The Food Chain

Latest Episodes:

Forbidden food: The Jews of Spain Oct 26, 2022

Show notes

Today’s Sephardic Jewish community has its roots in Spain and Portugal. The Hispanic Jews lived for many centuries in those countries but faced increasing persecution in the 13th and 15th Centuries.

Many were forced to convert to Christianity, but some secretly continued their Jewish faith and practices.

In 1478, the Spanish Christian royalty created the Inquisition, a series of trials aimed at identifying those who had not converted. Food and methods of food preparation are frequently cited as evidence against Jewish people in Spanish Inquisition trial records.

Ultimately the Jews were expelled from Spain and they fled to other countries. This was the beginning of a diaspora which carried its Spanish food traditions with it.

Ruth Alexander meets three women who have published Sephardic cookbooks reflecting on this turbulent past. Hélène Jawhara Piñer is a French historian and chef, she studied Spanish Inquisition trial records for her book Sephardi: Cooking the History. Stella Hanan Cohen lives in Zimbabwe; in her book Stella’s Sephardic Table she records the cuisine of the Sephardic community that settled on the island of Rhodes, now part of Greece. Genie Milgrom was born in Cuba and lives in Florida in the United States, she found handwritten recipes that had been passed down by generations of women in her family, which she published as ‘The Recipes of My 15 Grandmothers’.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Beatrice Pickup

(Photo: A dish of swiss chard and chickpeas cooked by Ruth Alexander. Credit: BBC)

What do astronauts eat? Oct 19, 2022

Show notes

What are the nutritional challenges, and the highs and lows of food in space? As NASA looks at creating a lunar habitat, and even launching a mission to Mars, how can the right food be prepared and transported to keep astronauts both healthy, and happy? Marie Keyworth speaks to veteran astronaut Nicole Stott, and NASA’s top nutrition expert Scott Smith, who leads the Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas. Marie finds out what it’s really like to eat in zero gravity, and how nutrition is being used to counteract the extreme health impacts of spaceflight on the human body. Studying astronaut diets in space might even help our understanding of nutrition here on earth.

Presented by Marie Keyworth. Produced by Sarah Treanor.

(Image: astronaut in space holding a burger. Credit: Getty / BBC)

Can farmers influence food prices? Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

Global food prices reached record highs this year due to a combination of factors including the war in Ukraine, rising energy prices and poor harvests. Prices are now falling, but remain higher than last year.

In this programme Ruth Alexander talks to three farmers on three different continents, to discuss if they’re profiting from these higher prices, the impact of higher costs, and whether farmers ultimately have any influence over the price we pay in the shops.

Ruth is joined by Anne Gitau, a poultry farmer in Nairobi Kenya; John Kelly, a dairy farmer in Country Wicklow Ireland; and Bob Lowe, a beef and barley farmer in Alberta, Canada. The BBC’s Global Trade Correspondent Dharshini David joins the discussion to explain what is happening in global feed and fertiliser markets.

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: trays of meat on a butcher’s counter with prices. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Inheriting grandma's pan Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

We may be living in a disposable age, but many of us probably own at least one hand-me-down pot, pan or kitchen utensil. They can be heavy and cumbersome to use but promise quality and reliability - a steadfast companion in the kitchen. They hold sentimental value too: memories of home, of loved ones who have passed, and ancestral traditions.

In this programme, Ruth Alexander explores the history of some of these pieces, the sentimental and practical value to their owners, and the stories contained within.

She speaks to three amateur cooks: Steven Hopper from Mississippi in the US, Alice Smith from South Wales in the UK, and Amrita Amesur in Hyderabad, India.

We would love to hear about your precious pots and pans - please email your stories and pictures to thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Picture: An old saucepan. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

Who owns seeds? Sep 28, 2022

Show notes

Today’s seed industry is dominated by a handful of companies. Approximately 60% of the market is controlled by just four companies.

Many of the seeds planted by farmers are controlled by international property rights or patents, that limit how they can be used. Court cases have centred around whether farmers have the right to save and reuse seeds for future harvests.

In this programme we’ll chart the history of the seed industry, from the 19th century, when the United States government sent seeds in the post to farmers for free, to the growth of genetics in the 20th century which set the foundations for today’s market.

