The Food Chain

Latest Episodes:

The Boundless Ambition of Gum Nov 09, 2017

Show notes

Chewing gum seems to be on a mission to reinvent itself. There’s little we’re told it can’t do these days - prevent tooth decay, cure hangovers, even improve our vision.

As sales of gum flat line, we explore it's ability to take on new guises, and meet people who even believe it can be used to detect cancer and help end malnutrition. Could chewing gum save your life?

An expert on food regulation explains why the majority of gums with health claims are rejected, and presenter Emily Thomas meets a man who tried to solve one of gum’s stickiest and costliest problems.

Plus we'll ask whether we should we stop working so hard to find a purpose for this food we can't swallow, and find other, more environmentally-friendly solutions?

(Photo: Girl with chewing gum. Credit: Getty Images)

Contain Yourself! Nov 02, 2017

Show notes

Does your favourite drink taste better from a bottle, cup or can? Are foods enhanced by particular plates, or packaging? Or is it all in your head?

Emily Thomas is joined by materials specialist Ellie Doney and food psychologist Charles Spence to find out exactly how the containers we eat and drink from can change the way food tastes.

From British fish and chips wrapped in yesterday’s news to clay tea cups in Kolkata and a pot unwashed for decades, we explore some traditional serving methods and find out why we may be discarding more than we think when we throw them away.

(Photo: Woman in large cup of coffee. Credit: Getty Images)

Competitive Eating: Chewing it Over Oct 19, 2017

Show notes

What happens to your body when you eat 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes, and why would thousands of people watch you do it? We’re exploring the curious appeal of competitive eating, and its impact on our stomachs, minds and society around us. What does the popularity of eating competitions tell us about our changing relationship with food? And why do humans appear to have such an appetite for watching other people regurgitate it?

In the second episode to explore the curious appeal of competitive eating, presenter Emily Thomas gives it a go, and speaks to a doctor about the potential risks. We find out what goes on inside the body of a speed eater and just how big their stomachs get. Is it nature or nurture that allows people to consume such vast quantities of food?

We also hear from a man who says competitive eating helped him get over anorexia nervosa, and find out what a psychiatrist thinks.

Competitive eating can be dangerous, especially outside of a controlled environment, so please do not try this at home.

Competitive Eating: The 'Gurgitators' Oct 12, 2017

Show notes

We speak to some of the world's most successful competitive eaters and find out how, and why, they do it.

In the first of two episodes on the so-called sport, four ‘gurgitators’ tell us what it takes to eat the most hot dogs, corncobs or burgers in the shortest possible time.

This is not something you should try at home.

Emily Thomas speaks to one of the industry's biggest names, Takeru Kobayashi, a man credited with revolutionising competitive eating and turning it into a sport. We hear from New Yorker Yasir Salem, who combines speed-eating with triathlons and marathons, and Londoner Kate Ovens tells us how she is making a career from posting videos of eating challenges online, attracting thousands of fans in the process.

(Photo: Hand holding burger. Credit: Getty Images)

Madhur Jaffrey: My Life in Five Dishes Oct 05, 2017

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Join us for five unforgettable dishes from one extraordinary life as the food writer and actress Madhur Jaffrey reveals some rather surprising mealtimes - from a swimming lesson with a watermelon, to a dinner disaster with jazz legend, Dizzy Gillespie.

The food writer and award-winning actress has written more than 15 cookbooks, many of them bestsellers, and has been credited with changing the way people outside India think about the country’s food. She joins the BBC's Emily Thomas to talk about the meals that have shaped her remarkable career.

(Photo: Madhur Jaffrey. Credit: Penguin Books)

A Fly Future? Sep 28, 2017

Show notes

We're in South Africa again to find out whether fly larvae could help humans eat more meat and fish.

As the global population expands, traditional feed sources such as fishmeal, soya and grains, could put increasing pressure on the environment, depleting oceans and reducing biodiversity. Alternative protein sources based on insects are being developed by a number of companies across the world. In this episode we explore whether they are as effective as traditional feeds, and how big the industry is likely to get.

Plus, might maggots be able to ease the world’s landfill problems too?

Presenter: Emily Thomas

(Photo: Black soldier fly. Credit: Getty images).

The Maggot Masters Sep 21, 2017

Show notes

This week we’re in South Africa, picking up great big squirming handfuls of maggots. Could these unpalatable little creatures hold the answer to some big questions – what to do about the huge amount of waste going into landfill, and how to meet the world’s growing demand for a sustainable supply of farmed fish, pigs and poultry?

A company called Agriprotein thinks its fly farm is the solution. They've just won The Food Chain’s first Global Champion Award - which recognises innovative ideas that could have a longstanding impact on the way we produce or consume food. The Food Chain's Emily Thomas gets up close to their armada of over 9 billion flies in the first of two episodes to explore the potential of using insects as a protein source for animal and fish feed.

Cow Candy Sep 14, 2017

Show notes

Why do farmers feed their cows sweets? What are the implications for the animals’ health, the environment and the taste of our meat?

From the mystery of a rural US highway covered in Skittles, to chocolate-flavoured steak selling for hundreds of dollars, we explore the impact of feeding cows the byproducts of human food production.

Plus, we take our own bag of treats onto the farm and discover cows have rather expensive tastes.

Presenter: Emily Thomas

(Picture: A cow eating a chocolate bar.)

Finding a Food Champion Sep 07, 2017

Show notes

Meet the people determined to revolutionise what and how we eat as we launch our first ever international award.

We hear about the four shortlisted projects hoping to be named The Food Chain Global Champion, including an insect-based cooking oil, a beekeeper empowering women in northern India, a maggot-based animal feed, and a global movement seeking to transform food and agriculture.

We’ll also hear form our international panel of judges on their reasons for shortlisting the final four, and a slam poet’s verdict in verse.

The Food Chain Global Food Champion Award recognises a person or project whose work in the economics, science, or culture of food has (or has the potential to have), a global impact on how we produce, process, consume or think about food and drink. The winner will be revealed later this month.

Presenter: Emily Thomas

(Photo: Sahida Begum inspects her bees in the Araku valley, in the in the northern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Credit: Sahida Begum.)

The Art of Fermentation Aug 31, 2017

Show notes

For 20 years Sandor Katz has been fascinated by fermentation - the breaking down of food and drink by microbes. Through his books and workshops he has helped thousands of people begin to experiment with flavours, fruits, vegetables, spices... and microorganisms.

Dan Saladino travels to Sandor's forest home in rural Tennessee to meet Sandor, hear his story, and discover for himself the transformative potential of this culinary process.

Producer: Rich Ward

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