Richard Westcott talks to Jonathan Stieglitz, IAST, and Martin White, University of Cambridge, about the global health challenges related to diet and nutrition, and the respective roles of public health policies, cultural practices, and lifestyle changes, while creating sustainable food systems that ensure access to healthy food for all and maintain economic viability.
In this episode, Richard Westcott talks to Martin White and Jonathan Stieglitz about a big question: how can we create food systems that are good for our health, our communities, the planet, and the economy? Drawing on research from both modern cities and small-scale societies, they explore what shapes our diets today—from global food companies and convenience culture to physical activity and traditional ways of living.
Our experts take a closer look at the contrast between ultra-processed foods and traditional diets and what that tells us about modern health challenges. They discuss the impact of sugar taxes, why simply educating people isn’t enough, and how government policy and industry action could help shift the system. They also reflect on the rise of weight-loss drugs—whether they are are helpful solutions or a distraction from the root problems.
This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features experts Jonathan Stieglitz (IAST) and Martin White (Bennett Institute for Public Policy and Cambridge University) .
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform
For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.
Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X.
With thanks to:
- Audio production by Steve Hankey
- Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
- Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel
More information about our host and guests:
Richard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o’clock TV news as well as the Today programme. His last role was as a science correspondent covering the covid outbreak, but prior to that he was the transport correspondent reporting on new technologies such as driverless cars, major accidents and large infrastructure projects including HS2 and the expansion of Heathrow. Over the decades he also reported on the Iraq War and 9/11 as well as numerous UK general elections. Last year, Richard left the corporation and he is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city. @BBCwestcott
Prof Jonathan Stieglitz is an anthropologist specializing in human health and aging, at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Toulouse, France He studies how evolved human biology interacts with variability in the environment to influence well-being over the life course. Since 2004 he has worked with indigenous Tsimane forager-farmers of the Bolivian Amazon, studying how environmental transition (for example, changes in infectious exposures, physical activity levels, or consumption of processed foods) influences diverse health indicators. He co-directs the Tsimane Health and Life History Project.
Prof Martin White is the Programme Lead for Food behaviours and public health interventions, Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge. He is an interdisciplinary scientist who leads research on food systems and public health, and has a particular interest in evaluation of population interventions to improve diet and health. He led the NIHR funded evaluation of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and currently leads two UKRI interdisciplinary consortia on food system transformation (https://www.mandala-consortium.org/ and https://www.salientfoodtrials.uk/). He was a visiting fellow at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy in 2020-22 and is a regular contributor to Cambridge University’s Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) Policy Fellows programme for civil servants.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.
