The Food Chain

How do our work habits shape what we eat?

In this programme Izzy Greenfield discovers the history of the workplace lunch and the ways in which society has reshaped it.

Historian Megan Elias of Boston University in the US explains how lunches have evolved from the factories of the 19th century Industrial Revolution to sandwiches eaten at the desk in 20th century offices.

Izzy visits an office and co-working space in Manchester, run by Department, a company that operates office spaces in the North of England. Abigail Gunning, Operations Director, explains why it makes sense for the company to open the building’s cafe and restaurant to the public as well as staff.

And how does workplace food impact our health? Olivia Beck, registered nutritionist at Food Choices at Work in Cork, Ireland, explains why it’s in employers’ interests to create a healthy food environment for all staff, whether in the office or at home.

If you’d like to contact the programme you can email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Presented by Izzy Greenfield.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

Additional reporting by James Jackson.

(Image: a man eating a burger with a glass of juice at his desk in front of a computer screen. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Water scarcity is an increasing problem on every continent, according to the United Nations.

Around half the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least part of the year, according to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Global warming and population growth is expected to make the situation worse, so what is it like to run a home or a business amid water shortages?

Ruth Alexander hears from households and businesses in Karachi, Pakistan and Bogata, Colombia, and finds out lessons from Cape Town, South Africa which was said to be approaching ‘Day Zero’ when the taps would run dry in 2018. Ruth explores whether desalination – harvesting drinking water from the sea - could ever offer a sustainable solution.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Produced by Rumella Dasgupta and Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: people queuing for water in Cape Town, South Africa in 2018. Credit: Bloomberg/Getty Images/BBC)

Did you share a flat, house or kitchen as a student or professional? Is it the shared meals and conversation that stay with you, or the piles of dirty dishes and missing food?

This week Ruth Alexander has a look around shared kitchens all over the world.

We hear the good, bad and dirty – and give advice on how to build cooperation in your shared kitchen. Ruth hears from a former housemate what she was really like to share with, as well as a surprise revelation about her unappetising meal of choice.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Presented by Ruth Alexander.
Produced by Hannah Bewley.

(Image: five students sat on sofas in their shared living space eating a meal they have cooked together. Credit: BBC)

Do you know how much you should drink?

Many global guidelines recommend approximately 2 litres a day for women and 2.5 litres a day for men, including food.

But scientists say there is actually huge variation in how much each of us need as individuals.

Ruth Alexander speaks to Professor John Speakman at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, who explains why your age, sex, weight, and other environmental factors such as air temperature, humidity and altitude all make a difference.

Dr Nidia Rodriguez-Sanchez, senior lecturer at the University of Stirling in Scotland, explains why our bodies need water and what happens if we drink too little, or too much.

That happened to Johanna Perry in the UK, she tells Ruth what happened when she drank too much water whilst running the London Marathon in 2018.

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: a woman holding a plastic bottle of water. Credit: Getty Images/ BBC)

Is it possible to taste a place? A listener wonders whether the French concept of ‘terroir’ can apply to food and, if so, what the science behind it is.

Ruth Alexander goes in search of the answer, exploring how growing conditions and practices can develop flavours unique to a location.

She also hears about why the value you give to certain flavours might also be cultural.

Ruth speaks to a honey expert who is mapping the flavours of the sweet syrup across the world, a barley geneticist working with a high-end whisky brand and visits a vertical farm in Liverpool, UK, to see if foods grown in a closed environment still taste just as good.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Ruth Alexander

Producer: Hannah Bewley

(Image: A barley field under a setting sun. Credit: Getty Images)