Our friends at IRunFar.com do! While iRunFar.com is generally a meat-free publication, there are times when training or racing and available non-meat protein sources don’t mesh. In such situations, they hope to have a tin of BELA-Olhão sardines at the ready. When IRunFar’s blog master came up a bit short on protein at the TransRockies Run, he was sure glad to have packed a couple emergency tins of BELA-Olhão sardines. These tasty, nutrition-packed, sustainably-caught little fish were a race saving recovery food as six days of racing up and down the Rocky Mountains took their toll on his body. Check out the full contest and prizes and enter today! Hurry, contest ends Friday, December 12. http://blog.irunfar.com/2008/12/do-you-sardine-bela-olho-sardine.html
From the NY Times to the Boston Globe to Plenty Magazine, sardines are quickly becoming the fish of choice. From their high nutritional value, to their low mercury level, to their abundance (not to mention great taste) sardines are a great alternative fish-based cuisine, and can be mixed up into almost any recipe you can dream up.
Seems that others are catching on to what we already know…
Check out this video from the Airship Regatta in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
The September/October 2008 issue of Good Magazine features a fantastic article about the current and future states of commercial fishing. Good is a socially minded magazine “about things that matter, for people who give a damn.” The layout and design of the magazine are also pretty fresh. You can read the article here: Fin: The Last Days of Fish.
BELA made its grand entrance into the Outdoor industry at this summer’s Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake
City.
BELA already has a home in the hearts of many of the climbers and outdoor recreationists, and is a great food source for any outdoor or fitness aficionado. And they know BELA “ain’t” your grandma’s sardines. Not only are they really delicious, but they are super nutritious! The perfect companion for taking along on a climb, on a run, in the backcountry, a weekend excursion or whatever.
In fact, many climbers, runners, paddlers etc., in the industry are already huge fans of these sardines and use them as training and recovery food. BELA is even sponsoring a climber and a paddler.
There is also the pack ‘em in, pack ‘em out campaign with Leave No Trace, which highlights the portability of these sustainably-caught, fancy little fishies, 
and how their is virtually no carbon footprint in buying, consuming and packing these out.
Attendees lined up at the Open Air demo booth, which took place for the two days preceding the show, to test out these gourmet sardines.
And they also migrated to the booth to get their pictures taken in the life-sized sardine can, making their best fish face.
I’m with Beth Daley of the Boston Globe when it comes to shopping for fish at my local grocery store. It’s hard to remember what is OK to buy and what are the best fish to eat when it comes to safety, quality and sustainability.
Greenpeace is helping us piece the puzzle together and take the questions out of the picture by looking at various supermarkets across the country and giving them a rating on their sustainable seafood policies and procedures.
Daley summed up the findings perfectly when she said “supermarkets were graded on buying practices, support for sustainability, labeling, transparency and how many Greenpeace-determined “Red List” products - 22 of the world’s most destructively fished and farmed species - were for sale.”
Unfortunately, all of the supermarkets were well below the standards, but there were some standouts both at the top and the bottom of the list. Who would have thought Wal-mart would be towards the top?!
A very interesting, and somewhat disturbing, article came out yesterday in the NY Times where renowned author of “Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood” Taras Grescoe shares his take on why salmon is just not sustainable or as healthy today as it was in the past.
Because of numerous man-made issues, salmon are less abundant, less nutritious and suffering from epidemic-like outbreaks, and salmon such as the Broughton’s pink salmon caught off the coast of British Columbia are in jeopardy of becoming extinct by the year 2011.
Sardines do offer up a great alternative, which are really high in omega-3, 6 and 9, and also offer up high dosages of calcium. Not only are they nutritious, but they are more available and offer just as many avenues for cooking to satisfy any taste bud.
And, BELA-Olhao’s sardines are sustainably caught, so they support the sustainable fishing, the local economy of Portugal and have low, if not indistinguishable, levels of mercury.
As we seek alternatives to completely depleting the already suffering population of salmon, sardines are finally earning their time in the spotlight.
Treehugger also noted this trend.
Hello and welcome to the BELA blog!
BELA sardines originated in Olhão, Portugal, a traditional fishing community renowned for its open-air markets and daily fish auctions. BELA sardines represent an all-natural, wild caught product, which are not heavily processed or engineered like other on-the-go nutrition options. BELA’s aluminum can also makes it highly packable (and recycle-able), and an excellent portable nutritional source.
These products exemplify great, natural foods that support the recreational needs and sustainable aspirations of consumers in the outdoor, health and wellness, lifestyle and LOHAS markets. BELA already has a home in the hearts of many of the climbers and outdoor recreationists, and is a great food source for any outdoor or fitness aficionado. BELA’s business practices and packable, high-quality food aligns well with the current trends and direction of each respective industry.
