The prevalence of diet-related diseases together with global population growth and the imbalance of ecosystems determine an urgent need to change existing dietary patterns and make food market more sustainable. A widely available alternative to food of animal origin are plant sources of protein, including pulses. The aim of this paper was to analyse the global pulses market and to review programs encouraging the increase of pulses consumption. The production and consumption of this food were analysed globally, regionally, and in selected countries using FAOSTAT data. The situation on the Polish market was presented additionally on the base of GUS (Central Statistical Office) data. Finally, the SWOT method was used to assess the market and indicate the possibility of giving up part of the meat consumption for pulses.