Mission

The SimBIOse project aims to disseminate and to promote national and international projects in the field of sustainable, safe and healthy food, in order to educate and raise awareness among the general consumer of the importance of their eating behavior in their health and environment that surrounds all.

To show the information about the projects, it uses online platforms (website and social networks) and intends to cooperate with various food entities (sustainable, safe and healthy) for the dissemination of projects and events and at the same time intends to facilitate inter-project networking and between projects and the general public.

It emerges as a way of contributing to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations to be accomplished by 2030. These goals are represented in the figure below:

Communication and Marketing

Ângela Ferreira

Communication and Marketing

Ângela Ferreira

Hello! I am Angela, passionate about nature and enthusiast of the circular economy. I have been working in communication and marketing for 7 years, mostly in technology solutions companies, but it was in 2016, when I joined the Fibrenamics Green team from the University of Minho, which I began to have a greater awareness of the negative impact that we – human beings – exercise on planet Earth. For the first time, I realized that we are destroying everything at such a rapid speed that it is difficult not to be pessimistic about the future of our home. As I believe we should “be the change we want to see in the world,” I began to change my habits and behaviors. Step by step, day after day, I strive to reduce my ecological footprint and encourage others to do so too. Destiny introduced myself to Ariana in 2014, when we were both volunteer-managers of Refood Braga 100%; that is a project that aims to reduce food waste in urban-environments, which we help to implement in Braga (and in which I continue to do volunteer service once a week). After 5 years, the theme that unites us is broader, but equally pertinent: food sustainability in all its aspects.

Food Microbiology

Ariana Macieira

Hello! My name is Ariana and I’ve been fascinated by the agri-food world since I was a little girl. The taste for new challenges took me to São Tomé and Principe to work in a local organization that intervenes in projects in the agro-food and sustainable area. Later, I went to Lisbon, where I provided consultancy to organic mushroom producers, and not only – I was also responsible for the quality, research and development teams of the mycological company Cogumelos de Portugal. As I am trained in the area of Food Microbiology and have worked on it over the last few years, in the area of research, I have better understood the need and importance of combining new forms of sustainable technology that enable the detection and reduction of food hazards (more specifically, microbiological hazards) in order to reduce food waste, from the raw material to the arrival of food to the final consumer.

Product Design

João Rodrigo

Hello! My name is João Rodrigo, born in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Viana do Castelo. I have a degree in Product Design by the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo. I’m working in Graphic Design and Communication. My personal interest in this project meets the motivations that have led me to have a Vegan diet for over four years. The reasons that lead me to the project are my concern about the effect of climate change on the planet, but above all, about the fact that an unsustainable food system contributes to the effects of harmful farming conditions on the planet, to the exodus and migration of people, to the increase poverty… Therefore, I think that it is necessary to rethink our choices and consumption so that they do not affect others.

Sustainable food

In 2050, the world population will be around 9 billion people. This demographic growth will have consequences for the planet and its ecosystems (Charles et al, 2014).

In order to understand the reasons for the emergence of the SimBIOse project and its long and short term objectives, it is necessary to have a more specific understanding of the main concepts, which are the basis of the project.

According to FAO/AGN, “Food and nutrition security exists when all people:

-Always have physical, social and economic access to food in quantity and quality (variety, diversity, nutritional composition and safety) in order to ensure nutritional needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life;

-A sanitary environment,

-Adequate health care;

-Education;

-Can reduce or eliminate losses and waste during food production, processing and consumption".(Capone et al, 2014).

The four pillars underpinning food security are (Capone et al, 2014):

Food systems represent all processes related to feeding populations. A production system operates and is influenced by the social, political, economic and environmental context.

The activities included in a food system are grouped into four groups (Capone et al, 2014):

Sustainable diets “are characterised by their low environmental impact and by their contribution to food and nutrition security and a healthy life for present and future generations. They protect and respect the biodiversity of ecosystems, are culturally accepted, accessible and economically fair, nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy, while optimizing natural and human resources (Capone et al, 2014).

After the presentation of several important concepts, it is possible to define food sustainability as (Capone et al, 2014):

-the design of a food system that leads to food security;

-the optimal use of human and natural resources (balance between demand and supply);

-the respect for biodiversity and ecosystems for future generations;

-culturally accepted and accessible;

-environmentally friendly;

-economically fair and viable;

-the opportunity to provide access to nutritious, adequate, safe, healthy and affordable food.

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