The problem with wheat
Are we too reliant on one crop for our nutritional needs?
Wheat is one of the most important grains worldwide: youβll find it in bread, biscuits, pasta, sauces, sweets and more besides. Indeed, take wheat products off supermarket shelves and they would look rather bare. But recent global events β not least the war in Ukraine - have caused crop prices to soar.
Ruth Alexander charts how a humble grass grown in the Fertile Crescent became a commodity traded worldwide, and she explores whether we have become too reliant on this βmega cropβ for our food supplies β and what alternatives there might be. She talks to Cathy Zabinski, professor of plant and soil ecology at Montana State University, US; Frank Uekotter, professor of environmental humanities at the University of Birmingham, UK; and Augustine Sensie Bangura, CEO of Sierra Agri Foods, Sierra Leone.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk
(Picture: An ear of wheat blowing in the wind. Credit: Getty Images/ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ)
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The Food Chain
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