The Food Chain

Latest Episodes:

The pig plague Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

A deadly and highly contagious disease is sweeping across Asia, killing millions of pigs and destroying the livelihoods of millions of farming families.

African Swine Fever is not harmful to humans, but it kills infected pigs in just a few days and there is no known cure. The virus has taken hold in the world’s most densely populated pig farming region, spreading from China – home to half of the world’s pigs – to Vietnam, Cambodia, Mongolia, Laos and North Korea in the last year.

So can it be stopped, and if so how? Gareth Barlow speaks to three people on the front line of the fight against the disease - the woman tasked by the United Nations to eradicate it, a major food business in Thailand trying to keep it at bay, and the man who eliminated the disease from Spain more than 20 years ago.

We ask whether African Swine Fever could mean the end of small-scale pig farming in Asia, and find out how it could forever change food cultures and cuisines in a region so dominated by pork.

(Picture: Health officials spraying disinfectant on a dead pig at a farm in Hanoi, Vietnam. Credit: Manan Vatsayana/AFP/Getty Images)

When is a burger not a burger? Jul 04, 2019

Show notes

Vegetarian and vegan food companies are under attack for using words like ‘burger', ‘sausage’, or ‘steak’ to describe their meat-free products. The meat industry and some politicians argue such words can only be used to describe foods that came from an animal and that plant-based alternatives should come up with new names to avoid consumer confusion.

But can you really claim ownership of a word? And what’s in a name anyway – is this argument about transparency and trust or marketing and profits?

Willem Van Weede, CEO of Dutch plant-based food company Vivera argues the case with Jess Peterson, senior policy adviser at the US Cattlemen’s Association, which represents the beef industry.

Plus, language expert Carrie Gillon tells us the real origins of the word 'meat' and suggests some new names for plant-based alternatives.

The quest for black gold Jun 27, 2019

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How powerful can a steaming pile of rotting food be?

One third of the world’s food is lost or wasted, greenhouse emissions are warming our planet, and about a third of the world’s soil is degraded. Composting our food waste can help with all of this. But does it make economic sense and does it deserve it’s moniker ‘black gold’?

Emily Thomas meets people in the compost business to ask whether composting at scale will ever turn a profit without government money. And why, if compost is so good for the land, are farmers still so reluctant to use it?

For the compost business to thrive, people need to separate their food waste - but how can they be persuaded to do so? We hear from Seoul in South Korea, where the solution lies in a talking bin, and from Colombo in Sri Lanka, where a failure to address the problem has had devastating consequences.

(Picture: Plants growing in a pile of compost. Credit: Getty Images)

How not to run a restaurant Jun 20, 2019

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It’s a dream shared by many a food lover - a restaurant of their very own. A showcase for their skill and creativity. A passion that also pays the bills.

But are aspiring restaurateurs always aware of just how difficult the restaurant trade can be? Is food is the most dangerous passion to have when it comes to business?

Emily Thomas meets three cooks in Abuja, Toronto, and London, and hears how they poured heart, soul and bank balance into opening their own restaurants - before packing it all in. These stories show just how tough the business can be.

(Picture: Woman rests on chair. Credit: Getty Images/ BBC)

Lunches changing lives Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

Millions of children in India risk being deprived of a good education because of hunger. Poverty means they often go to school on an empty stomach, making it hard for them to concentrate, and malnutrition can mean they don’t even make it to the classroom – they either cannot face the journey or need to work to buy food for their families.

But over the last 20 years Akshaya Patra has been trying to change that by ensuring almost two million children get a free school meal each day. The organisation is the world’s largest school lunch programme and it has been chosen as the winner of the The Food Chain’s Global Champion Award 2019.

In this episode we visit one of its giant kitchens in Bangalore to find out what it takes to feed that many students, and we hear from teachers and children about the impact it’s having. Plus we hear one remarkable story about how a simple meal changed a child’s life, and speak to the organisation’s boss about his plans to scale up even further.

