Join us at the World Science Festival Brisbane for Food futures: Nourishing a nation at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday 22 March 2024.
Professor David Raubenheimer, Professor of Nutritional Ecology, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney
Professor Raubenheimer is a leading expert in nutritional ecology – the science of how food environments interact with animals’ biology to influence health and ecological outcomes. Over 37 years he and colleagues have studied the nutritional ecology of other species, from insects to wild apes, and used the natural world as a guide for understanding challenges and opportunities in human diets and nutrition. He is the author of several books, including ‘Eat like the animals: what nature tells us about the science of healthy eating’, ‘5 appetites: eat like the animals for a naturally healthy diet’ and ‘The nature of nutrition: a unifying framework from animal adaptation to human obesity’.
Professor Raubenheimer will set the scene for the symposium by showing how this work can provide new directions for helping us understand how to rebalance the Australian food system. This rebalance will involve better aligning the health, environmental and economic benefits of the foods and diets we produce and eat. Along the way, he will tell us about a new approach he and colleagues have developed for helping to achieve this rebalancing, which was awarded the 2022 Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Science.
Session overview: Science underpins the race to ensure global food production keeps pace with population growth. Yet an immense challenge for agriculture remains: how can we maintain global food security, minimise greenhouse gas emissions, and protect the agricultural resource base while maintaining wildlands and biodiversity for an increasingly affluent and discerning population? How have agricultural production systems evolved to tackle such a challenge and what threats and opportunities lie ahead?
Australia ranks among the most food-secure countries in the world, yet our farmers produce food on ancient, weathered soils in one of the riskiest environments on Earth. We produce much more food than we consume, with more than 70% of agricultural production exported, so we play a significant role in the food security of other countries. Australian science and expertise in agriculture and food production systems is also exported, with Australians holding leadership roles in many international centres dedicated to the sustainable improvements in production of staple crops globally.
This session will delve into the cutting-edge and sometimes contentious science around the development of sustainable food production systems and discuss the pros and cons of different production systems, explore the evidence behind them, and highlight Australian science and innovation leading the way to a food secure future.
Keynote presentation
Panel discussion
Session overview: Our agricultural systems routinely draw on science and technology to manage identified challenges such as climate change – from breeding crops to suit our environment, innovating with automation, or using AI to predict weather impacts. Scientists are working hand in hand with our food producers to feed the nation and secure agricultural exports.
But policies to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate have an impact on agriculture and its supporting sectors like transport and energy, both in Australia and among our export partners. How are these policies shaping our food production systems, export trade, farmers and consumers? This session will discuss how we can not only survive, but create a thriving Australian agricultural sector in a net zero future.
Keynote presentations
Panel discussion
Session outline: How do we rebalance the Australian food environment, such that science and technology coupled with improved nutrition literacy guide the production of healthier foods with lower environmental impact but without compromising the profitability of the agriculture and food sectors?
Science has shown that nutrition shapes just about every aspect of our biology and health, yet obesity, cardiometabolic and autoimmune diseases and unhealthy eating practices are increasing. Our nutritional biology has been hacked in the modern industrialised food environment and consumer demand is driving agriculture and food production practices to satisfy a market for unhealthy foods.
How has this happened – and what can we do about it?
In this session we will consider uniquely Australian breakthroughs that help answer questions including: What is a healthy balanced diet? How do ultra-processed foods and beverages cause us to eat too much, be unhealthy and age faster? Why are food allergies on the rise? Are fad diets healthy?
Keynote presentations
Panel discussion
Professor Christine Beveridge FAA, Centre Director, ARC Centre for plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, University of Queensland
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