Food Anthropology, Consumers, Innovation & GLP-1 Pharmacology

Quick Recap of the Previous Lecture (Taste Physiology)

Covered the five canonical taste modalities (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami) and their molecular transduction.
Discussed extra-oral taste receptors located in the gut and other tissues.
Touched on the cultural & health roles of spices (geographic origins; perceived medicinal benefits).
Stopped right before detailed coverage of olfaction.

Olfaction (Sense of Smell)

Detects volatile, gaseous compounds via the olfactory epithelium.
Rodents ≈ \sim 1000 functional olfactory receptor (OR) genes; humans ≈ \sim 350.
ORs are G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs).
Strongly tied to emotion, memory, romance, mating (perfume industry relevance).
Discovery of the OR family → 2004 Nobel Prize (Linda Buck & Richard Axel).

Cephalic Phase Response ("Mouth-Watering")

Sensory exposure to food (sight, smell, taste, even conversation) elicits pre-absorptive physiological changes.
- e.g., salivation, gastric acid secretion, insulin release.
Example: Soccer players swish carbohydrate/electrolyte solution and expectorate to trigger energetic signaling without gut load.
Rodent data: Sweetener (saccharin) placed on tongue → rapid insulin surge within minutes, faster than nutrient absorption could explain.
- Effect abolished after vagotomy, highlighting vagus-nerve mediation.
Demonstrates how sensory cues alone modulate metabolism.

Key Terminology

Consumer vs Customer

Consumer = ultimate eater/user of the food.
Customer = purchasing agent; may or may not consume.
- Distinct in infant formula (parent = customer; baby = consumer) & pet food (owner = customer; pet = consumer).

Wanting vs Liking

Wanting: pre-consumption motivation/craving.
Liking: post-consumption hedonic evaluation.
Marketing often amplifies wanting independent of liking.

Added Value

Any characteristic (convenience, sustainability claim, health halo, premium sensory profile) that allows industry to command a higher price or differentiate product.

Historical Milestones in Food Industry

Mastery of fire & cooking → energy-dense diets → human evolution.
Canning (Nicolas Appert, 1800s): long-distance military provisioning.
Domestic refrigeration: year-round fresh food in hot climates.
Clarence Birds Eye: Quick-freezing of seafood; led to modern frozen-food aisle.
Colonial trading posts (18th–19th c.): global spice, sugar, coffee exchange.
Birth of Quick-Service Restaurants (QSRs)
- Fred Harvey lunchrooms, railway dining cars.
- McDonald’s case (see film The Founder): innovation in kitchen choreography; core business is actually real-estate franchising.
Scaling in-store volume often trades off with product quality (fast-food paradigm).

Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF)

NOVA Category 4: Formulations of isolated ingredients w/ little visible resemblance to original biological source.
Term now regulated in many jurisdictions; implicated in obesity & NCDs.
Historical precursors: 1432 Thuringian sausage purity law—early attempt at quality control for highly processed meat.

Globalisation Case Study – Pizza

16th-century Naples: street food for the poor—flatbread + tomato.
Italian immigrants to the USA industrialised pizza, developed vertical rise crust & chain restaurants (Domino’s, Pizza Hut).
"American" pizza now re-exported back to Italy, illustrating feedback of global food systems (& pineapple controversy!).

Health Burden Attributable to Diet

In Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data, 6 of top 11 risk factors are diet-linked:
1. High sodium
2. High blood glucose
3. High LDL cholesterol
4. Low fruit/veg/fibre, etc.
Tobacco ranks below some dietary risks—shows nutrition’s outsized impact.

Domains of Modern Food Science (Career Map)

Health & Public Health Nutrition
Planetary/Environmental Health
Nutrition Physiology & Longevity
Food Processing & Manufacturing
Communication & Consumer Behaviour

Many red-star opportunities across agricultural input, processing, retail, services.

Innovation & Value-Adding – Case Studies

A2 Milk (NZ): breeds producing \beta-casein A2 isoform; marketed for gut comfort (now multi-$B brand).
Mānuka Honey: graded by methylglyoxal (MGO) activity; anti-microbial health halo.
Extensively hydrolysed infant formula (eHF): <3\,\text{kDa} peptides → hypo-allergenic.
Nespresso: convenience & portioning; small idea → $>$\$10 B.
Plant-based meats / cultured meat: sustainability positioning.
Soylent: complete-meal powders born from Silicon-Valley coder frustration.
On-demand delivery (Uber Eats, etc.): bringing out-of-home experience in-home—value via logistics tech.

Economic Sectors & Value Chains

Primary: extraction (farming, fishing, mining).
Secondary: manufacturing/processing (mills, breweries, car factories).
Tertiary: services (education, retail, hospitality).
→ Australia heavily skewed to primary exports; limited local manufacturing.

Generic Value-Chain Steps

Inbound logistics (raw input)
Operations / processing
Outbound logistics
Marketing & sales
End-of-life / circularity (LCAs becoming mandatory)

Protecting Food Innovation

Patents

Legal monopoly for 20 years; must be novel, non-obvious, useful.
Requires commercial exploitation within the term.
Example (Nestlé): Menthol/isoleucine compositions for mood & cognition.
PCT filing extends protection multinationally.

Trade Secrets

Alternative when disclosure is undesirable or life-cycle is long.
Must be documented, access-controlled, commercially valuable.
• Coke formula; coffee-spray-dryer geometries (instant coffee).

Geographical Indications (GI/PDO/PGI)

Legal link between product & origin: Champagne, Cognac, Roquefort, Prosciutto di Parma, Gruyère, etc.
Functionally infinite duration while standards upheld.

Beyond Money – Global Value Frameworks

United Nations created 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000-2015).
Succeeded by 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2015-2030).
• SDG 2 = Zero Hunger; SDG 3 = Good Health & Well-Being; SDG 12 = Responsible Consumption & Production, etc.
Former UN Sec-Gen Ban Ki-moon explicitly links food & nutrition science to all 17 SDGs (FAO graphic).

GLP-1 Physiology & Anti-Obesity Pharmacology (Ozempic/Wegovy)

Classical glucose homeostasis
• High blood glucose → insulin release
• Low blood glucose → glucagon release.
Gut taste receptors detect nutrients → secrete GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1).
• Native GLP-1 half-life t_{1/2}\approx2\,\text{min}—rapidly degraded.
Physiological actions of GLP-1
1. Brain: ↓ appetite (satiety)
2. Stomach: ↓ gastric emptying
3. Pancreas: ↑ insulin, ↓ glucagon
4. Net effect: ↓ food intake & better glycaemic control.
Semaglutide (structural modifications) resists degradation & binds albumin → weekly dosing.
• Ozempic (2017): type-2 diabetes indication.
• Wegovy (2021): higher dose for obesity & CVD-risk reduction.
Clinical weight loss largely due to energy-intake suppression.

Classroom / Administrative Notes

Slides were emailed "one minute before" class per prior agreement.
QR-code link to MyExperience evaluation—students urged to give detailed feedback.
Upcoming class: high-profile guest speaker on careers & industry insights.
Small assignment: write on Ozempic/Wegovy; lecture provided 4 supporting slides.