logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
26m 28s

Fed: The invention of chicken

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Dr Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to find out what we’re eating, why, and who or what might be influencing our decisions. And he’s starting his quest to uncover food truths with the most eaten meat in the world, and one of the most numerous animals on our planet: chicken.

He’s recently been forced to confront a serious gap in his food knowledge - what happens before it gets to our plates - and has decided this, the world’s most popular meat, is an ideal starting point.

Chris’ initial investigations reveal the vast scale of modern chicken consumption; and how a once revered jungle fowl was manipulated to become a modern food success story, a fast-growing heavy-breasted beast to feed the masses.

Now, he's torn: is this a triumph of human ingenuity – or the creation of a monster?

Up next
Aug 18
The Life Scientific: Neil Lawrence
When you think of Artificial Intelligence, does it inspire confidence, or concern?Although it's now generally accepted that this technology will play a major role in our future, a lot of conversations around AI and machine learning come back to the argument over us losing control ... Show More
26m 29s
Aug 11
The Life Scientific: Liz Morris
A frozen, white world at the far-reaches of the globe, where you're surrounded by snow and silence, might sound rather appealing. Factor in temperatures that drop to -57°C and a few of us might be put off - but for glaciologist Liz Morris, that's very much her happy place.Liz is ... Show More
26m 27s
Aug 4
The Life Scientific: Anthony Fauci
Welcome to a world where medicine meets politics: a space that brings together scientific research, government wrangling, public push-back and healthcare conspiracies…Dr Anthony Fauci was the Director of America’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly f ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
Laboratory-Grown Meat
Professor Ben Garrod guest presents. As a new 'meaty rice' is created and Fortnum & Mason launch a scotch egg made with cultivated meat that they hope to have on sale as early as next year, we investigate the world of laboratory-grown meat. Mark Post made the first ever synthetic ... Show More
28m 10s
Aug 2024
Is cultivated meat the future of food? | Uma Valeti
The way we raise animals is destructive to humans, animals and the environment, says cardiologist and entrepreneur Uma Valeti. He presents a solution that doesn't require you to give up your favorite protein-packed meals: cultivated meat, grown directly from animal cells. Reporte ... Show More
15m 3s
Mar 2025
#1300 - Hidden Impact of Your Food Choices
In an event hosted by Global Food Regulators Summit in July 2023, Sadhguru offered a profound and unique insight into the types of foods that are most supportive for the human system, and explained why what we eat as well as how we eat matters. He delved into the biggest challeng ... Show More
12m 36s
Jul 2023
Where's the Beef? Lab-Grown Meat is Finally on the Menu
Can we really have our burger, eat it—and never need to kill a cow? Growing meat outside of animals—in a lab or, these days, in shiny steel bioreactors—promises to deliver a future in which we can enjoy sausages and sushi without guilt, and maybe even without sending our planet u ... Show More
54m 51s
Sep 2024
How to Shift Consumer Sentiments with Ethan Brown of Beyond Meat
In 2009, Ethan Brown, Founder & CEO of Beyond Meat, faced a dilemma at a rest stop on I-95. Struggling to find a healthy meal for his young children, he realized he had to make a change. That same year, he launched Beyond Meat, the world’s first plant-based meat company, with a m ... Show More
29m 20s
Jan 2025
519. If Another Country Did This to Our Citizens, It Would Be War | Vani Hari
Jordan Peterson sits down with author and co-founder of Truvani, Vani Hari. They discuss Hari’s personal struggles with food which led her to start the Food Babe blog, the disgraceful business practices of major food companies, how the Tobacco industry took over big food, the uni ... Show More
1h 8m
Apr 2021
Dr. T. W. Stallings: One Man's Corvid-Hating Quest to Make Oklahoma Literally Eat Crow
Times were tough during the Great Depression. Economic unrest, massive migration and falling crops left many people struggling to survive -- even the simple task of finding food from one day to the next became increasingly challenging. Amid this chaos Dr. T. W. Stallings saw an o ... Show More
42m 14s
Aug 2023
RHR: Regenerative Agriculture and the Future of Our Food System, with Robby Sansom
Force of Nature Meats CEO and co-founder Robby Sansom joins Chris on Revolution Health Radio to discuss the current state of regeneratively sourced meat and how Force of Nature is working to create a global regenerative supply network and offer consumers the awareness and ability ... Show More
1h 5m
Mar 2024
Who Invented Indian Butter Chicken?
Butter Chicken is a much-loved Indian dish, both within the country and around the world. But who can claim they invented it? That question is the subject of a lawsuit. Our reporter tries to get to the bottom of butter chicken's origin and finds out that it is a journey through I ... Show More
7m 49s
Aug 2024
Let them eat crab
This week we’re inspired by the price of a lobster dinner fit for a king. The recently revealed price tag for President Macron’s banquet back at the end of 2023, about half a million dollars, kickstarts an Unexpected Elements challenge – can the team create something similar and ... Show More
49m 29s