Conscious Consumption Q&A

Join us for a lunchtime discussion of Environmental Accelerator films Greenhouse by Joost and Rachel’s Farm, and how we can reduce our environmental footprint through the choices we make as consumers.

Tune in to the Conscious Consumption Q&A at 12-1pm AEDT on Friday 8 December to hear 2040's Damon Gameau, Planet Ark's CEO Rebecca Gilling, The Good Farm Shop's Matilda Brown from Rachel's Farm, chef Jo Barrett from Greenhouse by Joost and climate advocate Joshua Gilbert discuss regenerative food systems, reducing waste and the transition to a circular economy.

This Q&A is presented as part of Documentary Australia’s Environmental Accelerator program with support from Intrepid Travel.

About the Panellists

Moderator Damon Gameau is an award-winning screen director, author and activist. His debut feature documentary That Sugar Film broke Australian box office records, won the AACTA Award for best feature documentary and sold to 25 international territories. In 2019, Damon’s latest feature documentary 2040 became a top-five highest grossing Australian documentary and has since been released around the globe. In 2022, he launched the high-impact short film Regenerating Australia with a national screenings tour that culminated in a $2 million ‘solutions fund’ from WWF-Australia to build a thriving Regeneration Network. Damon is currently in post-production on a new feature documentary titled Future Fieldtrip which is slated for release in early 2024. An in demand thought leader and keynote speaker, Damon has received numerous accolades for his work, including a nomination for NSW Australian of the Year in 2020. He is the co-founder of Regen Studios and The Regenerators platform.

Rebecca Gilling trained as an actor at the Independent Theatre School in Sydney and worked mainly in film and television for nearly thirty years. Rebecca retrained as a social scientist and joined Planet Ark in 2002 as their public spokesperson and Special Projects Manager. She further qualified in Video Editing and Human Resource Management, and later gained a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development with a particular focus on organisational change for sustainability and individual and group motivation. In 2021 Rebecca was appointed as Co-CEO, joining the Planet Ark Board as Executive Director, and became CEO in February 2023. Planet Ark’s strategy under Rebecca’s leadership is focused on three spheres of activity: carbon neutrality, circular economy and connecting people with nature. In her spare time, Rebecca is a keen gardener, bird watcher and enthusiastic amateur wildlife photographer.

Matilda Brown has worked as an actress with some of Australia’s most established directors and producers on projects including Underbelly, Rake, Offspring, Imom, Palm Beach and Death And Life Of Otto Bloom. With a slight departure from film and TV, Matilda and her husband (chef and author Scott Gooding), founded food business The Good Farm Shop in 2021, inspired by her mother Rachel Ward’s journey into regenerative agriculture. What started as a cow share from the family farm with food provenance and land care at the core of the business, evolved quickly into a ready-meals company prioritising human health, animal welfare and land ecology. The husband and wife duo source animal produce from regenerative and organic farms to make their meals, which get delivered to customers' doorsteps and are available in selected shops across Australia.

Jo Barrett is a “game-changing” chef who has been recognised as The Age Good Food Guide’s 2024 Chef of the Year and World’s 50 Next Hospitality Pioneers 2021. Look for her in the award-winning documentary Greenhouse by Joost, featuring Joost Bakker’s FutureFoodSystem. The film chronicles a year of living and working in a tiny urban, zero-waste farm situated in Melbourne’s Federation Square. Jo was Executive Chef (which included being pâtissier, charcutier, cheese-maker, grower, and more!) at the hatted Oakridge Winery restaurant and now her endeavours are best enjoyed at her restaurant Little Picket on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria. When she’s not harvesting and creating fabulous dishes, she’s sharing her know-how in a Have a Go series or representing Australia at the World Championship of Pastry. Her book Sustain has also just hit bookshops.

Joshua Gilbert is a Worimi man who lives and works on country. Josh is a Senior Researcher at the UTS Jumbunna Institute and is completing his PhD at Charles Sturt University, supported by the Food Agility CRC, focusing on the post-colonial involvement of Indigenous peoples in Western agricultural systems. Josh was recently recognised internationally for his work, announced in the inaugural 50 Next: People Shaping the Future of Gastronomy cohort. Josh sits on numerous boards, deeply exploring Indigenous agriculture and investment through sustainable organisations.