Hello. This is 6 Minute English. I’m Neil. |
And I’m Sam. |
Sam, have you considered the future of food much? |
Well I think in the future I might have a sandwich – in about 30 minutes in the future. |
Not quite what I meant! |
With the population of the world increasing along with the negative effects of climate change and other global issues, we might have to radically change our diets in the future. |
Ah, yes I have heard about this – there are all sorts of developments from growing artificial meat to developing insect-based foods. |
Mmm, tasty. |
Well we’ll look a little more at this topic shortly, but we start, as ever, with a question and it’s a food-based question. |
In which continent did tomatoes originate? |
Is it… A: South America, B: Africa or C: Asia? |
What do you think, Sam? |
No idea. |
I’m going to say Africa, but that’s just a guess. |
OK. Well I will reveal the answer later in the programme. |
On a recent edition of BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme there was an interview with Dr Morgaine Gaye. |
She is a futurologist. |
A futurologist is someone who studies and predicts the way we will be living in the future. |
Her particular area of expertise is the subject of food. |
What two things does she say she thinks about? |
As a food futurologist, I think about not just what we’re going to be eating in the future but why. |
Why that thing, why that trend, why will people suddenly latch onto that food, that way of eating that food at that particular time? |
And when I work for large companies, that’s what they want to know. |
There is an element of a hunch. |
And then proving or disproving that hunch. |
So, what two things does she think about? |
She says that as a food futurologist she thinks about what we will be eating in the future and also why we will be eating that food. |
Yes, in particular she looks at why there are particular trends. |
A trend is what is popular now or what is becoming popular. |
For example, at the moment there is a trend for eating less red meat. |
She also looks at why people latch onto particular trends. |
To latch onto here means to be very interested in something. |
So if you latch onto a particular food trend, you start to follow that trend, you might start eating that particular diet. |
Information about future trends is very important for companies in the food business. |
How does she actually predict these trends? |
She says she starts with a hunch. |
A hunch is a feeling you get that something is true. |
You don’t have any real evidence, but your experience and knowledge makes you think you might be right. |
Let’s listen again. |
As a food futurologist, I think about not just what we’re going to be eating in the future but why. |
Why that thing, why that trend, why will people suddenly latch onto that food, that way of eating that food at that particular time? |
And when I work for large companies, that’s what they want to know. |
There is an element of a hunch. |
And then proving or disproving that hunch. |
Dr Gaye goes on to talk about how on the subject of food, there are restrictions. |
Why is that? |
Food business of course has different restrictions around it because it’s about safety, we’re ingesting that. |
The supply chain and the labelling laws are very stringent especially in this country, |
so it takes a lot long to get an idea from just a concept that’s discussed around a table to an actual production facility, labelled, branded, tested, marketed and put on the shelves. |
So, why restrictions? |
Well, it’s about safety. |
Because we are ingesting food, which is a way of saying we are putting it into our bodies, it has to be safe. |
It can be a long process of developing a new food and getting it into the shops because of the need to be safe and meet the laws of different countries. |
In the UK she mentions that the food safety laws are very stringent. |
This means that the laws are very tough, very strict. |
Let’s hear Dr Gaye again. |
Food business of course has different restrictions around it because it’s about safety, we’re ingesting that. |
The supply chain and the labelling laws are very stringent especially in this country, |
so it takes a lot long to get an idea from just a concept that’s discussed around a table to an actual production facility, labelled, branded, tested, marketed and put on the shelves. |
Right, well before we review our vocabulary, let’s get the answer to the question. |
In which continent did tomatoes originate? |
Is it… A: South America, B: Africa, C: Asia? |
Sam, what did you say? |
I made a guess at Africa. |
Well, I’m afraid that’s not right. |
Congratulations though to everyone who said South America. |
Right, let’s recap today’s words and expressions. |
OK, well we started with the word futurologist. |
This is a noun to describe someone who studies and predicts the way we will be living in the future. |
Then we had trend. |
This word can describe what is popular now and the way in which what is popular is changing. |
For example now we are seeing a trend for eating less red meat in some parts of the world. |
If you latch onto something, you become interested in it and associate yourself with it – we heard that people very quickly latch onto food trends. |
Then there was hunch. |
A hunch is a feeling about something you think might be true even though you don’t have real evidence for it. |
Ingesting something means taking it into your body, so eating or drinking it. |
And finally a stringent rule is a very strict rule, a tough rule or law which in connection to food is designed to make sure it is safe and of a suitable quality. |
OK, thank you, Sam. |
That’s all from 6 Minute English. |
Goodbye! |
Bye-bye! |