Katherine Sievert
Biographic Data
| ID | 241251 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Katherine Sievert |
| GIVEN NAMES | Katherine |
| FAMILY NAME | Sievert |
| SIGNATURE | SIEVERT K |
| AFFILIATIONS | Deakin University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4617-8034 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 22 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Unpacking industry influence in academia and public policy
The climate emergency poses many challenges for planetary health in the 21st century. Agriculture and food systems reform, including reductions in livestock production and consumption, in industrialised countries are numerously demonstrated as critically important for addressing the climate crisis. However, political commitment and action is lacking. Conflicting narratives about the role of livestock and meat contribute to public uncertainty and …
Building healthy public policy
‘Building Healthy Public Policy’ is one of the five strategic action areas in the 1986 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, highlighting the role of governments in enabling equitable access to the basic prerequisites for health, including food and income. Yet, 40 years later, 2.6 billion people worldwide are unable to afford a healthy diet, and more than 1 in 8 households in Australia experience food insecurity. In this perspective piece, we draw…
Ultra-processed food narratives in social media forum posts
Ultra-processed food (UPF) production and consumption, associated with chronic disease and environmental degradation, is increasing globally. The UPF concept has gained public attention in recent years and has raised concerns of confusion among the public. This study aimed to explore Reddit—a popular online forum platform—discussions about UPFs to identify the main topics of discussion and how UPFs are discussed. A descriptive constructivist appr…
Ultra-Processed Food ‘Fetishism’ is Undermining Efforts Seeking Healthy, Equitable, and Sustainable Diets Globally
Calls have been growing for government interventions to address diets high in ultra-processed foods (i.e., ultra-processed diets), which are associated with a large and rising burden of preventable death and disease. To date, however, government action relating to ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has been mostly insufficient. In this paper, we argue that one of the key reasons behind this lacklustre response has been the dominance of ‘UPF fetishism’ …
Public policies addressing unhealthy diets in the South-East Asia region
In South-East Asia, government implementation of policies recommended for addressing unhealthy diets has generally been slow and fragmented, largely due to food industry opposition and a lack of effective cross-sectoral policy action. To help government policy-makers and other interest-holders address these issues, this study aimed to identify key arguments that undermine implementation of policies for addressing unhealthy diets in the region, an…
Unhealthy food advertising on social media
The World Health Organization and public health experts are calling for urgent restrictions on the online marketing of unhealthy food. The harmful effects of exposure to advertising for ‘unhealthy foods’, including discretionary foods high in fat, salt or sugar, particularly for children, has prompted a proposed policy action in Australia to prohibit all online unhealthy food marketing. We used a novel data donation infrastructure, the Australian…
Global market trends and financial performance of the corporate fast-food industry and their potential contributions to diets high in meat and ultra-processed foods
BACKGROUND: The fast-food industry has transformed substantially in recent decades - from diverse, locally rooted providers into a globalised, and increasingly corporate-led industry. Corporate fast-food retailers (FFRs) represent a key retail channel through which both ultra-processed foods and intensively produced animal source foods are consumed and normalised within corporate-industrial food systems. These dietary patterns are strongly associ…
Future directions for early career researchers in planetary health equity
Achieving social and health equity on a healthy planet requires attending to the structural drivers of intersecting crises of global environmental change, social inequities, and health inequities. A diverse group of early career researchers have formed a new network aligned in advancing work that promotes planetary health equity. This Perspective articulates proposed future research directions emerging from shared understandings of intersecting g…
National champions' in global meat supply chains
National champion policies in BRICS countries pose challenges for governance in global meat processing markets as they increase concentration, reduce competition and enhance corporate power in food systems. We investigate the degree to which these shifts benefit sponsoring governments and citizens relative to intervention levels. By analysing mergers and acquisitions involving these firms, we unveil coordinated growth strategies benefiting primar…
Protecting whose welfare? A document analysis of competition regulatory decisions in four jurisdictions across three harmful consumer product industries
BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Competition regulation has a strong influence on the relative market power of firms. As such, competition regulation can complement industry-specific measures designed to address harms associated with excessive market power in harmful consumer product industries. This study aimed to examine, through a public health lens, assessments and decisions made by competition authorities in four jurisdictions (Australia, South Afric…
How power in corporate-industrial meat supply chains enables negative externalities
The use of food processing terminology in Australian news media
Objective: This study aims to determine whether ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are being discussed in news media in Australia and whether this terminology, as described in the NOVA system, is being applied accurately. Design: Interpretive content analysis of online and print media articles that mentioned UPFs from 2009 to 2023 in Australia. Setting: Australia. Participants: Online and print media articles. Results: A total of two hundred ninety-eig…
Grazing for dollars
Investments by the global finance sector contribute to industrial-scale agriculture along with its harmful environmental impacts, making their actions significant in supporting or opposing sustainable food systems transformation. Previous research has shown that institutional investors identify animal agriculture as an important consideration with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues regarding sustainable food systems. Thi…
Chocolate unicorns and smiling teddy biscuits
Objective: The use of food packaging as a vehicle for marketing to children is under investigated. Our objective was to determine the prevalence and types of child-directed promotional techniques used on food packaging in Australia. Design: Based on existing literature and regulations, we developed a framework to classify on-pack child-directed promotional techniques involving the use of characters and other elements that appeal to children. We a…
Who is donating to political parties in Queensland, Australia? An analysis of political donations from the food industry
Objective: Australia’s dominant food system encourages the overconsumption of foods detrimental for human and planetary health. Despite this, Australia has limited policies to reduce the burden of disease and protect the environment. Political donations from the food industry may contribute to policy inertia on this issue. We aimed to explore the extent of political donations made by the food industry in Queensland and investigate the timing of p…
Who has a beef with reducing red and processed meat consumption? A media framing analysis
Objective: Diets high in red and processed meat (RPM) contribute substantially to environmental degradation, greenhouse gas emissions and the global burden of chronic disease. High-profile reports have called for significant global RPM reduction, especially in high-income settings. Despite this, policy attention and political priority for the issue are low. Design: The study used a theoretically guided framing analysis to identify frames used by …
What’s really at ‘steak’? Understanding the global politics of red and processed meat reduction
Globalization, first-foods systems transformations and corporate power
BACKGROUND: The global milk formula market has 'boomed' in recent decades, raising serious concerns for breastfeeding, and child and maternal health. Despite these developments, few studies have investigated the global expansion of the baby food industry, nor the market and political practices corporations have used to grow and sustain their markets. In this paper, our aim is to understand the strategies used by the baby food industry to shape 'f…
Breastfeeding, first-food systems and corporate power
BACKGROUND: The aggressive marketing of breastmilk substitutes (BMS) reduces breastfeeding, and harms child and maternal health globally. Yet forty years after the World Health Assembly adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (The Code), many countries are still to fully implement its provisions into national law. Furthermore, despite The Code, commercial milk formula (CMF) markets have markedly expanded. In this pa…
Ultra‐processed foods and the nutrition transition
Understanding the drivers and dynamics of global ultra‐processed food (UPF) consumption is essential, given the evidence linking these foods with adverse health outcomes. In this synthesis review, we take two steps. First, we quantify per capita volumes and trends in UPF sales, and ingredients (sweeteners, fats, sodium and cosmetic additives) supplied by these foods, in countries classified by income and region. Second, we review the literature o…
Engaging new refugee in Australian communities at risk for chronic hepatitis B infection into care
Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) infection and subsequent liver complications are rising in prevalence in Australia due to increased migration from endemic regions. Nearly 50% of all those living with CHB in Australia are undiagnosed, leading to missed opportunities for liver cancer and cirrhosis prevention. Health literacy around CHB among refugee communities such as Afghan, Rohingyan, and Sudanese populations (all with a high prevalence of CHB) is low…
Barriers to Accessing Testing and Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis B in Afghan, Rohingyan, and South Sudanese Populations in Australia
What’s really at ‘steak’? Understanding the global politics of red and processed meat reduction
National champions' in global meat supply chains
