La Trobe University is revolutionising ag & health with its ‘paddock to gut’ approach
Forget paddock to plate. La Trobe University is thinking ‘paddock to gut’ – and the paradigm shift could revolutionise agriculture and health.
Co-design is key, with LISAF actively collaborating and engaging through hosting sprint workshops that bring together food companies, researchers, and other experts to develop tailored solutions readily translatable to commercial outcomes.
La Trobe University is on a mission to transform our food system. Leveraging diverse research expertise, through collaborations with business partners such as PepsiCo, La Trobe’s pioneering ‘paddock to gut’ approach to health-driven food outcomes, could be just what the doctor ordered.
We’ve all heard ‘paddock to plate’ – the catch-all for transparency, sustainability, and the connection to food that conscious consumers crave. But as diet-related diseases escalate, and health budgets stretch to breaking point, should we be looking beyond the plate?
La Trobe University thinks so; its ‘paddock to gut’ model reimagines solutions to these challenges by integrating agriculture, food innovation, nutrition, and health, offering a fresh approach to addressing commercial and societal pressures.
Here, evokeAG. contributor Casey Dunn sat down with La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) Director, Professor Tony Bacic, and Associate Professor Monika Doblin, to learn more.
Breaking down silos to curb diet-related disease
“If we look at our current food value chain, there are basically three silos: agriculture, food, and health. And never the twain shall meet,” explained Tony – himself an internationally recognised leader in plant biotechnology, and one of Australia’s leading advocates for food systems change.
“The largest and fastest-growing demands on health budgets stem from non-communicable, diet-related diseases. And that’s repeated across all developed and developing countries.” LISAF Director, Professor Tony Bacic.
In Australia, diet-related disease comes at an annual cost of approx. $70-80B, pegged against an ag sector that last year generated $94B, and agrifood contributing $96B (22/23). La Trobe thinks we can tip both ledgers in our favour, with a paradigm shift that means food production optimises not just yield and processing quality – but health qualities, too.
“Quality that not only meets processing demands, but improves nutritional and health outcomes, reduces morbidity, improves lifestyle and lowers health budgets,” added Tony.
Rethinking value chains for resilience
Tony lamented the fact Australia’s food manufacturing sector has been left to wither on the vine over the years, with COVID-19 highlighting its fragility.
“I think the pandemic really demonstrated that the food supply chain is broken,” he said. “We had seven days of fresh food and 14 days of non-perishable food on market shelves during the pandemic.”
“We produce twice as much food as we eat, but effectively, we export what we grow and then import the processed stuff. Just as we do with resources,” added Tony. “By paying other countries a premium, we lose the opportunity to generate those profits ourselves.”
La Trobe considers the existing approach is unsustainable for both food sovereignty and economic competitiveness at the national level – and for farmers themselves. While failing to address many of the challenges we face.
“Even if you take the sovereign security risk out of the equation (which you can’t, because it’s a fundamental one) we need to be value-adding to our commodities here in Australia,” explained Tony.
While the call to value-add locally isn’t new, the ‘paddock to gut’ model offers a distinctive advantage. It not only fuels employment and economic growth through a robust, skilled food manufacturing sector, but also provides an economic ‘double dip,’ where Australian-made food products directly drive health outcomes and improve health budgets.
In Australia, diet-related disease comes at an annual cost of approx. $70-80B, pegged against an ag sector that last year generated $94B, and agrifood contributing $96B (22/23).
“From a public perspective, we need to link up our health and value-add challenges, and therefore, rethink the whole value chain,” emphasised Tony.
LISAF: Leading the change with health-driven food research projects
The driving force behind ‘paddock to gut,’ La Trobe University is delivering a range of health-driven food research projects, including one with global food and beverage giant, PepsiCo.
Best known for its eponymous soft drink brand, PepsiCo is also home to Quaker Oats, a company keen to capitalise on consumer trends toward healthier products.
Research Director and Associate Professor, Monika Doblin, explained: “PepsiCo came to La Trobe because they were interested in maximising soluble dietary fibre in oats, a nutrient associated with decreased risk of heart disease, lower cholesterol levels, and better blood sugar control.”
And the market – both business and consumers – is seeking those nutritional outcomes.
“Across three years, LISAF completed a $2 million project to develop genetic and genomic resources that Quaker Oats could use as breeding markers for soluble fibre,” said Monika.
“It’s just one example of where we’re working across the food industry – from researchers to breeders to food manufacturers – to enable the production of foods which drive improved health outcomes.”
But the vision doesn’t stop at oats. “If we think about the longer-term aim of ‘paddock to gut,’ we also need to improve soluble dietary fibre content in wheat,” added Tony. “Because most people, if they do eat oats, it’s once per day for breakfast. Whereas they might eat wheat three times per day.”
“If you can breed for increased soluble dietary fibre in wheat, consumers could get their recommended 25-30 grams [daily intake – and enjoy all the health benefits that come with soluble fibre] – without changing their diets.” (LISAF) Director, Professor Tony Bacic.
Monika called it “health by stealth” – and it’s an approach that has the potential to transform staple foods into powerful vehicles for better health outcomes.
From research to real-world results
La Trobe’s strengths have traditionally been in agriculture and nutrition. Its ‘gap’ in the ‘paddock to gut’ model – food innovation – has traditionally been addressed by developing partnerships with other universities and research providers.
“But we’re also developing our own Centre for Food Science,” added Tony, “And we’re making a significant investment over the next few years in that space, to give us capacity across the entire health-driven food value chain – from paddock right through to gut.”
Science alone can’t drive a seamless transition to health-driven products, though. La Trobe is also tackling the enablers needed to deliver research that translates into commercial impact.
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And it is collaborating across the university to make it happen: with the social sciences, to understand consumer behaviour and influence product choices; with economics and business, to drive problem-led product design; and with engineering and technology, utilising tools such as AI and machine learning to enable research to happen more quickly, and business to translate research into products more quickly, too.
Co-design is key, with LISAF actively collaborating and engaging through hosting sprint workshops that bring together food companies, researchers, and other experts to develop tailored solutions readily translatable to commercial outcomes.
The ‘paddock to gut’ model offers a distinctive advantage. It not only fuels employment and economic growth through a robust, skilled food manufacturing sector, but also provides an economic ‘double dip,’ where Australian-made food products directly. drive health outcomes and improve health budgets.
“We bounce around ideas, mix and match skillsets, and decide how to deliver what the company wants,” explained Tony. “Or even uncover opportunities they hadn’t considered.”
Collaborating for greater impact
“LISAF has already evolved from an ag-focussed institute to a whole-of-university approach, but ‘paddock to gut’ is complete value chain proposition, and there’s more to come” emphasised Tony.
“So, the next evolution is to look beyond La Trobe to form partnerships with other research institutes and business partners.”
Monika considers La Trobe’s strategic partnership with evokeAG. to be a natural fit.
RELATED: Five must-see sessions on day 1 of evokeAG. 2025 – evokeAG.
“It’s more than just a place to showcase our research capabilities. We want food systems change, and evokeAG. – one of the leading ag and agtech events – provides a platform for meaningful conversations.”
What better place to find common ground for a new health-driven food future.
La Trobe’s ‘paddock to gut’ approach is more than the next marketing tag; it’s a vision for the future of food systems.
Join us at evokeAG. 2025 to hear Professor Tony Bacic, Professor Roman Buckow, Director of La Trobe’s Centre for Food Science, and an expert panel discuss why, and how, we should drive agrifood innovation for sustainability and health.