Ruth Alexander is joined by Courtney Fullilove, Associate Professor of History at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, United States, and author of ‘Profit of the Earth: the global seeds of American Agriculture'; Frank Terhorst, Head of Strategy and Sustainability in the Crop Sciences Division of Bayer Global, the biggest seed company in the world; Michael Fakhri, the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the right to food, and Professor at the Oregon University School of Law in the United States; and Dr Tamene Yohannes, from the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute in Ethiopia, which works with community seed banks around the country.

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: a man holding a pile of seeds in two hands. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Food for mood Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

Mental health is a hugely complex issue with many causes. There’s no simple answer, then, when it comes to therapies for conditions like anxiety and depression. But a growing body of research is now supporting a connection between nutrition and mental health - that what you eat can have a role to play in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

It’s an emerging field, but dietary recommendations for patients are already being made in clinical settings. Jordan Dunbar explores the scientific evidence for this, and what a ‘happier diet’ might look like.

He speaks to Professor Felice Jacka, Director of the Food and Mood Centre at Deakin University in Australia; US psychiatrist Dr Emily Deans; UK-based chef, Daniel Edwards, and nutritionist Dr Nada Benajiba, who’s based in Saudi Arabia.

If you've been affected by the content of this programme, information and support is available via the BBC Action Line. Go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Picture: Woman holding a pot of mixed berries. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

The flavourists Sep 14, 2022

Show notes

Meet the flavourists – the people who bring together art and science to create the flavours in our food. Each crisp, soft drink, or toothpaste flavour has been concocted by someone in a lab who has spent years studying why things taste good.

In this programme, Ruth Alexander visits the International Flavour Research Centre at the University of Nottingham in the UK, where flavour chemist Professor Ian Fisk demonstrates machines that can act as an artificial nose and tongue. Historian Dr Nadia Berenstein explains how this profession began and evolved alongside the boom in consumer goods in the 20th century. And we meet a master flavourist at the top of their field – Yukiko Ando Ovesen from Japan, who works for the international flavour and fragrance firm, Firmenich.

Presented by Ruth Alexander

Produced by Beatrice Pickup

(Image: girl eating doughnut with brightly coloured sprinkles. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Inside food safety scares Sep 07, 2022

Show notes

Food contamination is a serious public health problem around the world. The World Health Organisation estimates that 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die every year.

In this episode, Ruth Alexander speaks to some of the people whose lives have been shaped by serious food safety breaches and how they are working to ensure food safety and strengthen our food systems.

She speaks to US food policy campaigner, Darin Detwiler, whose son Riley died following an E. coli outbreak in 1993, food safety consultant Lone Jespersen, and Tina Potter, head of incidents at the Food Standards Agency for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Picture: Scientist inspecting meat sample in laboratory. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

Tomorrow’s food crops Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Climate change means that, in many parts of the world, the way we farm is no longer working.

We need a larger, more diverse range of crops that perform even when the rains don’t come or, as can also be the case, when too much rain comes.

Currently, just 15 crops make up 90% of our energy intake, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.

In this programme, we’re meeting people who are trying to develop food crops that might thrive in our changing world.

Ruth Alexander visits the Millennium Seed Bank ran by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in the UK, where Dr Chris Cockel explains their work collecting and storing seeds from the wild relatives of our staple crops. Tessa Peters, Director of Crop Stewardship at The Land Institute in Kansas, US, makes the case for creating perennial versions of our crops, in order to preserve soil health. And Dr Rebbie Harawa, regional director, Eastern and Southern Africa at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid-Tropics talks about why a currently underutilised crop – millet – could be help struggling farmers in dry areas. Picture: Close up of millet growing in a field; Credit: BBC/Getty

Running a restaurant with your relatives Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Running a restaurant is hard enough, but what if there’s family involved? In this episode, Felicity Hannah explores the highs and the lows of family-run eateries; their history, food culture, family dynamics and how they deal with the cut and thrust of business.

She heads to Liverpool in the UK, to Europe’s oldest Chinatown, where she meets Terry and Theresa Lim, the owners of the city’s oldest Chinese restaurant. And she pays a visit to a local Italian establishment, to meet brother and sister Paolo and Maria Cillo who, with their other siblings and extended family, are building a burgeoning family food empire in the city.

It’s an interesting time for these two restaurants. Italian and Chinese are two of the most exported cuisines in the world, but with growing competition from other popular food cultures, as well as global economic challenges, how are they adapting to changing times?

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Picture: Paolo and Maria Cillo, and Terry and Theresa Lim with their daughter and two grandchildren. Credit: BBC)

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