The future of food ⏲️ 6 Minute English

0:07 Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

0:11 I'm Neil.

0:11 And I'm Pippa.

0:13 Many of us don't think twice about where the food in our kitchen comes from.

0:18 One trip to the supermarket and we can buy anything we want,

0:21 whether that's fruit grown in South America,

0:23 tomatoes from Spain or rice flown in from Asia.

0:27 Do you know where the food you buy comes from, Neil?

0:30 I try to pay attention and buy stuff that's locally produced,

0:35 but actually, sometimes I don't really look.

0:37 How about you?

0:38 I actually have a calendar on my kitchen wall,

0:41 which tells me which fruits and vegetables are grown at what times of year.

0:46 The reality is that the supply of fresh food to the UK is fragile.

0:51 The UK imports around 40% of its food,

0:54 and this supply chain can easily be disrupted by wars,

0:58 shortages and, increasingly, by climate change.

1:01 In fact, the UK government's Department for Environment,

1:04 Food and Rural Affairs recently reported on the importance of food

1:09 security– the term for having a reliable enough supply of affordable,

1:14 healthy food to feed everyone.

1:16 In this episode, we'll be investigating

1:18 the issues affecting food production in the UK.

1:22 As usual, we'll learn some useful new vocabulary, and remember– there's a quiz,

1:27 worksheet and transcript of this episode on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

1:32 But first, of course, Pippa, I have a quiz question for you.

1:36 I mentioned that Britain imports 40% of its

1:39 food from other producers, mostly in Europe.

1:42 But which European country does the UK import the most food from?

1:47 Is it: a) France, b) the Netherlands, or c) Ireland?

1:51 Hmm.

1:51 I've seen the Netherlands on a lot of food packaging in the UK,

1:56 so I'm going to say b) the Netherlands.

1:59 OK.

1:59 Well, we'll find out if you're right later in the programme.

2:03 According to the UK government's recent report,

2:05 there are many issues affecting Britain's food supply:

2:09 geopolitical conflicts like those in Ukraine and Iran,

2:12 droughts and water shortages, loss of biodiversity caused by climate change...

2:18 the list goes on and on.

2:19 Here, climate reporter Mark Poynting discusses the report's

2:24 conclusions with BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme.

2:27 And it really draws on scientific research to come up with what it

2:32 calls a reasonable worst-case scenario for how

2:35 biodiversity loss could affect UK security.

2:38 And its conclusions are really quite stark.

2:41 The first line of the report says:

2:44 Global ecosystem degradation and collapse threatens the UK's national security.

2:49 The report describes a worst-case scenario where Britain runs out of food.

2:55 A worst-case scenario is the worst possible

2:57 thing that could happen in a particular situation.

3:01 Mark says the report's conclusions are stark– an adjective

3:04 which in this case means obvious or severe.

3:08 Another problem with food security relates to climate change.

3:12 Carbon emissions from food production make up

3:14 around a third of all greenhouse gases, from the diesel used to drive tractors,

3:20 to fertilisers, to cows and sheep producing methane.

3:24 Emma Pinchbeck is the chief executive of the UK's Climate Change Committee.

3:29 She spoke about this problem with BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme.

3:33 The biggest chunk of emissions from agriculture

3:35 comes from simply having livestock on the land.

3:38 That's the bit of the puzzle that we need to think about going forward.

3:41 And in the way that we've thought about it,

3:44 for every cow or sheep we take off the land, we put on something else.

3:48 And what that does overall is it makes farmers and landowners

3:51 part of the solution to climate change, not the problem.

3:54 Livestock– that's farm animals such as cattle,

3:57 sheep and pigs– contribute most of the carbon emissions from agriculture.

4:01 Moving towards a sustainable food supply involves reducing the amount of meat

4:06 and dairy we eat in favour of non-animal protein such as beans and lentils.

4:11 Encouraging farmers and consumers to move away from meat

4:15 is a piece of the puzzle, according to Emma.

4:18 A piece of the puzzle means a part of the solution to a problem– in this case,

4:22 the twin problems of food security and climate change.

4:26 Emma says it's important to think again about how farmland is used.

4:30 For every cow or sheep taken off the land, something else,

4:34 such as a fruit tree or vegetable crop, is put in its place.

4:37 That way, farmers become part of the solution,

4:40 not the problem– an idiom meaning that if

4:43 you are not actively trying to fix a problem, you are helping it continue.

4:47 Lots of ideas to chew over there, Neil.

4:50 But now, isn't it time you revealed the answer to your question?

4:53 My question was: Which European country does the UK import the most food from?

4:59 And you said b) the Netherlands...

5:02 and you were absolutely correct, Pippa.

5:04 It is the Netherlands.

5:06 The UK imports £7.6 billion worth of imports, especially vegetables and dairy.

5:13 OK.

5:13 Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned,

5:16 starting with food security– the situation where a country has

5:20 a reliable enough supply of food to feed its population.

5:24 The worst-case scenario is the worst possible

5:27 thing that could happen in a particular situation.

5:30 The adjective stark has several meanings, including obvious and severe.

5:35 Livestock are animals and birds that are kept on a farm,

5:39 such as cows, sheep or chickens.

5:41 The phrase a piece of the puzzle means a part of the solution to a problem.

5:46 And finally, the idiom be part of the solution,

5:49 not the problem means that if you are not actively trying to fix a problem,

5:54 you are helping it continue.

5:55 Once again, our six minutes are up,

5:58 but if this topic has made you hungry for more,

6:00 why not check out our food topic page on our website, bbclearningenglish.com?

6:06 Bye for now!

6:07 Goodbye!