February 18th 2009

What do obesity, factory farming, fair trade, peak oil, peak phosphorus and climate change have in common? Why might our 'pee' one day be worth its weight in gold?

With three expert speakers, this lecture puts our daily dinner table and supermarket choices under the spotlight. It questions the kind of human diet our planet can sustain and looks at how we could reduce demand on global resources, while maintaining a balanced diet and ethical food industry.

Finally you'll hear about the great global phosphorus crisis. Vital to plant and animal growth, the value of this element is sky-rocketing as supply from a few mines world-wide decreases. Our days of peeing phosphorus down the drain and food production processes demanding an excess of phosphorus may soon be costly habits of the past.

Professor Stuart White

Stuart White is the Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at UTS. He has researched, written and lectured widely on the issue of sustainable futures over the last 25 years, with an emphasis on resource use and improved decision-making.

Special Guest - Dr Rosemary Stanton, OAM

Dr Rosemary Stanton is Australia's best-known nutritionist, with a background in biochemistry, nutrition, dietetics and public health. She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her services to community health through education in nutrition and dietetics. Her major aim is to change Australians' poor eating habits so they have healthier diets and eat more enjoyable foods that course minimal environmental damage.

Dana Cordell

Dana Cordell is a PhD scholar jointly at UTS's Institute for Sustainable Futures and Sweden's Linköping University. Her current trans-disciplinary research on the global phosphorus situation in the context of food security led to her co-founding the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative.

Resources

• flyer (PDF 108k)
• presentation slides - Professor Stuart White (PDF 120 k)
• presentation slides - Dr Rosemary Stanton (PDF 200 k)
• presentation slides - Dana Cordell (PDF 848 k)
• audio recording (MP3 29 MB)

UTSPEAKS: is a free public lecture series presented by UTS experts discussing a range of important issues confronting contemporary Australia