Sweden the culinary nation is one of the government’s visions to make Sweden the new culinary nation in Europe. In order for this to be successful, one of the steps is to secure the quality of the raw materials. Quality can be measured in many ways. In meat production, the welfare of the animals is one of the criteria.
Landowners, investors, regional planners and citizens have conflicting interests with regard to forest land. The forest may be overexploited where it is readily accessible. This may result in threatened biotopes, polluted drinking water and more expensive forest renewal. The goal of an international research project is to develop a platform for balancing the different demands. The intention is to increase the availability of timber without jeopardising the availability of ecosystem services.
Current fish research has a broader compass than merely measuring growth. Stress tolerance and risk taking behaviour in Arctic charr are now being studied. The results may decide which of the fish can contribute with their offspring to future fish farming. Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector in the world. Almost every other fish that is eaten is farmed. There is now a researcher supported campaign for Swedish aquaculture. Life in the wild is difficult for farmed smolts. Around thirty reserchers, doctoral students and growers from different countries are trying to find remedies for this. The current question is: Can lowered rearing density and less fat in the feed enhance the survival of the fish in the wild?
The day a human runs a marathon, she or he uses up huge amounts of energy. Every day, a modern dairy cow uses up the same energy as a marathon runner. Therefore she needs both to eat and sleep. The question is how much. Soon, organic pigs must eat feed that is completely organic in order that they may be called organic pigs. Forage and mussel meal are feed raw materials of good potential for greater use in the feed for pigs.
Production and consumption of food account for a considerable proportion of our total environmental impact and resource use, while at the same time food is indispensable for everybody. The large amount of knowledge that is available concerning the components of selected food chains is now being synthesised. The goal is to draw up scenarios for conceivable and more sustainable future chains.
Producers in the Swedish horticultural industry turn over more than BSEK 5.5. There is therefore increasing interest in horticulture – the science of growing, processing and marketing fruit, berries, vegetables, herbs and other plants. Current horticultural research deals, inter alia, with the way both grey mould and powdery mildew can be biologically controlled.
The products and services of the countryside have increased. This applies to both supply and demand, in contrast to popular conceptions to the contrary. What are the consequences of this for the rural labour market, local employment and entrepreneurship? This is one of several questions that are now posed in a new research project. The countryside produces products based on natural resources, such as food, electricity, paper and other things that are largely consumed in the towns. Services for the urban population are now in increasing demand. Can partnerships be the solution to the dilemma concerning the way natural resources are used and conserved?