BBC Learnings · Section 9

The future of food

Sam, have you considered the future of food much? Well, I think in the future I might have a sandwich.

Level: B2 · 126 sentences

Transcript

1. Sam, have you considered the future of food much?
2. Well, I think in the future I might have a sandwich.
3. In about 30 minutes in the future?
4. Not quite what I meant.
5. With the population of the world increasing,
6. along with the negative effects of climate change and other global issues,
7. we might have to radically change our diets in the future.
8. Ah yes, I have heard about this.
9. There are all sorts of developments
10. from growing artificial meat to developing insect-based foods.
11. Tasty! Well, we'll look a little more at this topic shortly,
12. but we start as ever with a question,
13. and it's a food-based question.
14. In which continent did tomatoes originate?
15. Is it a South America, b Africa or c Asia?
16. What do you think, Sam?
17. No idea.
18. I'm going to say Africa, but that's just a guess.
19. OK. Well, I will reveal the answer later in the programme.
20. On a recent edition of BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme,
21. there was an interview with Dr Morgaine Gay.
22. She is a futurologist.
23. A futurologist is someone who studies
24. and predicts the way we will be living in the future.
25. Her particular area of expertise is the subject of food.
26. What two things does she say she thinks about?
27. As a food futurologist, I think
28. about not just what we're going to be eating
29. in the future, but why. Why that thing?
30. Why that trend?
31. Why will people suddenly latch onto that food,
32. that way of eating that food, at that particular time?
33. And when I work for large companies,
34. that's what they want to know.
35. There is an element of a hunch
36. and then proving or disproving that hunch.
37. So, what two things does she think about?
38. She says that as a food futurologist she thinks
39. about what we will be eating in the future
40. and also why we will be eating that food.
41. Yes, in particular she looks at why there are particular trends.
42. A trend is what is popular
43. now or what is becoming popular.
44. For example, at the moment there is a trend for eating less red meat.
45. She also looks at why people latch on to particular trends.
46. To latch on to here means
47. to be very interested in something.
48. So if you latch on to a particular food trend,
49. you start to follow that trend.
50. You might start eating that particular diet.
51. Information about future trends is very important for companies in the food business.
52. How does she actually predict these trends?
53. She says she starts with a hunch.
54. A hunch is a feeling you get that something is true.
55. You don't have any real evidence,
56. but your experience and knowledge makes
57. you think you might be right.
58. Let's listen again.
59. As a food futurologist, I think
60. about not just what we're going to be eating
61. in the future, but why. Why that thing?
62. Why that trend?
63. Why will people suddenly latch onto that food,
64. that way of eating that food, at that particular time?
65. And when I work for large companies,
66. that's what they want to know.
67. There is an element of a hunch
68. and then proving or disproving that hunch.
69. Dr Gay goes on to talk
70. about how, on the subject of food, there are restrictions.
71. Why is that? Food business of course
72. has different restrictions around it because it's about safety.
73. We're ingesting that. The supply chain
74. and the labelling laws are very stringent, especially in this country.
75. So it takes a lot longer to get an idea
76. from just a concept that's discussed around
77. a table to an actual production facility labelled,
78. branded, tested, marketed and put on the shelves.
79. So why restrictions? Well, it's about safety.
80. Because we are ingesting food, which is a way
81. of saying we are putting it
82. into our bodies, it has to be safe.
83. It can be a long process of developing a new food
84. and getting it into the shops
85. because of the need to be safe
86. and meet the laws of different countries.
87. In the UK she mentions that the food safety laws are very stringent.
88. This means that the laws are very tough, very strict.
89. Let's hear Dr Gay again.
90. Food business, of course, has different restrictions
91. around it because it's about safety.
92. We're ingesting that. The supply chain
93. and the labelling laws are very stringent, especially in this country.
94. So it takes a lot longer to get an idea
95. from just a concept that's discussed around
96. a table to an actual production facility labelled,
97. branded, tested, marketed and put on the shelves.
98. Right, well before we review our vocabulary,
99. let's get the answer to the question.
100. In which continent did tomatoes originate?
101. Is it a South America, b Africa, c Asia?
102. Sam, what did you say?
103. I made a guess at Africa.
104. Well, I'm afraid that's not right.
105. Congratulations though to everyone who said South America.
106. Right, let's recap our words and expressions.
107. OK, well we started with the word futurologist.
108. This is a noun to describe someone who studies
109. and predicts the way we will be living in the future.
110. Then we had trend.
111. This word can describe what is popular now
112. and the way in which what is popular is changing.
113. For example, now we are seeing a trend
114. for eating less red meat in some parts of the world.
115. If you latch on to something,
116. you become interested in it and associate yourself with it.
117. We heard that people very quickly latch on to food trends.
118. Then there was hunch.
119. A hunch is a feeling about something you think might be true,
120. even though you don't have real evidence for it.
121. Ingesting something means taking it into your body,
122. so eating or drinking it.
123. And finally, a stringent rule is a very strict rule,
124. a tough rule or law which in connection
125. to food is designed to make sure
126. it is safe and of a suitable quality.