National champion policies in BRICS countries pose challenges for governance in global meat processing markets as they increase concentration, reduce competition and enhance corporate power in food systems. We investigate the degree to which these shifts benefit sponsoring governments and citizens relative to intervention levels. By analysing mergers and acquisitions involving these firms, we unveil coordinated growth strategies benefiting primar…
Barriers to Accessing Testing and Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis B in Afghan, Rohingyan, and South Sudanese Populations in Australia
Engaging new refugee in Australian communities at risk for chronic hepatitis B infection into care
Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) infection and subsequent liver complications are rising in prevalence in Australia due to increased migration from endemic regions. Nearly 50% of all those living with CHB in Australia are undiagnosed, leading to missed opportunities for liver cancer and cirrhosis prevention. Health literacy around CHB among refugee communities such as Afghan, Rohingyan, and Sudanese populations (all with a high prevalence of CHB) is low…
Ultra‐processed foods and the nutrition transition
Understanding the drivers and dynamics of global ultra‐processed food (UPF) consumption is essential, given the evidence linking these foods with adverse health outcomes. In this synthesis review, we take two steps. First, we quantify per capita volumes and trends in UPF sales, and ingredients (sweeteners, fats, sodium and cosmetic additives) supplied by these foods, in countries classified by income and region. Second, we review the literature o…
Globalization, first-foods systems transformations and corporate power
BACKGROUND: The global milk formula market has 'boomed' in recent decades, raising serious concerns for breastfeeding, and child and maternal health. Despite these developments, few studies have investigated the global expansion of the baby food industry, nor the market and political practices corporations have used to grow and sustain their markets. In this paper, our aim is to understand the strategies used by the baby food industry to shape 'f…
Breastfeeding, first-food systems and corporate power
BACKGROUND: The aggressive marketing of breastmilk substitutes (BMS) reduces breastfeeding, and harms child and maternal health globally. Yet forty years after the World Health Assembly adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (The Code), many countries are still to fully implement its provisions into national law. Furthermore, despite The Code, commercial milk formula (CMF) markets have markedly expanded. In this pa…
Who has a beef with reducing red and processed meat consumption? A media framing analysis
Objective: Diets high in red and processed meat (RPM) contribute substantially to environmental degradation, greenhouse gas emissions and the global burden of chronic disease. High-profile reports have called for significant global RPM reduction, especially in high-income settings. Despite this, policy attention and political priority for the issue are low. Design: The study used a theoretically guided framing analysis to identify frames used by …
What’s really at ‘steak’? Understanding the global politics of red and processed meat reduction
Chocolate unicorns and smiling teddy biscuits
Objective: The use of food packaging as a vehicle for marketing to children is under investigated. Our objective was to determine the prevalence and types of child-directed promotional techniques used on food packaging in Australia. Design: Based on existing literature and regulations, we developed a framework to classify on-pack child-directed promotional techniques involving the use of characters and other elements that appeal to children. We a…
Who is donating to political parties in Queensland, Australia? An analysis of political donations from the food industry
Objective: Australia’s dominant food system encourages the overconsumption of foods detrimental for human and planetary health. Despite this, Australia has limited policies to reduce the burden of disease and protect the environment. Political donations from the food industry may contribute to policy inertia on this issue. We aimed to explore the extent of political donations made by the food industry in Queensland and investigate the timing of p…
Protecting whose welfare? A document analysis of competition regulatory decisions in four jurisdictions across three harmful consumer product industries
BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Competition regulation has a strong influence on the relative market power of firms. As such, competition regulation can complement industry-specific measures designed to address harms associated with excessive market power in harmful consumer product industries. This study aimed to examine, through a public health lens, assessments and decisions made by competition authorities in four jurisdictions (Australia, South Afric…
How power in corporate-industrial meat supply chains enables negative externalities
The use of food processing terminology in Australian news media
Objective: This study aims to determine whether ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are being discussed in news media in Australia and whether this terminology, as described in the NOVA system, is being applied accurately. Design: Interpretive content analysis of online and print media articles that mentioned UPFs from 2009 to 2023 in Australia. Setting: Australia. Participants: Online and print media articles. Results: A total of two hundred ninety-eig…
