Ep 7. Stepping back, looking up: the bigger picture, and where to now?
Aug 2, 2020
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In this discussion, Professors David Raubenheimer and Steve Simpson share insights from their work at the Charles Perkins Centre, focusing on nutritional ecology and biology. They connect the dots between climate change, protein sources, infectious diseases, and nutrition, stressing the need for a comprehensive approach to health. They emphasize the collective responsibility for improving food systems and the impact of rising carbon levels on crop nutrient content. Their conversation also highlights the transformative power of art and collaboration in advancing research.
Climate change profoundly alters nutritional quality of food, leading to nutrient deficiencies and public health challenges linked to overconsumption.
The Charles Perkins Centre employs a multidisciplinary approach, fostering collaboration across fields to address complex health issues like obesity and diabetes.
Deep dives
Interconnectedness of Nutrition and Climate Change
Climate change significantly impacts nutrition and food sources, influencing the composition of staple crops. Rising carbon dioxide levels lead to increased carbohydrates in plants, while simultaneously reducing fiber and essential micronutrients, which may contribute to a global overconsumption of calories. This phenomenon mirrors the effects of ultra-processed foods, highlighting a natural occurrence that disrupts nutritional quality. The consequences span beyond just individual health, connecting climate extremes with wider ecological and food production issues.
The Role of the Charles Perkins Centre
The Charles Perkins Centre operates on a multidisciplinary approach, addressing chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes by viewing them within a broader systems context rather than isolating them as separate medical issues. This innovative center integrates various fields of research and has significantly evolved since its inception, including the participation of over 1,000 researchers. By modeling its operations akin to the human brain, the center fosters collaboration across disciplines to stimulate creative solutions to complex health problems. Its ongoing work emphasizes the power of collective knowledge to drive significant advancements in understanding human nutrition.
Bringing Change Through Clarity and Transparency
Motivation, clarity, and transparency are essential for individuals and society to address the intertwined challenges of nutrition and health. Enhancing public understanding of food systems and their impacts connects consumer choices to broader ecological and health outcomes, encouraging more informed decisions. Individuals can influence market demand through their purchasing choices, which in turn shapes food production and government policies. Ultimately, fostering a stronger connection to nutrition and dietary practices can guide communities toward better health and environmental sustainability.
In this final episode, Professors David Raubenheimerand Steve Simpson step back from the details of research to think about the big picture. We hear about how the Charles Perkins Centre's work is modelled on the biology of the human brain, and we learn of the connection between climate change, protein, infectious disease pandemics and our nutrition. Last, we talk about our individual and collective responsibility for creating the systems that harm our health.
Hosted by novelist Charlotte Wood, the first writer-in-residence at the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney.