Blog icon

By  Emily Brown 24 March 2025 4 min read

Key points

  • New foods are needed alongside traditional sources to meet the nutritional demands of the world’s growing population.
  • Sinead is driven to understand how people make decisions about which foods they’ll eat – and which they won’t.
  • By centering consumers while developing new food technologies, Sinead believes we can build trust and generate impact.

Every day, people are called on to make hundreds, if not thousands of decisions. We can’t possibly attend to everything, so we use mental shortcuts, which psychologists call ‘heuristics’.

For Behavioural Psychologist Sinead Golley, understanding heuristics became a defining goal of her career.

It all began with her PhD at the University of South Australia, where she investigated how people form judgments about others based on negative associations.

“The ability to make mental shortcuts is a useful adaptation, but it can lead to snap judgments which aren’t right or rational,” Sinead said.

“Yet when we ask questions and delve deep into thought processes, we often discover something really meaningful,” she said.

When thoughts on food are food for thought

After joining CSIRO in 2009, Sinead turned her attention toward understanding food choice. 

She was intrigued by topical issues, like attitudes toward genetically modified foods, and why people avoid certain foods such as dairy and gluten.

“Food choice is one of the most complex behaviours we do as humans,” Sinead said.

“People are passionate about what they eat, so it’s crucial to have plenty of options, but we also need to keep our eyes on what’s good for the planet,” she said.

“With a growing global population, new forms of food are needed alongside traditional sources, to meet our nutritional needs.

“But if the public doesn’t trust Australia’s science and innovation system, then the solutions we come up with won’t get used – and this limits their impact,” she said.

By better understanding what drives people’s decisions at the dinner table, Sinead hopes to ensure new food technologies bring broad social benefits.

Perceptions of precision fermentation

An example of this is precision fermentation. This technology uses natural fermentation processes with microbes that have been genetically engineered to create new products, like milk proteins.

In her most recent research project, Sinead set out to discover how people formed attitudes toward precision fermentation.

She developed a story board to introduce people to this new technology.

She found that people’s perceptions of new food technologies are informed by a complex blend of preferences, concerns, values, and personality traits.

Because of this, clear and transparent communication around the benefits of these technologies is key. For example, with precision fermentation, the benefits could be reducing carbon emissions and creating complementary sources of nutrients, like protein. By focusing on these positive aspects, it becomes easier to address any concerns and help people see the potential value in these innovations.

[Music plays and a split circle appears showing photos of different CSIRO activities flashing through on either side and then the circle morphs into the CSIRO logo]

[Image changes to show a thunderstorm over wheat fields, and then the image changes to show Dr Sinead Golley talking to the camera while walking down a path. Text appears: Dr Sinead Golley, CSIRO]

Coming at us fast are issues of food security and food sustainability. To meet this challenge, we need a variety of different protein sources on our shelves.

[Image changes to show a man in a supermarket examining a packet of beans, and then the image changes to someone scooping seeds into a bag, then a shopping trolley wheeling through a supermarket.]

We need to give people choices that are healthy and sustainable. Not just for ourselves, but for the planet.

[Image changes to show Sinead standing in a corridor in a CSIRO building and talking to the camera]

There are some emerging food technologies which have potential to meet this need.

[Images move through to show a food scientist in PPE working on a laptop near some equipment, then a clearer view of the equipment which is a small vat with many tubes coming out of it.]

One of them is precision fermentation, which uses fermentation processes with micro-organisms that have been genetically engineered to create new products, like milk proteins.

[Image shows a closer view of a spinning component which is rotating liquid inside the vat, before the food scientist holds up a small test tube containing a white fluid.]

How successful these new technologies are will ultimately depend on whether people accept them. And that’s why it’s so crucial to check in with the Australian public.

[Image changes to show the food scientist opening a large vat with horizontal trays, then a view of people’s legs as they walk down a city street, then two women shopping at the supermarket.]

My name is Sinead Golley, I’m a behavioural scientist, and my research gives us the tools to do just that.

[The image changes to a view of Sinead speaking to camera in a shaded, grassy area outside a CSIRO building, then to a panning shot of Sinead working at a laptop.]

We did an extensive survey of more than 600 people, to see whether we could predict how people form attitudes towards new foods.

[Images move through to show a close up of a survey form on a computer screen, then Sinead interviewing someone and making notes, then changes perspective to show her interviewee opining.]

We found when comparing personality traits, concerns in the world, priorities and values – that these all fed into perceptions of new food technologies.

[Image changes to show Sinead sitting at a desk talking to camera, with windows to a tree-lined street in the background.]

We were able to pinpoint what’s really the deciding factor in whether or not people will embrace a new technology: and that’s trust.

[The image changes to show a survey titled ‘social acceptability of novel food technologies’ on a laptop screen, and then the image changes to a greengrocer talking to a mother and child next to some produce, which then cuts to a family enjoying food together at their dinner table.]

How much people trust comes down to whether they feel their needs and preferences and values have actually been considered in the scientific process.

[Image cuts back to show Sinead sitting at a desk talking to camera, with windows to a tree-lined street in the background.]

It matters who benefits – whether that’s communities or corporations - and how people see science.

[Images move through to show grocers stacking supermarket shelves, three children from diverse backgrounds sitting at a table eating lunch, then Sinead talking with the food scientist in the laboratory.]

It’s our job as Australia’s national science agency to walk the talk, and show how we’re doing innovation responsibly.

[Image changes to the CSIRO logo on a large piece of lab equipment, before cutting back to a close up of Sinead talking and smiling with the food scientist.]

And of course, when we’re doing food research, ultimately it matters that it tastes nice...

[Image cuts back to show Sinead sitting at a desk talking to camera, with windows to a tree-lined street in the background.]

Food choice is one of the most complex behaviours we do as humans. It’s more than just fuel, it’s how we express our identity, how we connect with our culture, our communities, and also our loved ones.

[Image changes to show a succulent meal being served from above, then a group of young friends dining alfresco at night, then another group of older friends cooking a barbeque in their backyard together.]

[Music plays and the image changes to show the CSIRO logo, and text appears: CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency]

Embracing new food technologies: the trust factor

Sinead’s research has revealed that trust is a key factor in determining whether or not people embrace a new technology. According to Sinead, trust is built when people feel their needs, preferences, and values are being genuinely sought out and considered in the development of new technologies.

“The results of our national survey clearly show that there’s currently not enough consultation,” Sinead said.

“Even where there is, the public is hesitant that their concerns will be taken on board, and changes made.

“It’s our job as scientists to show people how we’re doing innovation responsibly,” she said.

It’s a core interest for Sinead, who joined our Responsible Innovation Future Science Platform in 2019 and went on to lead this project on disruptive food technology. 

Approaching innovation responsibly

Responsible innovation is a systematic and scientific way to ensure new technologies are responsive to the big questions people ask. Instead of engaging with the public at the end of research, behavioural scientists like Sinead consider people’s needs, attitudes, and values at the beginning of the process. By gathering data through surveys or interviews, and using modelling to interpret and predict responses, researchers can feed back into the development process.

“Responsible innovation really speaks to my heart, because it empowers us to solve a problem in the way that society wants it solved,” Sinead said.

“This approach can let the cool science we’re doing have the greatest possible impact, to improve the lives of people in Australia and around the world,” she said.

“Taking a responsible approach to innovation makes it more transparent and accessible to the public.

“It gives us an opportunity to address concerns, and do our work in line with public values and expectations,” she said.

For Sinead, what started as a powerful curiosity to understand how people make everyday decisions has evolved into something even more meaningful. It’s a calling to ensure that new technologies meet the needs, values and expectations of society, while tackling some of Australia’s greatest challenges.