The Food Chain

Wheat is one of the most important grains worldwide: you’ll find it in bread, biscuits, pasta, sauces, sweets and more besides. Indeed, take wheat products off supermarket shelves and they would look rather bare. But recent global events – not least the war in Ukraine - have caused crop prices to soar. Ruth Alexander charts how a humble grass grown in the Fertile Crescent became a commodity traded worldwide, and she explores whether we have become too reliant on this “mega crop” for our food supplies – and what alternatives there might be. She talks to Cathy Zabinski, professor of plant and soil ecology at Montana State University, US; Frank Uekotter, professor of environmental humanities at the University of Birmingham, UK; and Augustine Sensie Bangura, CEO of Sierra Agri Foods, Sierra Leone.If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: An ear of wheat blowing in the wind. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Hot sauce can inspire fervent passion in its devotees. It’s a global obsession that translates to billions of dollars of sales a year. But with so many on the market, how do you create a taste that becomes a global hit? In this programme, Ruth Alexander explores the origin stories of two iconic brands – Sriracha and Lao Gan Ma. How did these sauces - born in humble circumstances in Vietnam and China in the 1980s - come to sit on dining tables around the world today? We explore their extraordinary stories and ask what their popularity tell us about changing global tastes. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk  (Picture: Large red chilli. Credit: Getty/BBC) Producer: Sarah Stolarz Contributors Stephanie Li, blogger and YouTuber at ‘Chinese Cooking Demystified’ Andrea Nguyen, cookbook author and publisher of Vietworldkitchen.com

The man with carefully sculpted six-pack is everywhere: in Hollywood action films, on magazine front covers, in your social media feed, on dating apps. And so are the online ads telling you how to get the look. But what does it really take to get a washboard stomach? This week, Ruth Alexander hears from three men about the reality of getting ‘ripped’ and how much of it is down to what you eat. They reveal how deeply the experience can affect your relationship with food, your loved ones and yourself (Picture: Male torso ripped in half. Credit: Getty/BBC) If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Producer: Sarah Stolarz Contributors: Graham Isador, writer Florian Gaffet, massage therapist Matthew Todd, author ‘Straight Jacket: Overcoming Society’s Legacy of Gay Shame’

Can the love of eating meat ever get in the way of a relationship? You may have heard the phrase ‘the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach’, but what happens if the foods they eat are wildly different from yours? Tamasin Ford explores what it’s like to date a carnivore. Not just someone who eats meat, but someone who loves meat. Someone who has been brought up to eat meat in every meal. We speak to two couples whose diets can sometimes be the source of their most heated arguments to find out how they navigate meal times and social events. Can tolerance win out over frustration? If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Picture: Steak on a plate. Credit: Getty/BBC) Producer: Sarah Stolarz Contributors: Barbara Friend Molly Savard Charlie Pears-Wallace Joe Deeney

Wine producers say a warming planet can be detected in the glass. The owners of long-established vineyards are having to adapt their methods to preserve the taste of their wines, but experts say change is inevitable and already tangible. Ruth Alexander finds out how climate change is challenging some of the world’s most famous wine regions, while providing opportunities for new producers emerging in the most unlikely places. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: woman holding a glass of wine. Credit: Getty/BBC)Contributors: Sally Evans, Chateau George 7, Bordeaux, FranceDr Greg Jones, wine climatologist and CEO of Abacela vineyards and winery in Oregon, United States Bjorn Bergum, Slinde Vineyard, Sognefjord, Norway

As food prices are rising around the world, along with the cost of energy, even people living in some of the world’s wealthiest countries are struggling to manage. In this episode, three UK citizens discuss how difficult it can be to feed a family on a low income. Single parents Sue and Dominic tell of how they have had to skips meals themselves to ensure their children are fed, and how food insecurity has at times left them with feelings of shame. And Kayleigh Maughan, the founder of the charity End Holiday Hunger, explains how the donations she relies on to make up the food parcels she sends to families in need are dwindling as supermarkets and households feel the pressure of the rising cost of living. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: hand holding a shopping basket. Credit: Getty/BBC) Contributors: Sue Stalker Dominic Watters Kayleigh Maughan

Imagine a world where going out for dinner virtually - from the comfort of your own sofa - becomes the norm. Whether it sounds appealing or dystopian - there are restaurants, chefs and gamers already out there experimenting with food in virtual worlds. Tamasin Ford speaks to the developer of a ‘foodverse’ that will feature everything from virtual dining and cookbook signing experiences to food-based virtual games and we hear from a large US restaurant chain on why they are playing with their customers in the metaverse. But what does a future of virtual worlds mean for the food industry? Will it be a niche pursuit or an invaluable tool? And could it threaten the existence of restaurants in the real world? (Picture: person wearing VR headset. Credit: Getty/BBC) If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Contributors: Supreet Raju: Co-Founder of OneRare Tressie Lieberman: Vice President of Digital Marketing at Chipotle Michelle Evans: Global Lead of Retail and Digital Consumer Insights at Euromonitor International.

Chef Olia Hercules invites us into her London home to reflect on her country’s rich culinary heritage and the power of food in even the darkest of times. She opens her well-stocked kitchen cupboards and fridge to reveal the varied flavours, colours and scents of a cuisine she says is often wrongly dismissed as being ‘beige’ or boring. Ruth Alexander joins Olia and her Russian friend and fellow food writer, Alissa Timoshkina, to discuss the close ties between their nation’s traditional dishes, and the importance of the two women’s own personal friendship. The conversation was recorded on Tuesday 8 March; 12 days into the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Picture: Olia Hercules and Alissa Timoshkina. Credit: BBC) Producer: Sarah Stolarz

Slipping drugs or extra alcohol into someone’s drink is a crime, but one that is under-reported and little understood. It’s often thought to take place in bars and nightclubs, but as Ruth Alexander discovers from people who’ve been targeted, it can happen to anyone, at any time. Campaigners explain why myths and misconceptions around drink spiking persist, and we ask what could be done to move the crime out of the shadows and into the open. (Picture: hand holding glass of water. Credit: Getty/BBC) If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Producer: Elisabeth Mahy Contributors: Clara George, Miss United Kingdom, and campaigner against drink spiking Dr Lata Gautam, associate professor in forensic science, Anglia Ruskin University, UK Dawn Dines, CEO and founder of Stamp Out Spiking

What is a recipe? A simple question... with many answers. It could be a set of instructions on how to make a dish – but also so much more. Recipes can reveal how we lived in the past, and how we are living today. They are part of our sense of identity, belonging and loss and they are portals we can use to travel to different cultures. This week, Ruth Alexander speaks to three recipe collectors in India, Ghana and the USA to find out why they are preserving their nation’s recipes. What can you learn by documenting these culinary guides? How do you even capture a recipe that has never been written down? And what is at stake if they are lost? (Picture: Cookbook with utensils. Credit: Getty/BBC) If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Contributors: Abena Offeh-Gyimah, writer and food entrepreneur, Ghana Megan Elias, cultural historian and director of the Gastronomy programme at University of Boston, USA Muskaan Pal, co-founder, Indian Community Cookbook Project at Flame University in Pune, India