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Introduction

Many of us are trying to be more careful with our food choices, both for our personal health and for the health of the planet in general. But did you know that the food we buy is closely linked to national security? Neil and Pippa discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.

This week's question

From which European country does the UK import the most food?

a) France
b) the Netherlands
c) Ireland

Listen to the programme to hear the answer.

Vocabulary

food security
situation where a country has a reliable enough supply of food to feed its population
 
worst-case scenario
the worst possible thing that could happen in a particular situation
 
stark
obvious, severe, harsh
 
livestock
animals and birds that are kept on a farm, such as cows, sheep or chicken
 
piece of the puzzle
part of the solution to a question or problem
 
part of the solution, not the problem
(idiom) if you are not actively trying to fix a problem, you are helping it continue

TRANSCRIPT

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript. 

Neil
Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
 
Pippa
And I'm Pippa. Many of us don't think twice about where the food in our kitchen comes from. One trip to the supermarket and we can buy anything we want, whether that's fruit grown in South America, tomatoes from Spain or rice flown in from Asia. Do you know where the food you buy comes from, Neil?
 
Neil
I try to pay attention and buy stuff that's locally produced, but actually, sometimes I don't really look. How about you?
 
Pippa
I actually have a calendar on my kitchen wall, which tells me which fruits and vegetables are grown at what times of year.
 
Neil
The reality is that the supply of fresh food to the UK is fragile. The UK imports around 40% of its food, and this supply chain can easily be disrupted by wars, shortages and, increasingly, by climate change. In fact, the UK government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recently reported on the importance of food security – the term for having a reliable enough supply of affordable, healthy food to feed everyone.
 
Pippa
In this episode, we'll be investigating the issues affecting food production in the UK. As usual, we'll learn some useful new vocabulary, and remember – there's a quiz, worksheet and transcript of this episode on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
 
Neil
But first, of course, Pippa, I have a quiz question for you. I mentioned that Britain imports 40% of its food from other producers, mostly in Europe. But which European country does the UK import the most food from? Is it:
 
a)    France,
b)    the Netherlands, or
c)    Ireland?
 
Pippa
Hmm. I've seen the Netherlands on a lot of food packaging in the UK, so I'm going to say b) the Netherlands.
 
Neil
OK. Well, we'll find out if you're right later in the programme. According to the UK government's recent report, there are many issues affecting Britain's food supply: geopolitical conflicts like those in Ukraine and Iran, droughts and water shortages, loss of biodiversity caused by climate change... the list goes on and on. Here, climate reporter Mark Poynting discusses the report's conclusions with BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme.
 
Mark Poynting
And it really draws on scientific research to come up with what it calls a reasonable worst-case scenario for how biodiversity loss could affect UK security. And its conclusions are really quite stark. The first line of the report says, "Global ecosystem degradation and collapse threatens the UK's national security."
 
Pippa
The report describes a worst-case scenario where Britain runs out of food. A worst-case scenario is the worst possible thing that could happen in a particular situation.
 
Neil
Mark says the report's conclusions are stark – an adjective which in this case means obvious or severe.
 
Pippa
Another problem with food security relates to climate change. Carbon emissions from food production make up around a third of all greenhouse gases, from the diesel used to drive tractors, to fertilisers, to cows and sheep producing methane. Emma Pinchbeck is the chief executive of the UK's Climate Change Committee. She spoke about this problem with BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme.
 
Emma Pinchbeck
The biggest chunk of emissions from agriculture comes from simply having livestock on the land. That's the bit of the puzzle that we need to think about going forward. And in the way that we've thought about it, for every cow or sheep we take off the land, we put on something else. And what that does overall is it makes farmers and landowners part of the solution to climate change, not the problem.
 
Neil
Livestock – that's farm animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs – contribute most of the carbon emissions from agriculture. Moving towards a sustainable food supply involves reducing the amount of meat and dairy we eat in favour of non-animal protein such as beans and lentils.
 
Pippa
Encouraging farmers and consumers to move away from meat is a piece of the puzzle, according to Emma. A piece of the puzzle means a part of the solution to a problem – in this case, the twin problems of food security and climate change.
 
Neil
Emma says it's important to think again about how farmland is used. For every cow or sheep taken off the land, something else, such as a fruit tree or vegetable crop, is put in its place. That way, farmers become part of the solution, not the problem – an idiom meaning that if you are not actively trying to fix a problem, you are helping it continue.
 
Pippa
Lots of ideas to chew over there, Neil. But now, isn't it time you revealed the answer to your question?
 
Neil
My question was, "Which European country does the UK import the most food from?" And you said b) the Netherlands… and you were absolutely correct, Pippa. It is the Netherlands. The UK imports £7.6 billion worth of imports, especially vegetables and dairy. OK. Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with food security – the situation where a country has a reliable enough supply of food to feed its population.
 
Pippa
The worst-case scenario is the worst possible thing that could happen in a particular situation.
 
Neil
The adjective stark has several meanings, including obvious and severe.
 
Pippa
Livestock are animals and birds that are kept on a farm, such as cows, sheep or chickens.
 
Neil
The phrase a piece of the puzzle means a part of the solution to a problem.
 
Pippa
And finally, the idiom be part of the solution, not the problem means that if you are not actively trying to fix a problem, you are helping it continue. Once again, our six minutes are up, but if this topic has made you hungry for more, why not check out our food topic page on our website, bbclearningenglish.com? Bye for now!
 
Neil
Goodbye!

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