still mostly grows wheat, maize and sunflower. Bean fields are rare; supermarket shelves are filled with imported beans. The EU as a whole is a net importer of pulses.

This is not because beans are unimportant. Rather, it reflects how our farming systems are structured:

Labor intensity: Beans are more demanding in terms of labor, especially at harvest, compared to highly mechanized cereal or oilseed crops.
Market habits: Farmers grow what they can sell predictably. Grain traders, processors and export infrastructures are optimized for wheat, maize and sunflower.
Policy inertia: Even with recent CAP reforms, decades of prioritizing cereals and livestock have shaped knowledge, machinery, infrastructure and risk perceptions.
Short-term economics: In many cases, short-term margins on commodity crops appear more attractive than diversifying into pulses – especially when external costs (climate, biodiversity, health) are not fully priced.

Nokov’s post invites us to look beyond the surface of the dinner table and ask: why, in a climate crisis and a cost-of-living crisis, do we still rely on imported beans when we could grow more of this crop at home?

Beans as the Food of the Future

One of his key lines is that beans are the food of the future. It is a bold claim, but it is hard to disagree when you look at the evidence.

Beans are:

Affordable: They provide protein at a fraction of the cost of animal products.
Nutrient-dense: High in protein, fiber, iron, folate and other micronutrients.
Climate-resilient: Many bean varieties can handle drought better than other crops and fit well into diversified systems.
Versatile: From stews and salads to spreads and meat alternatives, beans can appear on the plate in countless forms.

Nokov frames them as central to "more just and low-carbon food systems that feed people without depleting the soil." That is the heart of the sustainability conversation: how to nourish 8+ billion people with dignity while staying within planetary boundaries.

When we push beans to the margins of our agriculture and diets, we give up one of the simplest tools we have to cut emissions, improve health and support rural livelihoods.

From Christmas Pot to Policy Priority

What I appreciate most in Lubomir Nokov’s reflection is how effortlessly he moves from his Christmas Eve pot of Greek beans to global history and European policy. It is a reminder that food is never "just food". Every spoonful is connected to trade routes, climate models, subsidies and cultural memory.

So where do we go from here if we take his argument seriously?

1. For policymakers

Treat beans and other pulses as strategic crops for climate, nutrition and resilience, not as minor extras.
Design CAP instruments and national strategies that reward farmers for integrating legumes into their rotations.
Invest in research on locally adapted varieties – including traditional Bulgarian beans that are now under 10% of the market.

2. For farmers

Explore mixed rotations that include beans to improve soil fertility and reduce fertilizer costs.
Cooperate in producer groups or cooperatives to share machinery and market access for pulses.
Work with processors and brands (like Harmonica Foods) to develop stable contracts and value-added products.

3. For food companies and retailers

Position beans not as a poor substitute for meat, but as a desirable, modern ingredient.
Develop convenient, tasty products based on whole pulses, not just ultra-processed protein isolates.
Tell the story: beans as global citizens, climate allies and carriers of local culinary heritage.

4. For all of us as eaters

Put beans at the center of the plate more often, not only as a garnish or “soup filler”.
Celebrate traditional dishes like Christmas Eve bean stews, but also experiment with new preparations.
Ask where your beans come from. Are they supporting local farmers, sustainable systems and fair trade?

A Small Seed With a Big Story

When Lubomir Nokov writes about preparing a simple bean dish for Бъдни вечер, he is doing more than sharing a personal tradition. He is reminding us that this everyday ingredient carries within it a story of the Andes, of European famines averted, of demographic change, of misguided subsidies and of a possible low-carbon future.

If we want food systems that are fair, resilient and climate-smart, then beans deserve a place not only on our plates, but also in our policies, our investments and our imaginations.

Maybe the most radical thing we can do this winter is what Nokov is doing: put a pot of beans on the stove, think about where they came from, and decide that this "global citizen" deserves a much bigger role in the future of European agriculture.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by Lubomir Nokov, Co-founder and CEO at Harmonica Foods. View the original LinkedIn post →.