About meat.

Today I woke up to a nice sunrise. I thought this was going to be a good day. It was, partly, but I felt very tired and low today, for some reason. Some days are just like that I guess, you need to have rain to appreciate the sunshine as I say. And surely many others. 

I biked to my lovely rabbit kits, observed how many in each litter that had left their nests, discussed a little with Claude, and biked back. My supervisor is very stressed right now, she has an article for a conference with the deadline tomorrow, so she hasn't been able to spend so much time with me, although she's just 1.5m across the desk. When I told her that on Sunday, I have been here for a month, she put her hand against her forehead, and gave me french surprised eyebrow look. 

There has been some reactions to my project work, which I am very happy about. People write to, talk to, and ask me why on earth I work with killing rabbits. I do. In a way. Since these rabbits are production animals such as pigs, sheep or cows. Some people, especially in Sweden I might add (where we are not used to eating rabbit except for maybe in nice restaurants at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm), find it very hard to understand how one can eat a rabbit, as it would be for them to eat a dog or a cat. 

In France there is quite a different culinary culture from the one in Sweden (for one, food actually tastes something here, and people appreciate good products more than most parts of Sweden). Also, rabbit is a very cheap and green source of meat (green not being the colour of the meat, rather the low environmental impact). Because rabbits are forage converters that do not burp massive methane amounts, their droppings make little impact (especially since they eat half of it), they are easy to house, and they reproduce (very) quickly (even in nature). 

So what is the problem? The problem that remains is the cuteness of this animal. That is the disturbing part for people. But the thing is, people can relate more to the cuteness of a rabbit than the cuteness of a calf, piglet or kid (sheep offspring, that is). What I can assure you however, is that if you would pick up any of those animals in the age that my rabbits are now, they would be equally beautiful and cute. 

I love animals. All animals. And I wish what is best for them. Obviously, the best for the animals would be for them to remain alive. We can all agree on that. However, this is not the case, because these animals are bred because of the demand of meat in the stores, on the tables, in the burgers and in the dog and cat food. With the technologies, the massive imports and exports over the borders across the world and with all different economies, the human being could more than well satisfy its daily protein need from other sources than meat protein. But, we encounter a lot of arguments on this. 

"I almost never eat meat anyway, at least I only eat one kind of meat" 

So usually, this means either "only fish", "only chicken", or "only red meat"/"only light meat". This, I can't help finding a little amusing. This basically means that one kind of meat is supposed to be better than another. Especially red and light one? Anyway, we all agree on that everyone makes their own choices. What annoys me anyway, is that (from what I understand) these kinds of people find themselves to be "a little bit better" than others because of their active choice. I, at least, am sure that these are the kinds of people that stand in the store choosing between danish crown super cheap pork filet and swedish expensive pork filet, and the danish one ends up being the chosen one. "But I never eat this meat anyway so this time it doesn't make any difference".

" I never eat meat, why do you eat meat, you're a murderer, torturer, and a rapist"

Congratulations, you're a vegan. I actually pay a lot of respect to vegans. Because they have actually made an active choice that matters, and stand for their oppinion. However, too many vegans share too little information about meat production, and fail to deliver their thoughts in convincing, educating, and respectful ways. Sometimes, there are even lies, dramatic movies and misunderstandings thrown at people. This, I do not approve of.   

"Meat is good, I love meat, give me meat."

There are two categories in this argument group. 1) The same person that just said the above, will close its eyes very hard and cover its ears when being showed pictures of an abattoir, foie gras farm and/or a picture of the baby calf that is now a steak on its plate. 2) Will probably be a hunter, an agronomist, a farmer, a chef, or someone else that knows the "ugliness" behind the meat industry, and that will appreciate a good piece of meat that has been housed properly, fed properly, slaughtered properly, cut properly, and finally cooked properly.

I hope no one is surprised by which category I identify myself with. I love meat, but not all meat. Not in the way that the first argument puts it though. I love meat that has been housed properly, fed properly, slaughtered properly, cut properly and cooked properly. No. Other. Meat. The price doesn't matter. I can live happily as a vegan for 6 days a week, saving the money I would have spent on cheap meat products, in order to spend it all on a really nice, fair, and good piece of meat one day per week. 

