Iron Maidens + Sophie

London Paralympic Games champion swimmer Sophie Pascoe is the newest Beef+Lamb NZ Inc Iron Maiden, becoming the + between Sarah Walker’s ‘Beef’ and Lisa Carrington’s ‘Lamb’.

Announced first on the domestic promotion agency’s Facebook page this morning, the well anticipated news has since been covered at the NZ Herald, which says ‘It all adds up now Sophie has joined in‘.

The 19 year old swimmer from Christchurch, who lost the lower half of her left leg aged two following a lawnmower accident, scored three gold and three silver medals at the recent games in London – breaking two world records and setting a new Paralympic record in the process. She added those to her earlier hauls of ten medals at the Summer Paralympics and four medals at the 2008 Paralympics.

Sophie, who  was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit earlier this year for her services to swimming, will appear alongside the other two B+LNZ ambassadors in a marketing campaign promoting the importance of a healthy diet, including red meat. Kiwis can expect to see Pascoe, Walker and Carrington on their television screens from November.

B+LNZ Inc chief executive, Rod Slater, says Pascoe completes the team.

“She has it all; the New Zealand public love her. Sophie fits seamlessly into the Beef + Lamb brand. We really are seeing the second generation of superstars following on from the original Iron Maidens” says Slater.

Pascoe says she’s really excited to be part of the team.

“I’m thrilled, especially to be working with two other amazing athletes. We all get on so well, it’s going to be great,” says Pascoe.

Congratulations Sophie and B+LNZ!

Let the science speak for itself

As epidemiologists go, Dr Dominik Alexander, is a surprise. He’s young, 39, doesn’t wear glasses or a white coat and is a previous professional kickboxer. However, the leading US epidemiologist also knows his stuff about cancer and nutrition research and he’s been over here in New Zealand sharing his expertise.

With extensive experience in health research methodology and interpretation of epidemiological studies, particularly nutritional epidemiology, Alexander is based in Boulder, Colorado, where he works for engineering and science consultancy firm Exponent Inc in its Health Sciences Centre for epidemiology, biostatistics and computational biology.

He delivers the sobering estimation that one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. The strongest risk factor for cancer, generally, is age.

“With increasing numbers of older people, we are seeing higher rates of cancer and also diabetes and heart disease. This is also the case in developing countries, where the elimination of certain infectious diseases – which would have killed off more of the population early on – and lower infant mortality rates, means a higher rate of cancer and other age-related diseases in the population.”

Relating to nutrition, the types of cancer of concern are those associated with digestion, absorption and elimination such as the most common type, colorectal, through stomach/gastric to the less common oesophageal, pancreatic, liver and other cancers.

As an epidemiologist studying the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease in defined populations, he’s involved in examining exposure and outcome.

“Food is a necessary exposure. All people have to eat,” he says, adding that the result of over-exposure leads to higher Body Mass Index (BMI) rates – overweight to obese – where there is an established increased risk for cancers such as colorectal, the most common cancer affecting the alimentary tract.

In his view, cancer prevention is all about control. The key is a health lifestyle. “It all starts with physical exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight.  In addition you need a well-balanced diet,” he says.

Opinions + assumptions + perception = confusion

Trouble is, as everyone eats, every single person has an opinion on it and the perceptions of the general public, the medical fraternity and the media vary. That’s why the ‘study of the moment’ is leapt on, over-hyped, over-analysed and consequently gets a lot of airtime leading to consumer confusion.

But, you can’t view a single study in isolation, he notes. “Every study needs to be viewed in the context of the available body of scientific views, otherwise it can be misinterpreted.”

Good science is at the heart of good communication, he believes. Dr Alexander’s advice for those communicating with the public is: “Don’t say anything that can’t be backed up by science. Let the science speak for itself and don’t make an interpretation outside the bounds of the scientific results. Given the complexity with this type of product, there needs to be a cautious approach.”

What media get hung up on sometimes is the people funding the research and conflicts of interest. That can negate the worth of the science itself, he believes. “It’s very important to get to the heart of the issue with science and then focus on the science and the scientific basis for comments.”

In his opinion, what makes good evidence is transparency, objectivity, justification for doing the research, rationale and a clear and open basis for research.

“A lot of problems come in when the research is not open and transparent. Say what you’re going to do, do it and show what you learned,” he advocates.

Looking to the future

Looking to the future, we have a long way to go on the preventative side, he says, and continuous updates of cohort studies, don’t always shed light.

