Australia is the second largest sheep producing country globally and lamb and mutton production is the second largest meat industry within Australia. Yet Australians eat very little mutton or offal. Australia has committed to reducing pre-consumer losses as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Concurrently, the Australian sheep industry has a vision of “producing sheep meat and wool by current and future generations in an ethical and environmentally, socially, and financially responsible manner.” Kate Wingett, PhD candidate in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, explored pre-consumer losses from the Australian sheep meat value chain and the impact these losses have on food and nutrient availability in Australia. How these losses are currently monitored and accounted for in assessing sustainability of the sheep industry was also investigated.

In this seminar, Kate Wingett explores both the problem of aspirational industry goals against current real-world challenges, as well as articulating her findings on current monitoring and accounting practices, to propose steps towards resolving this agri-sustainability issue.

About the Speaker

Kate Wingett - Kate is a final stage Doctor of Philosophy candidate in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. Her PhD explores the role of mutton and sheep offal in food security and nutrition in Australia. Pre-consumer nutrient flows are the focus of the thesis, in particular, what influences these at the farm and processing level. Kate spent 19 fulfilling years in private veterinary practice and for the past six years, Kate has been a government veterinary policy officer with the NSW Department of Primary Industries.