Canada is the largest producer of lentils in the world and should stay so for at-least next 20 years or so. This is because Canada’s production of lentils is a massive 800,000 metric tons more than the next leading producer – India. On the historical side of things, archaeological evidence shows that they were domesticated and eaten as early as 13,000 BC and have been a part of human diet since aceramic Neolithic times (Aceramic means “without pottery”. These societies mostly used bark, basketry, gourds, leather, etc. for containers).

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database indicates that raw lentils (variety unspecified) contain 63% carbohydrates and 25% protein. Thus lentils have a fantastic nutritional value and cater to a majority of the world’s vegetable protein requirement.