So, to come back to the fact that I love animals, I love them so much that in their production life, they should be as happy and healthy as any cat or dog living in you homes. I think that, just because animals are production animals, they should not be valued differently from any pet. And that is why I do what I do today. I work with increasing animal welfare for production animals, so that they can have a peaceful, healthy and unstressful living, until it's time for them to get chosen from the À la carte or the store. 

It is equally hard for a farmer working with either of the production animals to let the animals go to the abattoir. I promise you, that all farmers love their animals and want what is best for them. I cannot speak for farmers that do not fulfil their jobs and thus are bad farmers, as I could never speak for a good person doing something wrong.

Pictures of happy rabbits. 

This one above fell asleep when I scratched it behind its ears. 

Bye for now!

P.s. I love my education. 

Chill Weekend

On friday I felt I had a bit of a soar throat. So I only went swimming a little bit and finished off in the Jacuzzi to celebrate it was friday at Movida. Because I felt sorry for myself I went to Intermarché and bought vegetable crisps, nachos and a dip sauce which I ate for dinner while I watched Homeland. After Homeland (and a lot of nachos) my stomach hurt so I moved to the bed to watch the movie Monica Z (very nice!) and ate yoghurt. Good chillaxin' so to say.

On saturday, the soar throat was not very soar anymore, but I didn't go work out despite the massive nacho intake from the day before anyway. I did however write a lot on my thesis, I guess that's good too. When I got tired of writing, I watched another episode of homeland and ate the rest of the nachos. Fail. Oh well, I spent the rest of the evening talking to Björno, Jownes and Grahwn on skype. Which was a lot of fun! I'm kind of forever alone in my french room. And everyone knows I'm not a good solo person. I get crazy. Fast. So I was very happy that I could "spend some time" with my friends. Haha. 

Today! Came the great nacho comeback. I went to 45mins of BodySculpt at 9.30 this morning. I then stayed for an hour of BodyCombat. And then 45mins of strech class. Okay, I admit the stretch part was not very tireing, but anyway. 2,5h of gym a sunday, not bad eh? Then I came home and watched the miserable Hockey game (not that I care) and bought myself my PROM DRESS! whah! Here it is! 

Very simple, and very nice. Here are some Better pictures.

This little big guy I miss today. Murmelito. Mommelmann, limpan.

Now, some writing again! Bye bye! 

Good thursday!

Woke up to the good news that an apartment will be waiting for me when I come home! It will be 67m2, have 3 rooms and my two wonderful boys will be living there with me. So all I feel now is:

Then, work time. wrote a little more on the introduction (the rabbit part by now) and then it was time for lunch with GenPhySE (right spelling and abbreviation this time). Everyone brought something and my pie got god reviews :) 

After all the wonderful entrés, main courses, cheeses, deserts and so on, it was time for me to continue writing a little before it was time for todays workout. CAF (cuisses, abdos, fessiers) (thighs, abs and ass) first and then BodyJam. Nice to dance again actually. Mom was right, I did like it. Alot :)

Kits!

Incredibly tired today. I spent a whole day at the farm yesterday because I weighted ~850 kits individually and today because of the AI (artificial insemination) of the does. It was very educating to be with the staff during the entire day today. I weighted the does after they had given todays milk portion to their, around one and a half week old, kits. They're all white and soft now, some have begun to open their eyes already. By my next visit on monday, they will all have opened their eyes. And they will be, if possible, even cuter. 

After my day with the rabbits I quickly went to shop for food to make a pie for tomorrows lunch get together with all the "youngsters" of GenePhyse at INRA. I then biked even quicker to get in time for my 45mins of BodySculpt and the following hour of BodyAttack. When biking home (slower than an old lady walks, this time) I almost got hit by a (super fast dangerous toulouse persons) car, but was too tired to care. 

I stumbled up the stairs, into the shower, out of the shower, made the friggin' pie, and ate (way too late). 

Now I'm here. An episode of Homeland is awaiting me and then sleep. so much sleep.  

Now some kits!

Montpellier

It was a sad Valentines day last friday. I, and 10 others, went to the BodyPump class, knowing we were all sad and alone people. It felt comforting in a way. I then sat in my room, drank wine and ate cheeze (you do have to take advantage of being in France) and spoke for a long time with the B on skype. 

