fábulas sustentáveis

About 40% of the cereals and legume grains produced every year are used to feed farm animals. Many commentators argue that this is highly resource inefficient as around 70% of the human edible energy produced is lost in this process due to metabolic losses in the animals (Papargyropoulou et al., 2014).  For example, typically 4 kg of cereals and legumes is needed to produce one kg of edible poultry meat (Röös et al., 2014), although the quantity varies by system.  By contrast raising livestock on by-products that humans can’t or don’t want to eat or waste is often considered to be a resource efficient way of producing protein for human consumption, as is raising livestock on biomass from grasslands unsuitable for the production of human edible foods e.g. natural or semi-natural pastures or other marginal grasslands.  This approach of letting the ecological resource capacity be the constraining factor for livestock production, i.e. to restrict livestock production...

There are new dietary guidelines  to Sweden, which include not only the health concerns, but also the environment. It has a ‘Sustainable big picture’ stressing the need to focus not just on individual nutrients but to take a holistic view that also includes physical activity and environmental concerns. And what do they say about fish consumption? Eat fish and shellfish two to three times a  week.  Vary your intake of fatty and low-fat  varieties, and choose ecolabelled seafood. In summary, the advice is: Eat fish and shellfish two to three times a week – vary the type of fish and look for products with sustainability labels  Exercise at least 30 minutes every day  Switch to whole grain for pasta, bread and cereals – all cereals have low carbon footprints and pesticide use is low  Choose healthy fats like rape seed oil – butter has a higher carbon footprint than vegetable oil  Choose low fat, un-sweetened dairy products fortified...

13 December, is closed to the Winter Solstice, the day with the shortest daylight. The sunset is at 15h25 in Göteborg. So the light needs to be celebrated. A girl, coming in the dark, should give us light. People get together in the morning, sing and eat saffron buns . It is a special moment. Everywhere in Sweden it is celebrated. Interesting is to understand that it is dedicated to Lucia of Syracuse (d.304), also known as Saint Lucy, a tradition originally coming from Italy. This year I was in Sweden for the first time and I made part of it.

 In these last months it has been a lot of working in the computer: writing and thinking and rewriting and rethinking. Not so fun for me. But equally important for science. The good thing in these days is to come outdoor *. See the amazing colors of the trees. From red, yellow, brown, green...a rainbow. The light is especially and more and more scarce. The sunset today was at 15:52. It changes very fast:  in 2 weeks could be at 15:30.  So when one is indoor with a beautiful blue sky, it feels to go outdoor. My street has nice colors. I like to look around. Old houses between buildings. Yellow, red and blue. The light in the coast is equally beautiful.  The sea reflects the colors. The end of the sunlight gives hope for more enlightenment days. * Which justifies why  I do not had spend time updating this blog, looking to Facebook, speaking on Skype, and sometimes not even sending ema...

At this time of the year in Sweden there is: lingonberry,  to make jam  that it is used in the Swedish food; apples; nice grass; wooden houses in the forest; walks in the middle of the trees; moss and me!

Adrift in Sweden. Last times were holidays, sea, seafood, lots of sun, warm weather, friends... ...and move once again. It is different. More languages, new routines, planning. Trying to focus. Struggling with time. My time, others time, world time. Finding the important things. Love.

This Green stories  made my day. They are in Sweden but suddenly they visit my favourite place in Portugal, Portinho da Arrábida! They are nice people, make good and healthy food and they are happy. * Such an inspiring story. * I want to make clear that I'm not a green person... ...even though I'm becoming more green and happy with the time.  But my point is for environmental reasons. People should reduce meat and fish consumption. If we could have vegetarian meals once in a week, it would make a big difference multiplied per millions. It is much about learning to find and cook green things. And feel happy with that choice :)    

yards with trees and birds crossing the woods on my way  the blue and slooow old trams look the sky find Göta älv ... and friends!* * this is not the same without you, sister J. and guapa F., miss you :)

I usually talk about cod with other people when I speak about my work, both in Portugal and in Sweden. Even very far way, and with different cultural habits, in both places cod is the most appreciated fish. Now days there is a new fact for the discussion "should we eat or not cod?": cod stock from Norway is in the best shape than ever. And it is MSC certified. Are consumers aware about that? I'm not sure. Especially in Portugal, where most of the people do not even know about the cod collapse. A Swedish blogger went to an event about fish from Norway in this  restaurant , that sells fresh fish, and he have made his decision: I know it's fresh cod from sustainable stocks, but I do not know how to find it in the store. And I think it has the higher climate emissions and that bottom trawling destroys seabed so I still avoid it. To track the sustainability of the fish sold, they give information about the ...

Some thoughts of a Portuguese girl living in Sweden... Para escrever algo sobre mim ou sobre a Suécia é inevitável falar acerca de peixe. Escolhi viver na Suécia por causa do trabalho e eu trabalho com peixe. Estudo a sustentabilidade da produção e do consumo de peixe em Portugal. Tenho o privilégio de trabalhar com uma investigadora especialista no assunto, no SIK – Institutet för Livsmedel och Bioteknik , num grupo de trabalho igualmente sensacional dedicado à produção sustentável de alimentos. Tal seria mais que suficiente para estar satisfeita com a minha decisão de viver na Suécia. Mas, para além do trabalho, viver na Suécia significa também ter uma vida mais sustentável. A minha rotina, os meus hábitos, a minha presença no mundo mudou. Dos pequenos hábitos ao sentimento de maior responsabilidade social e ambiental, várias coisas fazem agora parte do que eu sou: - Desloco-me de bicicleta todos os dias e os transportes públicos são bastantes fáceis e acessíveis de usar...

...because We trust in a good combination between Sweden and Portugal .

trolls berries   farsk potatis fish biking sea forest lake city today is sun ...tomorrow is not!

Summer came from one day to another. It feels warm, there is lots of light, colors and noise in the streets. People come outdoor. It's difficult to keep on working inside. One just need to find a place.  The sun and the nature are always there... ...and it's easy to find nice places and especial moments. Thank you summer for coming! It was a good surprise.