The Food Chain
Episodes
Food, Power and Punishment
27 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Nothing to eat but stale bread and water - an enduring image of incarceration, but what part should food play in punishment? In America, the 'Nutraloa...
The Truth About Diabetes
06 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Over 347 million people worldwide have diabetes, and that figure is set to rise to half a billion in the next 20 years. It is a disease that is spiral...
Down with 'Foodies'?
12 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Is being cool a sign of culinary class? In the autumn of 2015 the Cereal Killer café in East London was attacked by protestors. They viewed it as a s...
Breast Practice
28 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
As part of the BBC's 100 Women season, The Food Chain dedicates an episode to working mothers and how they feed their babies. More women are entering ...
Chinatown
21 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly every major city in the world has one- a district where Chinese immigrants have settled to live, work and eat. This week in a collaboration w...
Back of House
14 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
It can be a tough life in the pressure cooker of the professional kitchen. A restaurant is a crucible of creativity, heat, and long hours. Low entry l...
Food Far From Home
31 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The biggest refugee crisis since World War Two continues to intensify and once the treacherous journey to physical safety is complete, refugees have t...
Food of War
12 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What are the challenges of finding the next meal in times of war? Feeding an army is a giant exercise in logistics, and it is also a testing ground fo...
India: How to Feed a Nation
05 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Can the world’s largest democracy guarantee its citizens the right to their next meal? As part of the BBC India season, The Food Chain takes a deepe...
India: Faith, Food, and Politics
29 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
How food, identity, religion, and politics are changing the way India eats. Anu Anand visits Mumbai’s biggest slaughterhouse to assess the economic ...
Food of Love
15 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
From a baby’s first cry to the funeral feast: food as the language of love. This week, the Food Chain examines the link between our food and our fee...
Chicken: Too Much of a Good Thing?
14 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We explore one of the world’s most important foods - the chicken. It is set to become the world’s most popular protein in four years time, surpass...
How to (Not) Grow Your Food Business
20 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Do you have a family recipe that friends say you should bottle and sell? Simon Jack looks at how you can grow a food business from scratch, how to cho...
Sexual Politics in the Kitchen
13 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
How does our gender affect our relationship with food? Does it determine what we want to eat, how we cook or what we buy? And as gender roles change, ...
The End of Eating Wild Fish?
06 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Most of the food we eat - beef chicken, wheat, apples, corn - is farmed on the land, produced under controlled conditions and transported to market ra...
How Do We Know What’s Good For Us?
30 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why is food advice so confusing? Up for debate is the role of fat in our diet. Adrian Golberg takes a look at the methods behind determining what food...
Spice and Status
23 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A deeper look at the global network of commerce that comes with the flavouring of our food. Marnie Chesterton visits the UK's Kew Gardens, and gets a ...
Coffee: Globalisation’s Drink of Choice
16 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
How the coffee industry is changing for growers, sellers, and consumers around the world. This week's programme follows in pursuit of a widely traded...
Fighting Food Crime
27 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We meet some of the people fighting food fraud around the world. Manuela Saragosa asks what risks the consumer faces when they buy food that has reac...
Picky Eaters
20 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why won’t your kid eat broccoli? And should you bother to force them? We ask whether children need a different diet, do their palates differ, and wh...
Eating For Two?
13 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What do snails, tamarind and parsley all have in common? They are all foods that - according to World Service followers on twitter- pregnant women hav...
Farm and Fortune?
06 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The origins of our food can be scrutinised, analysed, inspected, and disrupted but the production of what we eat ultimately lies with the farmer. But...
Should the Government Pay for our Food?
27 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Does the government have a duty to feed us? Or should we each look after our own table? Angela Saini looks at the controversies behind handing out to ...
Tech at the Table
20 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Is technology at mealtimes too disruptive? The BBC's Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones joins The Food Chain for dinner and talks about what h...
Eat my words!
13 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
How much does the way food is described influence what we eat? Superstar apple breeder David Bedford tells us why he spends up to nine months finding ...
Dinner for One
09 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Is there a penalty for eating alone? Do you take a hit to your wallet, your social life and even your health by dining solo? Sociologist Eric Klinenbe...
The Cold Chain
30 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Where does the food in your fridge come from and how did it get there? More than likely it made its way along the cold chain - the refrigerated transp...
Variety Pack
09 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Simon Jack brings you tales of making more from what we have already got - be that using plant protein to make eggless mayonnaise or harvesting energy...
Sugar: A Love-Hate Relationship
02 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
On average we consume some 27 kilos of sugar every year - and that figure is on the rise. But is that a good thing, or is sugar the root cause of many...
Feast
26 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Audrey Tinline looks at the political and economic history behind having a great big meal with a large group of people. We find out what happens to yo...
Food Technophobes v Technophiles
05 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Who should decide whether a food-related technology is safe? We hear from Mike Mack, CEO of Syngenta, one of the world’s biggest agri-businesses an...
Whose Food is it Anyway?
28 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Does food maintain its national identity once it's cooked abroad? We'll look at why a recipe by chef Jamie Oliver for Jollof rice has many West Africa...
Food and the Fall of the Berlin Wall
14 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
As politics changes does our food follow suit? We hear how food tastes and names have altered according to the politics of the day. Mangalitsa for ex...
Why Do We Waste So Much Food?
07 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
About a third of what’s produced for human consumption isn’t eaten. We look at why the food we grow doesn’t always make it to our plate. It's no...
Super Foods or Super Fads?
31 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Kale, quinoa, chia, blueberries, all members of a group of foods that have been around for a while, but have seen a sudden surge in global popularity....