Saturday, I got up to my BodyPump, all in order, I then went to get my hair cut and then I went to Montpellier to celebrate my cousin Maliks 30th birthday. It was a surprise party very well organised by Nadjet and he had no clue. He cried, I cried, everybody cried as he entered the room and turned the lights on. Very successful might I say. 

It was a nice party in Maliks cousins house which had a huge balcony surrounding the entire appartment basically. We ate and we drank and we danced and we sang until it was 05.00 in the morning and Anna told me that it was time for us to go home. A really fun night in other words. So much fun seeing the family again :).

What happens now however, is taking the computer to the bed to whatch series. And not move one bit. A new week starts tomorrow and I have decided to finish my introduction in the thesis this week. We'll see how that turns out. 

Ciao

Malik in the surprise moment! 

Maliks uncle Bouaza with a pimped Joaquim. Me and Tristan,
Anna and Paul-Marie, and people playing on the huge balcony. 

This week so far

Basically my days this week start with my morning bike ride to the rabbit farm. I start at 7.30 or 8.00 so I have to be careful not to be hit by a car while sleeping on the bike. The picture beneath is taken when the sun goes up at Langlade, the rabbit farm. And under that is what I have been doing, weighing kits and looking at does. So I'm quite happy with that! 

When I'm done at the rabbit farm I bike back home to change, and then to my office at INRA. After that I usually go work out. Today was a bit overwhelming. First "Bodysculpt", some kind of massacre for the legs. And after, my favorite "Bodyattack", which however was not my favorite after the "Bodysculpt". 

This weekend I'm finally going to cut my hair and then I'm going to a secret place, which you will know more about later. 

Have to go to bed now! Rabbits are waiting for me in the morning.

Good night!

Morning sun over Pompertuzat

Little baby rabbits

And this is to explain my comparison between baby 

rabbits and aliens, which I have made to some. 

Busy friday! (Extra long for the weekend readers)

Yesterday started with my first observations on the rabbits at 8.30. Everything went well and I got to see my first ever rabbit pups! Not very nice though, but they will look nicer soon when they get some fur. 

I went to Langlade rabbit farm with a bike borrowed from INRA. As every bike in France, this too was a mountain bike (super expensive one), with only a shitty lock in the back wheel. I was thus afraid to my soul that it would get stolen all the time. It didn't get better when I decided to go to Labège 2, a shopping mall, in order to finally get myself a french card for my phone. I thought I could do this everywhere, but no. So I look at the map and think "huh, 4-5km to the mall from where I live, that's a piece of cake, and like only 3km extra to go there from the farm, I'll go during my lunch brake". 

And so I went, all along Le Canal du Midi on the biking lane. I biked, and I biked, and I biked a little more. When I arrived to the payment station for the highway of Toulouse, I started to wonder if I hadn't biked just a little bit too far after all. I  took a look at my map, and there it was: the biking lane of Le Canal du Midi, took me to my rabbit farm. Then, however, i was supposed to leave the biking lane around where I live, go under the highway and then go approximately the same distance to where I was standing now. So back I went, all the 25 minutes of biking in the wrong direction, to go under the highway, through the tunnel, and bike another 20 minutes to actually get to Labège 2. 

Good, now let me get my friggin' card so I can get back to INRA. I go to SFR, I get a number, and I'm next. Only, there were apparently two ladies bying new phones that were being served at that moment. Getting stressed. Super expensive French mountain bike borrowed to go to the rabbit farm only is outside waiting to get stolen with its shitty locker. I hear ringtones coming out of the cell phone that one of the ladies are buying. Yes, apparently, showing all of the phones functions is included in the service when you buy a phone from SFR...

There's another girl working in this store. She's in grey and not in red as the other ones. So I ask her if I may buy myself a card from her, and a refill for it. She sais no. She doesn't have the authorization to sell things. Her assignment is to give people their number, and tell them how many people are in line before them. I go back, sit down, grumpy, hungry, and not even a cool iPad could entertain me at that point.

40 minutes later, one of the women had seen all the apps of the app store, I am at this point sure that the bike is long gone, and one of the red guys comes to me. I feel the light has come to me. The girl in grey sais "No, you should go for lunch, I'll handle the costumer". Without as much as a card or a password of some kind, given from this lunch man in red, the girl in grey sells me this card I had been waiting for my whole life. Or so it felt.    