“We also lack long-term evidence of differences between organic versus conventional products, for example.

“This all takes us back to the holistic approach and concentrating on the healthy body weights and lifestyle elements.”

Dr Alexander’s articulate delivery comes with a sense of humour and the surprising revelation that he was once a professional kickboxer in the 1990s, before he moved straight to science at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB).

“You could call me the toughest epidemiologist in the world,” he laughs.

At UAB, he was awarded a National Cancer Institute Fellowship for Cancer Prevention and Control and worked closely with the Department of Pathology where he designed and implemented epidemiological studies pertaining to colorectal survival. He is also the 2010 recipient of the UAB School of Public Health Alumnus for scientific excellence.

Dr Dominik Alexander PhD MSHP was invited to Australia and New Zealand in September in a visit jointly organised by Meat & Livestock Australia and Beef + Lamb NZ Inc.

This article appeared in Pen & Palate (October 2012), the NZ Guild of Food Writers’ ezine.

The new Iron Maidens are…

Olympic gold medallist rower Lisa Carrington and BMX silver medallist Sarah Walker have been named as the new faces of Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ Inc).

The pair will become a key part of upcoming television advertising in New Zealand.

B+LNZ Inc chief executive Rod Slater says choosing the popular Olympians to front the organisation’s domestic marketing campaigns was a no-brainer.

“These girls have it all and New Zealanders have really taken them into their hearts.”

They follow in the footsteps of former cyclist Sarah Ulmer and rowing twins Georgina Earl (née Evers Swindell) and Caroline Meyer (née Evers Swindell), whom B+LNZ Inc continues to support.

The pair were featured in an item on TV3 on 8 September. Watch.

Bollard goes to APEC

The New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF) has congratulated outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard on his appointment as executive director of APEC.

“This is another valuable opportunity for New Zealand to show leadership for freer trade and investment in the Asia Pacific region” said NZIBF chairman Sir Graeme Harrison.

“Alan Bollard has a range of experiences both as an economist and as a policy maker, which qualify him for this task. We wish him well for this challenging new appointment”.

Speaking from the APEC Summit in Vladivostok, Tony Nowell, New Zealand member of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), said Dr Bollard was taking up his role at a significant time.

“APEC has a broad vision to establish the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP).  Progress to this end is being made in the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.  As well as strengthening APEC’s advocacy for freer trade and investment, Alan Bollard will have a key role to play in ensuring that regional trade initiatives proceed in a way which is mutually re-enforcing, meet business needs and contribute ultimately to the FTAAP goal.”

Tony Nowell said that ABAC looked forward to working with Dr Bollard in his new role.

Smol confirmed as permanent MBIE head

David Smol has been appointed as the first chief executive of the new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), it has been announced by the State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie.

Smol (pictured right) has been acting chief executive of the super ministry since April this year and prior to that he was the chief executive of the former Ministry of Economic Development. His new contract runs until June 2017.

The Government established MBIE on 1 July 2012, bringing together all the existing functions of the former Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Department of Labour and Department of Building and Housing.

The Commissioner says that Smol has the skills and experience to “step up” to successfully lead the transformational change required in MBIE.

Smol will lead approximately 3,500 staff located in offices throughout New Zealand and overseas. MBIE has an annual expenditure of around $660 million and administers non-departmental appropriations of $4 billion.

Peter Fitz-Herbert is Canada-bound

Hunterville farmer, Peter Fitz-Herbert is the winner of a Beef + Lamb NZ Ltd agricultural scholarship that will take him to the Five Nations Beef Alliance and Young Ranchers Programme, being held in British Columbia in Canada next month.

The stock-manager on the Fitz-Herbert family farm will accompany B+LNZ Ltd Northern North Island director James Parsons to the Five Nations Beef Alliance. The Alliance is made up of producer organisations from Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the US and meets annually to discuss global issues and opportunities for the beef sector.

The Young Ranchers programme will provide Fitz-Herbert with an opportunity to meet other young beef producers and to build an understanding of global beef issues, share their experience and develop networks. There will also be the opportunity to observe how producer representative organisations can collaborate for the benefit of all beef producers worldwide.

Fitz-Herbert manages 2,400 Romney ewes and 220 breeding cattle on the 600 hectare farm which is spread over four separate, mainly hill country farms. Off-farm he is involved with New Zealand Young Farmers, he has been a regional finalist in the National Bank Young Farmer contest and two years running has competed in the Speight’s Coast to Coast race.

