The Food Chain

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 commodity- meeting connoisseurs from every part of the coffee chain, from the picking of the coffee cherry to the very last sip. Coffee is not an industry without its challenges. Small farmers are threatened by external factors like climate change and are subject to price volatility on the open markets. Maud Jullien reports from Burundi, a country trying to market itself towards niche coffee markets amidst political turmoil. Then in Colombia, Arturo Wallace meets a real life marketing mascot in the form of a farmer portraying Juan Valdez, the symbol of the Colombian coffee brand and speaks to the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos. And Shalu Yadav is in India exploring how an aspirational class is setting aside their tea in favour of something stronger. Plus, how many cups a week is too much?

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 reached super-market shelves via a complicated global supply chain, and speaks to some of the people working to improve the traceability of our food. We meet the 'wine police' asked to investigate the origins of a $26,000 bottle of Petrus. Also, the leader of the 'flying squad' of the Danish Food Administration talks about what happens when the food company you are investigating only has a mailbox for an address. Plus, tracing food at an atomic level - how a new method for detecting food fraud has its origins in crime scene investigations.(Photo: From left, a bottle 1990 Bordeaux's Chateau Petrus, a 1996 Le Montrachet Grand Cru, a 1989 Musigny Grand Cru, a 1985 La Romanee and a bottle of 1986 Chateau d'Yquem of 1986. Credit: Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images)

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 whether they should be given more say in what they eat.This week, the BBC has been handing over microphones, recording equipment, studios and air time to children, as part of an annual event called School Report - where children take control. We hear from reporters at a school in Washington DC, about the tricky task of providing healthy meals, when the children do not like them.Manuela Saragosa speaks to Dr Jackie Blissett about neophobia - and the evolutionary reason why children become picky eaters. And Amy Bentley, author of Inventing Baby Food gives us a potted history of potted baby food. Plus, a panel of teenagers takeover the studio, to share their food likes and dislikes(Picture: Child eating vegetable soup Credit: Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images)

What do snails, tamarind and parsley all have in common? They are all foods that - according to World Service followers on twitter- pregnant women have been told to avoid around the world. We explore the prenatal diet, and ask whether the advice that pregnant women receive about what they should eat is based not only on medical understanding, but cultural understanding as well. The Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944 was a famine that killed thousands. But this tragedy provided a study group - babies who were starved in the womb - who are studied for life long health changes. From them, we learn that what our grandmothers eat may have consequences for us. We discuss what happens if you go through pregnancy when you are living in a culture different to the one in which you were raised. We look at how personalised nutrition will customise pregnant mothers' diets in the future, and we hear how an Indian initiative is combatting maternal malnutrition by feeding mothers fortified samosas, not vitamins.(Photo: Belarussian women attend an annual parade for pregnant women in central Minsk. Credit: Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images)

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 is modern farming a viable career choice? And what happens when the youngest generation no longer wants to farm? Manuela Saragosa examines life on the farm, what it takes to be a farmer and the changing state of agriculture. Journalist Jesse Hirsch joins in to offer his step-by-step guide to the trials and tribulations of working the land. And we hear from the Ugandan farmer who wants to entice young people away from cities and back onto the farm to make a living. Plus, comedian Colm O’Regan explains why there is a big difference between growing up on a farm and actually being a farmer.

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 the world's hungry citizens. In Egypt, where the price and availability of bread is a political issue, the government has introduced a new smart card system to avoid long queues and fights outside bakeries. We hear from the remote region of Canada where shops charge residents $28 for a cabbage or $200 for a turkey. Plus, we look at both sides of the American food stamp debate, with politicians arguing over whether food welfare means vitality or dependency.

Is technology at mealtimes too disruptive? The BBC's Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones joins The Food Chain for dinner and talks about what happened the week he took his culinary habits to Twitter. We get some insight into how our eating behaviour changes once a gadget is placed in front of us. Angela Saini hears about a fork that can monitor when you've had enough, and asks whether a computer can come up with a better recipe than a human. Plus, we hear from you on whether it's rude to bring your phone to the table.

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 the perfect name for his new creations. Can words be too enticing? We hear the story of the humble Patagonian toothfish, whose re-branding success story nearly led to its extinction.President of the Gourmand World Cookbook awards Edouard Cointreau takes us on a tour of the seemingly insatiable global market for cookbooks.But has our love for writing about food gone too far? Language specialist Steven Poole tells presenter Angela Saini why some restaurant menu jargon infuriates him.Plus food writer Fuschia Dunlop shares her reflections on Chinese menus that attract diners with such adjectives as 'slimy', 'gristly' and 'glutinous'.

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 Klinenberg reveals that eating alone is the greatest hurdle for otherwise happy single dwellers. Presenter Manuela Saragosa tests this by taking a table at the Dutch solo-diner only restaurant, Eenmaal. Eating alone means you eat differently. The figures show there’s a huge increase in food designed for one. It costs more but the growing band of solo eaters are prepared to pay a premium for the extra convenience. We visit Liverpool University’s eating behaviour laboratory, kitted out with hidden technologies which unpick how we eat. Plus we hear why, in South Korea, people are being paid to eat over the internet.

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 transport of food and drink around the world. As part of the BBC World Service's special series called Fridgenomics, The Food Chain looks into the wider networks at play when it comes to getting fresh food to your plate. Manuela Saragosa experiences minus 24 degrees Celsius at the London Gateway port to see how chilled food coming in from abroad is stored and inspected. We also hear about one man's efforts to implement his own cold chain in Tanzania. Plus, refrigeration has come a long way, from Icelandic traders using salt, to compressing liquids into gas. But what effect does our demand for chilled or frozen out-of-season food have on our environment and our diets?