Food, genes and bad decisions 
By Mehpara Khan

In five years we will be able to send a spit sample to China and receive our genetic profile on a USB-like device. That’s the prediction one speaker made at the NZBIO Conference. He suggested we will then be able to take the device to any medical practitioner to help in our diagnosis and treatment.

It means that genetic profiling could help us understand what illnesses we are more likely to get and the most effective method of prevention. It also means we can better manage our health and know what medications can work best for us as individuals. Whether this will mean a shift from mass production of medicines like paracetamol to specially catered medication, well, I think anything’s possible if there’s a market willing to pay enough for the service.

Another scientist, Mathew Barnett from AgResearch, talked about personalised nutrition - how food interacts with genes to provide individuals with information on improving their health. We are all unique so it follows that we all digest and react to food differently.

So how will it work? Based on your genetic profile you will be able to know if specific foods/drinks are good or bad for you based on the processes of specific genes or gene chains to achieve optimal health. For example, for some people ginger beer has a calming effect based on certain genes they have.

Barnett said that knowing about our bodies will mean we will be able to understand the diet related diseases we are at risk of getting and take pre-emptive and preventative action accordingly.

The question I have is: Will knowing our genes really help us make better choices?

As it stands, we know fast food is bad for us, we know chocolates, lollies and deep fried chicken is best in moderation. But we still eat it. We eat it because, it’s easy, it’s cheap, it’s in our faces and man does it taste good.

The whole reason we have an obesity epidemic here is because most people make bad food choices. A colleague and I were talking about how it is so much easier to binge on junk food now than it was before. In the old days, if you wanted to eat a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies you had to make them all first. Now you just open a packet and start putting them in your mouth.

So is it about education or do we need to fight fire with fire and make healthy food just as easy, convenient and cheap as fast food?

We find foods now-a-days with added calcium, more iron and 10 times more Vitamin C. Functional foods have been around for a while. But where they were once used in fast foods to create low nutrient, cheap, filling meals, maybe now we should create those same meals, at the same price but make them better for us? After all, if we can take the goodness in meat and put that into ice cream – couldn’t we make more functional meals for an unhealthy population?

Interview of the Week: Brenda Saunders on why sustainability will become a way of life, not just something 'quirky'

By Deirdre Robert  - http://www.celsias.co.nz/

Brenda Saunders has worked in public relations, publishing, journalism, marketing and advertising both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom during her 30-year career. She tells us why she fears Air New Zealand may end up exploiting African and Indian farmers, and why she’s looking forward to the day we all travel around in algae-powered vehicles and planes (and no, it’s not a pipe dream).

Who are you and what's your job title?  Brenda Saunders, Partner in Trio Communications, Auckland.  PR consultant and chief ‘storyteller’ for Aquaflow Bionomic Corp, Carbonscape, and Celsias in its formative years. What do you actually do? Bring the gospel of clean-tech to the mass ‘celebrity-obsessed’ media and convince the ‘Doubting Thomases’ that there are better investments than property and dairy products for New Zealand long-term. I explain how it’s possible to turn algae from sewerage ponds into energy – and ‘No’ it won’t make your car pong! I make complicated stuff simple.

Photo: Aquaflow Bionomic

What's the coolest part about practicing sustainability/cleantech/greentech/green marketing at work? 
Working with passionate, visionary people who don’t let the fact they’re from a small country stand in the way of big ideas.  Seeing the transformation in society as sustainability becomes a way of life rather than something ‘quirky’. Algae and charcoal? Who’d have thought something so everyday could be such a good solution?

And the worst? 
Finding that the overseas media are more receptive to Kiwi clean technology ideas than some of the folks back home.

What's the strongest motivation to invest in sustainability in your workplace? 
It’s just the right thing to do. And soon consumers won’t let companies operate any other way.

Dear John Key, can you please ... 
Tell me why your national airline may end up exploiting African and Indian farmers by using jatropha as a feedstock for jet fuel?

If I didn’t need to work I’d be ... 
Very surprised. Apart from investing in cool companies like Aquaflow and Carbonscape, I’d be figuring out a way to plug the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and preventing it from ever happening again; mounting a national campaign to encourage Kiwis not to litter their beautiful country—when did we become so lazy? And teaching the next generation about growing vegetables and cooking healthy food before vegetable peelers become museum pieces.

My dirty eco-sin is that I ... 
Went quad-biking along the sand dunes at Ahipara last summer. I have just turned off heater in my office as my penance.  Mea culpa. Brrr!

My pearl of wisdom to pioneers in the sustainability space is ... 
Hang in there.  You may have to achieve some international success before you’ll be ‘discovered’ by New Zealand mainstream media.  Start building conversations with specialist writers who will ‘get’ your technology faster and educate their colleagues. And avoid greenwash at all costs.

In ten years’ time I want to be ...
In one of the world’s greatest and cleanest countries—New Zealand, of course.  Travelling in algae-powered vehicles and planes. Writing about the global success of at least three Kiwi companies in the sustainability space that I helped to launch.

Doing my bit for the animals
By Jane Pickering

As soon as I heard the SPCA needed volunteer collectors for their Angels for Animals Street Appeal, I jumped at the chance.

I mentioned it to Trio Communication's directors Felicity and Brenda and was happy when they said it was a great idea and I could have the day off and still get paid.

I shouldn't have been surprised. Both of them do heaps for the community - Felicity through Rotary and Brenda through her church - so we have that kind of atmosphere at work. They said this could be my "corporate social responsibility day".

My luck didn’t run out there. Jim Blackman, the CEO of Triangle Television said we could use his gorgeous Old English Sheep Dog, Tasha to help us out on the day and somehow I managed to rope in my friend Rachel (pictured right) to join me. Her boss gave her a paid day's leave too.

So there we were, November 13 with our blue bibs, blue balloons, blue buckets and Tasha in her blue doggie bandana. We had a really good response, most of which can be attributed to our furry friend – although I’d like to think Rachel and I did a great job smiling. It was definitely an interesting exercise to see what kinds of people were happy to give up their loose change. One guy donated $20!

In the end we were happy with the guess-timated $300 we raised over four hours, knowing it went towards a new digital x-ray machine for the SPCA Animal Hospital and to help save more animals.



Auckland women take gold at World Masters Games
By Felicity Anderson



As a strong believer that a fit body helps maintain an agile mind, I recently took part in the World Masters Games in Sydney.

I was honoured to be invited to join a hockey team of 13 other women from Auckland, calling itself the “Black and Blues”.

The short story is that we played six games over seven days to claim the competitive 50+ gold medal.

The team finished the tournament with a 5-0 finals win over a team from Tasmania. Four of the six games during the week long tournament were against teams in the 45+ age group. The Black and Blues suffered only one loss – 2-0 against a younger side from Brisbane.

My team mates, drawn from Counties-Manukau, Auckland and me from North Harbour, included four women in their 60s.  They were far fitter, more agile and some faster than me. What an inspiration. I am back at the gym!

It was a week of exercise, wonderful friendship and real teamwork – and the gold medal was a bonus.

Caption: Golden Girls: (from left at back) Margie Sanders, Ailsa Pert, Maeve Morrison, Celia Talbot, Jeanette Marinovic, Trish Carraher, Felicity Anderson, (from left at front) Judy Board, Di Tietjens, Helen  Colenso, Ali Davison, Ann Harkness, Kati Peri and Dianne Foley.