Photograph of Kirsty Shaw

About us

The inspiration behind Open to Organics

Food is one of the most powerful tools we have for determining our health and that of the environment around us. Both of these, our health and the health of the environment, interact symbiotically & dynamically with each other.

My name is Kirsty Shaw, I am an Accredited Practising Dietitian, and I am the founder of Open to Organics, a practice based in the city of Brisbane in the Australian state of Queensland.

We are BOMBARDED with information about food and nutrition.  The latest diet supplements, ‘super foods’ and life enhancing potions that we can’t do without.  “Fats are good for us, fats are bad for us”, “Genetically modified crops will stop starvation” or “They’ll pollute the food system”.  The separation of fact from fiction and the navigation through the maze of claims becomes more complex by the day.  During my years of practising as a dietitian I have realised that people are tired of trying to decipher the propaganda and mixed messages fed to us by the food industry.

Through continuing research and personal experience I have come to understand that the most beneficial diet for a person and for the environment is ‘sustainable eating’.  There are a lot of worthwhile campaigns dealing with sustainable agriculture and aspects of sustainable food.  Some of these include: Friends of the Earth, the Slow Food Movement and the Biological Farmers of Australia.  The main focus of these movements and campaigns is often ecology and human rights.  They might deal with the energy costs of production, transportation and distribution, organic certification, international trade, labelling, food security and equity.  I founded Open to Organics as a result of the need that I saw as a dietitian to help the individual to understand how sustainable food relates to their own health and to develop manageable, positive and practical strategies for eating a more sustainable diet on a day-to-day basis.

Certified Organic Dietitian

I qualified as a dietitian in 2001 after completing a 4 year Bachelor of Nutrition & Dietetics degree with first class Honours at the University of Wollongong.  I am a member of my professional association Dietitians Association of Australia and have been re-instated as a provisional Accredited Practising Dietitian after returning from 4.5 years of overseas practice as a dietitian.

To many people the title ‘Dietitian’ has become medicalised.  It is synonymous with treating sick people in hospitals and nursing homes for conditions such as diabetes, Crohns disease and heart failure.  I want to move public perception of me as a dietitian away from treatment of only the unwell.  The focus of Open to Organics is on the food system as a whole and how this interacts with the health and well being of the individual.

I ate a vegetarian diet for many years and a vegan diet for a year before making the transition to sustainable eating. For my own health, as much as my good practice as a dietitian, I have researched many of the issues around sustainable eating. Wherever possible I eat a wholly organic diet and so have earned my ‘Certified Organic’ status.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Open to Organics team, including: