Katherine Cullerton

Latest figures show total government spending on R&D is in decline, The Australian Government’s commitment to investing in R&D is being called into question after new figures reveal a continued decline in investment in R&D and a potential $400 million underspend on

Another report showing decreases in govt spending on research in Australia...☹️ www.science.org.au/news-and-eve...

Great turn out in Meanjin (Brisbane) for the Justice for Palestine March!

The violence of silence Back in February 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri wrote a short brief in which he distinguished four forms of violence that beset our food system:

The violence of silence
open.substack.com/pub/stuartgi...

Health Organizations Must Cut Ties With Fossil-Fueled Public Relations And Advertising Firms - Health Policy Watch As health actors meet this week in Brasilia to refine a Health Action Plan for COP30, ending relationships with PR firms that engage with fossil fuel

Health Organizations Must Cut Ties with Fossil-Fueled Public Relations and Advertising Firms healthpolicy-watch.news/health-organ...

How governments influence public health research: a scoping review Abstract. Governments can become involved in academic research to assist in public health decision-making. However, when governments become involved, the r

We often talk about corporations influencing research, but what about governments? 🧐 New paper by PhD student Helen Senior shows govt-funded public health research isn’t immune to influence - both positive and negative. Check it out 👉https://tinyurl.com/yjpkhtfk

In the analysis we look at what information is shared, where the gaps lie and show that Canada, Chile, Ireland & Scotland are leading the way. We offer practical recommendations to improve transparency and accountability, starting with better, clearer, and more complete registers! (2/2)

Lobbying in the Shadows: A Comparative Analysis of Government Lobbyist Registers Policy Points Our research provides a starting point to benchmark government transparency measures to improve the quality and accessibility of information about lobbying. Policymakers and regulat...

🚨New paper out! “Lobbying in the Shadows” led by Jenn Lacy-Nichols. tinyurl.com/42ad3pfe
Lobbying information helps expose undue influence but most govts don’t disclose much, or do it poorly. We benchmarked 13 national lobbying registers & found significant gaps. #lobbying #publichealth (1/2)

100% agree. Thanks for writing this @ericreinhart.bsky.social

What policy support do smallholders in high-income countries need to contribute to healthy, sustainable food systems? A scoping review Global food systems face complex challenges and need to transform to meet increasing demand for food, sustainably. Smallholders are a significant popu…

How important are small, local farms to our food systems, now and into the future? 🌽🥕🚜
I'm excited to announce new research into policies supporting smallholder farmers in high-income countries, with @teimaui.bsky.social, @kcullerton.bsky.social and Jessica Bogard! Read more here: shorturl.at/wXpTM

🚜 Exciting news! PhD student @kerrigill.bsky.social just published her first paper examining what policy support smallholder farmers in high-income countries need to contribute to healthy, sustainable food systems. Read more here: shorturl.at/wXpTM

Are you small-scale farmer in Australia, or do you know a small-scale farmer?
Please complete the survey if you are a farmer and forward the link to any small-scale farmers you know.
To access the survey, scan the QR code or follow this link: uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Final 2 weeks for this survey on government-commissioned public health research to remain open. Please consider taking part if you are eligible. #publichealth #nutrition #alcohol

🚨Calling All Australian Health Professionals providing dietary or nutrition advice🚨 PhD student @teimaui.bsky.social at UQ is conducting a quick 10-15min survey on food industry engagement with health profs. If you provide dietary/nutrition advice at any level, your input is valuable! rb.gy/mpjqjj

Legislation requiring real-time disclosure of political donations could pass this week The Australia Institute is calling for transparency and real-time disclosure of political donations ahead of the Australian Electoral Commission’s annual release of political contributions data for 20...

Today's dump of a year's worth of political donations data from the AEC is a reminder that Australia could have real-time disclosure if the political will were there.
New analysis from @australiainstitute.org.au australiainstitute.org.au/post/legisla...