(Picture: School children eating lunch. Credit: Akshaya Patra)

Finding a food champion: The finalists Jun 06, 2019

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The world faces a daunting challenge - how to feed a growing population without harming the planet, our economies, or our health. With a billion people still going hungry, obesity and diabetes on the rise, and warnings of a climate change emergency, how can we change our food system for the better?

Emily Thomas meets four remarkable people and projects trying to meet that challenge, from cheap and nutritious meals aimed at increasing school attendance in Kenya to campaigns cutting out millions of tonnes of food waste.

They were all nominated by our World Service audience to win The Food Chain’s Global Champion Award, which recognises people changing the way we deal with our food for the better. Our international panel of judges, headed by the writer, cook and Netflix star Samin Nosrat, considered entries from all over the globe. This week we meet the inspiring shortlist.

(Picture: [clockwise from top left] A farmer and CGIAR scientist in Nepal; Richard Swannell, development director at WRAP; Lucy May, co-founder of The Organic Cookery School; and Wawira Njiru, founder of Food4Education. Credit: CGIAR; WRAP; Lucy May; Wawira Njiru.)

Samin Nosrat: My life in five dishes May 30, 2019

Show notes

The award-winning star of Netflix series 'Salt, Fat, Acid Heat' and author of the best-selling cookbook of the same name tells us about her life through five of her most memorable dishes.

The Iranian-American writer and cook has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in the last few years, but has struggled to come to terms with that success and says she still feels like an impostor and outsider.

She very nearly took a completely different career path - she tells Emily Thomas that her dream was always to be a poet until a magical experience at a fine-dining restaurant changed everything.

Even now, though, she doesn't aspire to run a restaurant or establish a culinary empire - she doesn't like the person she becomes when put in charge of a team of chefs.

This episode was recorded at The Cookery School at Little Portland Street.

(Picture: Samin Nosrat. Credit: BBC)

Bitter sweets May 23, 2019

Show notes

Could candy be the next target in the global fight against rising levels of obesity and diabetes? Dozens of governments have already imposed taxes on sugary drinks, and now some are considering doing the same with sweets. So how worried are confectionery companies and what can they do about it?

How do you replace or even reduce candy’s key component, and can you do so without causing upset? We hear how consumers don’t take kindly to their favourite treats being messed with, even when they taste the same. Plus, could the war on sugar provide an opportunity for manufacturers to develop sweets with more of a medicinal role?

Simon Tulett speaks to three firms: Nestle; Parle Products in India; and Turkish Delight specialist Haci Bekir in Istanbul.

(Picture: A smashed lollipop. Credit: Getty Images)

Food on the streets: London and Los Angeles May 16, 2019

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How do you eat when you have no home? Nowhere to store food, nowhere to cook, no table to eat at?

In this episode we are with homeless people in two of the world’s most prosperous cities - London and Los Angeles - to talk about how they feed themselves.

This is a tale of two cities - a surprising story perhaps of the abundance of food in the most deprived parts of society. What does it tell us about our global food supply chain?

(Photo: Homeless man looks out on LA and London streets. Credit: BBC/Getty Images)

Organic Inc May 09, 2019

Show notes

At heart, the organic movement is driven by ethics, not market-forces. It started out as a reaction to large-scale industrial agriculture, with an anti-establishment vibe which abhorred mass produced, processed food. But, as demand for organic products has grown, big business has moved in, and now accounts for an increasing amount of the market.

Big Food has money and clout. It can support farmers to transition to organic, and throw its weight behind marketing the virtues of organic methods and food. But whilst its products might be organic on paper, has it truly embraced the spirit of the movement, and does that matter?

Emily Thomas talks to three organic farmers who are uneasy about 'Big Organic', and General Mills, one of the largest food producers in the US.

(Image: Composite image of a chicken standing in a suitcase. Credit: Getty)