- Location: Cromwell Presbyterian Church, 10 Elspeth Street, Cromwell
- Start Date: Wednesday 19th Nov, 2025.
- End Date: Wednesday 19th Nov, 2025.
- Time: 10.00am - 12.000pm.
- 1 Weeks.
- 2 hours per week.
U3A Cromwell - Wednesday 19th November
Protein - Making sense of the fuss….
Speaker: Dr Bill Jermyn
Bill Jermyn joined DSIR Crop Research Division in 1972 as a plant geneticist with a particular interest in food legumes. He graduated PhD from the University of Saskatchewan in 1976 with a study of the genetic control of protein in field peas. After a 30 year career in food legume and vegetable genetics and production, he resigned to begin growing blackcurrants, extending his interest in food to the health benefits of polyphenolic compounds in berry fruit. He stresses that he is not a nutritionist.
Recent advocacy for proteins in the diet, from high profile ‘influencers’ particularly in social media, has led to a surge in products emphasizing their protein content and attributes.
Bill will cover a historical perspective of dietary protein from the discovery of its role in human nutrition in the 1860s, especially noting the concern of a global protein shortage in the early 1970s. This led to some interesting scientific advances in such peripheral disciplines as sea temperature fluctuations (El Nino/La Nina), and satellite surveillance of crop production. There may be a brief nostalgic look at 1973, that year of significant global events, not all food related! (Hint: Oil crisis; Nixon; Allende)
Finally, we will cover present NZ official nutritional guidelines (RDIs) and compare the costs and benefits of a conventional diet, with one incorporating new products on offer.