I was, if possible, more disgussed than when I realized I had been biking an hour in vain.

Thank you for your patience she said. Have a good day she said. 

Ran out to the shitty locked billion dollar mountain bike, and it was there. I almost cried of happiness. The remaining 25 minutes of biking felt like flying. Got to work, returned the bike, returned the key, and asked while catching my breath when the restaurant stops serving food. 13.30 she said. What time is it I said. 13.31 she said.

As the elite athlete I am, a quickly switched from the elite biking to the ugly elite walking, 13.34 I stumble through the door "DO YOU SERVE ME FOOD?", French, surprised, eyebrows met me at the entrance: "Off course, we close in 10 minutes". Second cry of happiness for the day. I ate and I worked. It was good.

In the evening a nice girl from work came to pick me up at my place to take me to the metro where we would go and meet with 18 other INRA people. She is so nice, that she even let me borrow her (off course French mountain) bike during the entire time of my stay here in France. I love her. She's so cool. 

We first went to Mulligans, an Irish bar and then to la plage to eat tapas, drink fruity rhum drinks and wine. Everyone was super nice to me and I felt like I really belonged there. It ended up being a really nice friday after all :)

Today, I managed to get up to my Body Pump at 10.15 at Movida Castanet. I'm so excited that I can do Les Mills workout before the summer this year, as opposed to always during the summers in Malmö. My first "beach" summer ever maybe? 

It's important to only teach the French the most important parts of the Swedish language.

When in France, do as the French do

I have a really bad cold right now, which is really annoying since this is my first week and I can follow french conversations even less when I'm half awake and with my ears blocked with snot. 

Just have to wait it out I guess. 

Yesterday, my supervisor Laurianne was at a conferance in Paris so I was alone in the office. I prepared the first version of the schedule that we are going to follow during the rabbit observations, the many different sheets where the observations will be noted and I sneezed at least a hundred times. Per hour.

Today, we had a meeting with the boss and the staff of the rabbit farm. We discussed my schedule, my sheets and came to a lot of agreements before we headed out to the rabbits. I have to admit I feared a little for this moment. I know visiting the joyful rabbit heaven on Ekerö before going to France was not my most intelligent move. After my many animal welfare courses, I know very well what to expect from this kind of French rabbit production. Cages are small, floors are aversive plastic/metal ones, no environmental enrichment what so ever, and it just looks sad. However, I cannot really do anything other than accept how they choose to carry out their production, when in Rome as they say... What I can do however (and certainly will do) is to not buy anything other then ecological meat (at the very least when in France!) and I will most definately continue to buy Swedish, good meat, brought to my plate in a healthy and fair way when in Sweden.

So, with that said, I looked around in the "girls" cages, all filled with does with little rabbit pups (as you can see on some pictures), and it was time for their nests to take place. The nest building normally occurs within the last week of their gestation. So, me and Claude, set out the nest boxes and filled them with sawdust. Immediately after opening the hatches to the nests, the does jumped in, curled up, scracthed and played with the sawdust. When you see the happiness that a little sawdust brings to these animals, my animal welfare bell rings oud and clear. But as previously said; when in Rome, when in Rome, when in Rome...    

Tomorrow: office day!

Friday: rabbit day! Fear test will be performed (where I will walk up to all cages, one by one, in a red sweater and observe the reactions of the does) and I will then observe the nests that the does presumably will have built. After that, I hope I'm healthy enough to go to the gym with my new gym card that starts being valid on friday before heading to Toulouse city centre to eat with the INRA people.    

Good night!

A very pregnant little doe.
Rabbits have very beautiful eyes that look a lot like human eyes in close up. 

The nest boxes that we added, the hatch to it is shut during preparation.

And as soon as we opened the hatches, the ladies almost flew in there. 

First day at work

First day today! Yaaay!

It was a whole lot of fun and very interesting. I got to meet a lot (a lot!) of people, mostly bureaucratic ones obviously (since it was my first day, and we are in France, after all), but also many other ones that didn't want my signature or my drivers licence whenever they saw me. What did work however, that I'm not used to, was the ACCESS! First thing in the morning, my access tag was waiting for me with my name on it. Incredible!

