How can we prevent food shortages? ⏲️ 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English  from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.

And I’m Rob.

Do you know where the food on your plate  comes from? Many people just assume that  

shops will always be ready with  a cheap and plentiful supply.

But recently a lack of certain foods in the  UK, a situation known as a food shortage,  

has left supermarket shelves empty of everyday  items like eggs, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  

Some see these food supply problems, which were  caused by unusually cold weather combined with  

rising energy prices, as a warning not to  take a reliable supply for food for granted.

Like many countries, the UK imports much  of its food from abroad, and for years has  

enjoyed a stable and affordable supply. But  with changes in the world economy, inflation,  

and the effects of climate change, how much  longer will this continue? In this programme,  

we’ll be finding out, and as usual, learning  some useful, new vocabulary as well.

A reliable food supply is essential.  In fact, there’s an English expression  

about the dangers of not having enough food for  everyone: ‘we are only nine meals away…’ but,  

‘away from’ what, Neil? Is it: a) a  revolution, b) anarchy or c) famine?

I guess the expression goes: we’re  only nine meals away from revolution.

OK. I’ll reveal the answer later on. Besides  difficulties in importing food, some countries are  

also producing less food than they used to. In the  UK, many farmers are selling their apple orchards  

to housing developers rather than struggle with  increasing production costs. Here’s Adam Leyland,  

editor of The Grocer magazine, speaking  with BBC Radio 4’s, The Food Programme.

The forecast is for the lowest levels  of production since records began. And  

when you think about how much  investment there has been in  

glasshouses and polytunnels since 1985  in a way that's transformed UK supply,  

quite frankly, the fact that this is  what's being forecast is extraordinary.

Adam says that British food production  is at its lowest since records began – a  

phrase used to mark the point in the past  when people started writing down an account  

of something rather than just remembering it, so  that the information could be used in the future.

Production is decreasing despite  improvements in how food is grown,  

especially the use of glasshouses and  polytunnels. A glasshouse is a large  

greenhouse – a building with glass sides used for  the commercial growing of fruit and vegetables. A  

polytunnel is a similar structure but  made using plastic instead of glass.

However, it’s not only Brits who are worrying  about the production and supply of their  

food - changes are happening all around the world.  When global demand for food outgrows supply,  

countries start competing with each  other. According to Oxford University’s,  

Professor Charles Godfrey, an expert on the global  food system, we’re now living in a less connected,  

less collaborative world, a world  which he says is ‘de-globalising’.

Deglobalisation involves sourcing food nearer  to home - domestically or from neighbouring  

countries. While this sounds positive, Professor  Godfrey is worried that deglobalisation makes  

it harder to supply food to parts of the world  which cannot produce enough for themselves. Here,  

he shares his concerns with BBC  Radio 4’s, The Food Programme.

We think that in the next 30 or 40 years we will  probably see global demand for food rising 30 to  

50 percent, and I think a question is: should  the UK be stepping up to help meet that demand,  

given that we have a very sophisticated  home agriculture… or you could argue  

completely the opposite, that we live in  a country where we are very depauperate  

for biodiversity - perhaps we should  produce less food here and use our land  

more for biodiversity. My view is that  if we plan our land use in a canny way,  

one can produce more food, and one can  increase the biodiversity in the country.

Professor Godfrey thinks only a globalised food  system can successfully feed the world population.  

Countries that can produce food should be stepping  up to meet demand. If you step up to a situation,  

you start taking responsibility for  doing something to improve things.

We need a balance between growing food and  maintaining the Earth’s biodiversity – the  

number and variety of plants and animals living  on earth. Depending on their circumstances,  

countries could use their land either to grow  food or to promote biodiversity, but Professor  

Godfrey thinks both are possible if we are canny  – an adjective meaning clever and quick-thinking.

Feeding the world is an urgent global challenge  with serious consequence, as mentioned in that  

English expression, so… maybe it’s time you  revealed the answer to your question, Rob.

Yes. I asked you to finish the saying,  ‘We’re only nine meals away from…’.

And I guessed it was ‘nine  meals away from revolution’?

Which was the wrong answer, I’m afraid.  Actually, the saying goes ‘we’re only nine  

meals away from anarchy’. I really hope not,  but just in case let’s recap the vocabulary  

we’ve learned starting with food shortage – a  situation where not enough food is produced.

The phrase, since records began  shows the point in the past when  

people started keeping written accounts of  events, rather than just remembering them.

A glasshouse is a large greenhouse – that’s a  building with glass sides used for growing food.

If you step up to a situation, you start  taking responsibility to act to improve things.

Earth’s biodiversity is the variety of plants  and animals living in the natural environment.

And finally, the adjective canny  means clever and quick-thinking.  

Once again, our six minutes  are up. Goodbye for now!

Bye bye!