Grazing for dollars
Investments by the global finance sector contribute to industrial-scale agriculture along with its harmful environmental impacts, making their actions significant in supporting or opposing sustainable food systems transformation. Previous research has shown that institutional investors identify animal agriculture as an important consideration with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues regarding sustainable food systems. Thi…
Unhealthy food advertising on social media
The World Health Organization and public health experts are calling for urgent restrictions on the online marketing of unhealthy food. The harmful effects of exposure to advertising for ‘unhealthy foods’, including discretionary foods high in fat, salt or sugar, particularly for children, has prompted a proposed policy action in Australia to prohibit all online unhealthy food marketing. We used a novel data donation infrastructure, the Australian…
Global market trends and financial performance of the corporate fast-food industry and their potential contributions to diets high in meat and ultra-processed foods
BACKGROUND: The fast-food industry has transformed substantially in recent decades - from diverse, locally rooted providers into a globalised, and increasingly corporate-led industry. Corporate fast-food retailers (FFRs) represent a key retail channel through which both ultra-processed foods and intensively produced animal source foods are consumed and normalised within corporate-industrial food systems. These dietary patterns are strongly associ…
Future directions for early career researchers in planetary health equity
Achieving social and health equity on a healthy planet requires attending to the structural drivers of intersecting crises of global environmental change, social inequities, and health inequities. A diverse group of early career researchers have formed a new network aligned in advancing work that promotes planetary health equity. This Perspective articulates proposed future research directions emerging from shared understandings of intersecting g…
National champions' in global meat supply chains
National champion policies in BRICS countries pose challenges for governance in global meat processing markets as they increase concentration, reduce competition and enhance corporate power in food systems. We investigate the degree to which these shifts benefit sponsoring governments and citizens relative to intervention levels. By analysing mergers and acquisitions involving these firms, we unveil coordinated growth strategies benefiting primar…
Unpacking industry influence in academia and public policy
The climate emergency poses many challenges for planetary health in the 21st century. Agriculture and food systems reform, including reductions in livestock production and consumption, in industrialised countries are numerously demonstrated as critically important for addressing the climate crisis. However, political commitment and action is lacking. Conflicting narratives about the role of livestock and meat contribute to public uncertainty and …
Building healthy public policy
‘Building Healthy Public Policy’ is one of the five strategic action areas in the 1986 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, highlighting the role of governments in enabling equitable access to the basic prerequisites for health, including food and income. Yet, 40 years later, 2.6 billion people worldwide are unable to afford a healthy diet, and more than 1 in 8 households in Australia experience food insecurity. In this perspective piece, we draw…
Ultra-processed food narratives in social media forum posts
Ultra-processed food (UPF) production and consumption, associated with chronic disease and environmental degradation, is increasing globally. The UPF concept has gained public attention in recent years and has raised concerns of confusion among the public. This study aimed to explore Reddit—a popular online forum platform—discussions about UPFs to identify the main topics of discussion and how UPFs are discussed. A descriptive constructivist appr…
Ultra-Processed Food ‘Fetishism’ is Undermining Efforts Seeking Healthy, Equitable, and Sustainable Diets Globally
Calls have been growing for government interventions to address diets high in ultra-processed foods (i.e., ultra-processed diets), which are associated with a large and rising burden of preventable death and disease. To date, however, government action relating to ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has been mostly insufficient. In this paper, we argue that one of the key reasons behind this lacklustre response has been the dominance of ‘UPF fetishism’ …
Public policies addressing unhealthy diets in the South-East Asia region
In South-East Asia, government implementation of policies recommended for addressing unhealthy diets has generally been slow and fragmented, largely due to food industry opposition and a lack of effective cross-sectoral policy action. To help government policy-makers and other interest-holders address these issues, this study aimed to identify key arguments that undermine implementation of policies for addressing unhealthy diets in the region, an…
Business (13 works) · Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology (8 works) · Politics (7 works) · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact (6 works) · Economics (6 works) · Marketing (6 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Public health (6 works)