Channelling innovation

The Government released the second of its six progress reports –  Building Innovation – under its Business Growth Agenda this week. The move has been welcomed by the Meat Industry Association (MIA).

Building innovation is central to building a more competitive and productive economy, said Prime Minister John Key at a business breakfast launch for the report earlier this week, adding that it gives a clear picture of the more than 50 policy initiatives the Government has underway to improve innovation, competition and the commercialisation of smart ideas and research into new products.

It calls for a doubling of the amount businesses spend on research and development, from 0.54 percent of GDP to more than one percent of GDP.

MIA chief executive Tim Ritchie has welcomed the report, saying that the meat industry is “all for anything that helps in that area.” Industry is very interested in innovation and already has a number of initiatives in place, he says.

Individual members are involved with a number of Primary Growth Partnership projects, while the industry has also invested in Ovine Automation Ltd, a consortium of nine MIA member companies and the government that is looking at bringing a step change in sheep processing through the use of automation.”

This all adds to innovations individual meat companies are working on in their own workplaces, like Silver Fern Farms’ robotics projects, Ritchie explains.

New Advanced Technology Institute

Meat exporters will also benefit in the future from the new Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) that was announced this week will be named after the late Sir Paul Callaghan. It is to receive $166 million over the next four years and is one of the initiatives to grow business research and development further.

The Institute will be a one-stop shop that will help high-tech firms become more competitive by better connecting them with innovation and business development expertise within the institute, around the country and internationally, Steven Joyce, science and innovation minister says.

‘It will focus on industries with significant growth potential such as food and beverage manufacturing, agri-technologies, digital technologies, health technologies and therapeutics manufacturing and high-value wood products.

“The ATI will take over some business development functions that are currently within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. This will include the administration of some business research and development grants,” Joyce says.

A seven member establishment board has been tasked with having the ATI up and running by the end of the year. Chaired by Sue Suckling, who led the set up of AsureQuality NZ and NZQA, other board members include Industrial Research Ltd (IRL) director and former New Zealand Game Industry Board and Cervena Ltd chairman Richard Janes and Dr Michele Allan, who has leadership experience across many facets of the Australian food industry. They join IRL chair Michael Ludbrook, entrepreneur Neville Jordan, Auckland Transport director Paul Lockey and Plant and Food Research chair Michael Ahie.

Strong support in business community

Business NZ says that there is strong support in the business community for the Government’s systematic approach to building innovation. The ATI is a centrepiece of the innovation policy, says BNZ chief executive Phil O’Reilly.

“But there are many other initiatives including expanded TechNZ funding, better, government procurement policies, National Science challenges, more funding for the Performance-Based Research Fund, refinement of trademark and patents law, more investment in engineering at tertiary institutes, encouragement for multi-nationals to conduct research in NZ and others.

“It is up to business to innovate and grow and take up the Government’s invitation to keep the lines of communication open and provide feedback on how we are travelling towards a high-tech future.”

New science adviser for MPI

Dr Ian Ferguson MNZM has been appointed to the newly created position of Departmental Science Adviser for the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) and will take up his part-time role from mid-September.

Announcing the appointment, MPI deputy director of policy Paul Stocks said that it is an exceptionally important role for the Ministry. “I am confident that Dr Ferguson will provide strong science leadership to ensure that MPI is well connected across government and with the science community and will continue to provide high quality scientific advice.”

The role focuses on the key areas of quality assurance of science inputs into regulatory decision making; strategic direction for science investment; and ensuring MPI is able to effectively deal with emerging risks and opportunities.

Dr Ferguson is well known in the science community, both nationally and internationally. He has been the chief scientist of crown research institute Plant and Food Research (and formerly HortResearch) since 2003. He has a science background in plant and fruit physiology, postharvest and horticultural science, biochemistry and biotechnology. He has also been a member of the New Zealand government funding and review panels and bodies, including being on the Marsden Council and the Rutherford Discovery Fellowship panel.

Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, the Prime Minister’s chief science adviser says the role is critical for government if New Zealand is to maximise the benefits of evidence-based policy.

The role is for a three year term and is part-time. Dr Ferguson will continue in a science role with Plant and Food Research.

 

Cooper ‘walking the talk’

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Cooper ‘walking the talk’

The purchase of a 245 hectare sheep and beef finishing farm last year means that Siver Fern Farms’ chief executive is now ‘walking the talk’, according to an article in the Otago Daily Times. As a farm owner, the article says, Cooper better understands farmers’ problems and challenges and is using that knowledge to help shape the company to meet those needs. Read more …