Pls note, all responses are anonymous. Thanks for contributing to this important conversation!
#PublicHealth #Research #HealthPolicy #Survey #Australia #NZ #USA #Canada

📣Attn public health researchers & govt employees in food/nutrition or alcohol in Australia, NZ, UK, USA or Canada. We want your insights! Join our 15 min survey on the impact of government involvement in public health research.
👉 Take the survey: tinyurl.com/5eh34f34

Introducing calorie labels in restaurants in England did not change customer behaviour - Nature Human Behaviour We examined whether the introduction of a calorie labelling policy in England was associated with a change in calories consumed in the out-of-home food sector. Our findings suggest that the introducti...

Introducing calorie labels in restaurants in England did not change customer behaviour; www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan: How Big Alcohol lobbying diluted a historic public health breakthrough - Alcohol Action Ireland Guest Blog by Emil Juslin, Director of Advocacy at IOGT-NTO Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, and the following BECA report in the European Parliament were initially groundbreaking initiatives on European...

Have a look at how alcohol industry is thwarting attempts to ensure EU citizens are informed about cancer risks. They would not go to such efforts if not concerned that when consumers are fully aware of risks consumption would reduce.

alcoholireland.ie/europes-beat...

👉We have a Principal Project Officer position advertised as well!! This pivotal role involves overseeing all aspects of project coordination and will be working with a great team 😊. FT until Nov 26 & based at UQ tinyurl.com/yvwwfyu8

📢Job opportunity! Join our NHMRC-funded project, ‘Commercial Determinants of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health in Remote Stores’ as a Research Fellow based at UQ. Lead qual research, collaborate with communities & drive change. FT until Sept 26. tinyurl.com/38cajdwn

"Commercial determinants of health"

Two new research jobs with a health inequalities focus currently being advertised at Strathclyde @centrehealthpolicy.bsky.social - both would suit qualitative researchers who like working in large, cross-disciplinary teams, who also enjoy community engagement and policy engagement. Thread 1/3

Australia leads the world in arresting climate and environment protesters A new study shows more than 20 per cent of climate and environment protests in Australia lead to arrests, more than in the UK, Norway, and the United States.

Labor and Liberal governments have passed 49 anti-protest laws across the country over the last two decades.

It is damning (& history will judge us harshly) but no surprise that 🇦🇺 leads the world on climate protest arrests.
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

Ultra-processed foods: A new frontier for investors in food businesses? Ultra processed foods (UPF) have seized the public’s attention lately in way few other food categorisation systems have. High consumption of UPFs is consistently associated with an increased risk of n...

Think that the food industry is less important than other unhealthy commodity industries as a driver of (or barrier to) policymaking, think again...

The @foodfoundation.bsky.social Investor Report on UPFs highlights some uncomfortable findings...

foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/...

Why big philanthropy requires deeper analysis Introduction by Croakey: Philanthropy has long been valuable to society; however, it is important to consider philanthropic giving and its

Why big philanthropy requires deeper analysis
www.croakey.org/why-big-phil...
By PhD candidate Giorgia Dalla Libera Marchiori.
#PublicHealth
#GlobalHealth
#PlanetaryHealth

Nourishing Britain: a political manual for improving the nation’s health Henry Dimbleby and Dr Dolly van Tulleken draw on interviews with former prime ministers and other key figures to offer practical advice and insights on how today’s politicians can tackle the UK’s obes...

🔥 New report by @dollyvantulleken.bsky.social and @henrydimbleby.bsky.social that draws on interviews with 20 prime ministers, health secretaries and other senior politicians from the last 30 years about the politics of obesity, food and health policy in the UK.
www.nesta.org.uk/report/nouri...

Excellent perspective by @jeanmadams.bsky.social on need for better understanding of influence of UPF industry on the direction of science and policy, how this can be countered and how to disrupt food systems to support healthier, more sustainable eating.

journals.plos.org/plosmedicine...

Fascinating paper out, led by Megan Winkler @Emory University examining the strategies used by the beverage industry when interacting with food retailers.
rdcu.be/d03Bc

“Conflicts of interest shape the research agenda

Conflicts of interest silence critique

Conflicts of interest erode trust

It is not possible to solve problems that you profit from creating.”

Chris van Tulleken speaking at @rcphysicians.bsky.social Dangerous Liaisons event on COI