Chris said:

It seems to me that dried beans (kidney, cow, turtle and the like) are
super labor intensive. I mean, waiting for the pod to dry, the
picking the shells and finally reaping the beans. It seems like it
would take an hour for a simple pound of beans.

Shelling dry beans isn't hard. Once the pods are fully dry they tend to
open easily and the beans fall right out. (Let them finish drying indoors --
once the heating season start and indoor humidity drops, they are very
easy to shell out.)

*Fresh* shell beans (a culinary delight) are a lot more work. But you get
something that is virtually unobtainable in most markets. These are picked
when the bean is nearly mature but the pods are still green or just barely
turning yellow. They cook quickly and the texture can be wonderfully creamy...

The problem with growing dry beans is not the work, but the amount of space
you need to grow more than a sample. You need a substantial planting to get
more than a pound or two.

And couldn't the space be used for something more productive, anyway?
Does anyone have insight/thoughts on this?

Depends on what you like, and what is available to you locally to buy vs, what
actually grows well in your garden. For instance, I gave up growing carrots
once I was able to buy good quality organic carrots year round. (Too much
struggle for me against nematodes and voles.) I grow sweet corn, even though
it's a space hog, because I like my sweetcorn tender and 'corny' (which the ever
more popular super-sweet varieties aren't).
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)