For those who don't understand this amazement, I'm used to fighting for my life (not for my life) every summer/winter that I go work for the Clinical Research Centre (CRC) i.e. the lab where I work in Malmö. So yeah, I know what you're thinking "maybe that bureaucracy seems to be working then", this time yes. But sadly, mostly no.

It's a lot of fun though because the rabbits that I'm going to work with are a bit further away from where I work. "Oh!" said I, and wondered "So, where is this place? Is it far? Are there buses?" And Laurianne said: "No, no buses, but we will give you a car". I felt excited, and frightened to hell at the same time because people in, and around Toulouse learned to drive in Toulouse and that's a major problem for those who did not. Anyways, I then asked how far I would have to go by car, and if I'm insured (given the Toulousic driving style) and she answered that I am insured as long as I don't leave the INRA campus. Small pause in my thinking. "So, I am not insured when I leave the campus to go to the rabbit farm?", "Oh, yes! You are, you won't have to leave campus, it takes five minutes by car and 20 minutes by walking, that's why we give you a car!"

Why not add some extra bureaucracy? Well anyway, no complaining, God forbid, I could have gotten a bike! But that would have been very unleasant, I mean, what if it would rain someday? Sweet Jesus, I would like her to see me when I bike in 10cm of snow in Ol'Uppsala :) But they're really nice and I understand they just want what's best for me. After all, as it seems now I've gotten a bit of a cold. Which sucks. A lot. But that gives me a valid reason to be in bed, watching Homeland at 21.56, with my teeth already brushed. And, actually, I have been really good today, calling the bank, shopping for groceries, tried to get a French phone card (but it's not that easy when you have an iPhone), paid the rent, and got a bus card so I can go in to the Toulouse city centre, so in other words, I'm worth an early evening. Actually, I will go to the Toulouse city centre on friday. I was invited by the other young people of INRA, also writing their theses, apparantly. Nice!

Oh, by the way, the access tag that I got, is actually a multi-task tag, because it gives me food, cheap food, but good and alot of food, every lunch with the collegues. The restaurant reminds me a little of the IKEA restaurant, except the chefs here have white coats and huge chef hats à la Française. You get an entrée, a main course, a desert, bread, salad bar and drinks. You have to choose between almost a thousand alternatives of each which is not good for the decision anxiety of the Swedish half of myself. I ended up with too much good food (I couldn't walk away from the restaurant properly). This evenings food intake (19.30) ended up in fromage blanc with special K branflakes, I was still not hungry from the lunch yet though. So perhaps, minor adjustments will have to be made starting tomorrow.

Okay, so first day, a lot to write obviously!

À demain!

Lauriannes' and my office. 

My way back from INRA today.
18.00, blackbirds singing, not very cold, felt like a late summer evening almost.
I can definately get used to this. 

One of the best things about France. Every store has a yoghurt heaven. My heaven.
(They also have wine heaven, cheese heaven, meat heaven, bread heaven, and did I say wine heaven?) 

Home

I have now arrived to my new home in Castanet!

It's really nice and my landlord is too. She took me on a tour of the town the first thing she did. She showed me my store, my boulangerie, my gym, where I work, and how I go there in the fastest way. So now I'm all set! Tonight we're going to have dinner together. It's good that we're in France though, the combination of my lack of sleep and my slightly retarded french (for the moment at least) could otherwise have lead to many awkward silences. 

boring picture of clouds, but I love looking down at clouds instead of up!

                                 

My room! 

                               

Nice little kitchen, with the blue little book where we write notes to each other in case we don't meet.

                                 

And the living room, full of cat protections for when Bali is visiting.

                                 

Paris in the Spring

Well, it's not actually spring, more than it's the spring semester. And it's not actually Paris, more like Terminal 2F at "EXK" with a sad camembert and spinach pie for a whole lot of more money than it's worth.

Oh well, the trip has started either way! And I'm super excited, aswell as very sad to leave my Joakim in our little crib in Sweden. But I, and he, will manage just fine.

My lugage is on its way to the airplane, I'll watch the first episode of Homeland while eating my piece of pie, and after two more hours on a plane, my new landlord Mme Lellouch will stand outside of the exit with a BURRI sign. And 26 min in the car after that, I will find my new home for the three following months. Very exciting!

So, I believe that the 15 free minutes (too kind of Aeroport de Paris) of wi-fi will soon be over, but I'll write more this evening from my room in Castanet-Tolosan!