The internationally acclaimed poet and playwright Lemn Sissay OBE shares the story of his life by recalling five memorable dishes.  His is an extraordinary story of family, and identity, lost and found.  Born to an Ethiopian mother in the north of England and quickly placed into long-term foster care, Lemn was, for years, deprived of any knowledge of his heritage. His traumatic upbringing and subsequent search for his family and identity have informed much of his award-winning writing.  In this programme, he tells Ruth Alexander about five memorable dishes that act as “positioning points” in his life to date.   If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk  (Picture: Lemn Sissay holding a cup of coffee. Credit: BBC)  Producer: Elisabeth Mahy  Researcher: Siobhan O’Connell

Lemn Sissay: My life in five dishes

The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.

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Cows emit greenhouse gases when they eat, which contributes to global warming. But is it possible to produce meat in a climate-friendly way?    Grace Livingstone visits a carbon neutral certified ranch in Uruguay, where farm manager Sebastian Olaso shows her around. She also meets Javier Secadas, a small farmer who raises cattle on natural grasslands, and agronomist Ignacio Paparamborda, from the University of the Republic in Montevideo. Grace hears from Pete Smith, Professor of Soils and Global Change at the University of Aberdeen, and Dominik Wisser, Livestock Policy Officer, from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation.   She tries to find out if it is possible to produce meat in a way that is both good for nature and the climate. Or whether we need to stop eating meat to cut emissions. Presenter/Producer: Grace Livingstone
(Image: Cows grazing in Uruguay. Credit: Getty Images)

Can beef be carbon neutral?

Why eat with your hands?  Many food cultures around the world eat using hands, and most of us use our hands some of the time.  Do we really need cutlery or chopsticks to eat a salad, peas or rice? And if you were to tackle soup or stew with your hands, how would you go about it?  Michael Kaloki reports from Nairobi, Kenya, where the staple dish ugali, made from maize flour, is traditionally eaten by hand. Michael has observed that people increasingly use cutlery to eat the dish, and he speaks to restaurateurs and customers about why that might be, and what might be lost.   Ruth Alexander learns about the etiquette of eating by hand with food writer and consultant Karen Anand in India. And Ruth explores whether food might be more enjoyable, and even taste better, when eaten by hand. Psychologist Professor Charles Spence from Oxford University, and chef Jozef Youssef of Kitchen Theory in the UK share their research.   If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk  Presented by Ruth Alexander.  Produced by Beatrice Pickup.  Reporting by Michael Kaloki in Nairobi, Kenya.  (Image: a man’s hands, pulling apart a sweet cake wrapped in dough, with sauce on his hands. Credit: Getty Images/ BBC)

Eat with your hands

Stunning cakes, colourful salads and intricate garnishes use flowers to entice customers, but there’s more to this trend than just beautiful social media pictures.   Many cultures around the world have eaten flowers for centuries, and some of them pack a serious punch.   Devina Gupta explores the history of edible flowers and visits a site in the UK where they’re grown all year round. She gets quite a shock when trying one particular variety.   We find out why flowers are used on food nowadays, and how generations of knowledge about their use and properties were lost when they were brought to Western countries.   If you would like to get in touch with the programme, email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.    Presented by Devina Gupta  Produced by Julia Paul and Beatrice Pickup  (Image: A nasturtium flower growing. Credit: BBC)

Can I eat this flower?

Do you know how much salt you should be eating?   And if I tell you it’s less than 5 grams a day, do you know how much that is?  Ruth Alexander explores the wonder of salt and why chefs think their job would be pointless without it and why the impact it’s having on the food might surprise you.   Professor Paul Breslin tells us about the “magical” chemical reaction happening on your tongue when you eat salt, and why your brain responds to that.   We hear about what eating too much salt can do to you from an expert in Australia, as well as a mother in Kazakhstan who cut out salt almost completely – in a country which has one of the highest consumptions in the world.   If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk  Presented by Ruth Alexander Produced by Hannah Bewley    (Image: A chef sprinkles salt on a pan of food. Credit: BBC)

To salt or not to salt?

Over two million people work in the international shipping trade, and they are often at sea for months at a time.   That’s a lot of meals being made by the cook on board, and their work is crucial for keeping the crew happy.  Ruth Alexander hears from seafarers about why that makes “cookie” the most important person on board a ship and why, in some cases, crew members are going hungry.    A former captain of merchant vessels tells us how food is used for so-called “facilitation payments” to corrupt officials, and why crews can sometimes be powerless to stop port officials filling up suitcases with food from the ship’s stores.  We also hear about international efforts to try to tackle corruption in ports and increase welfare standards for seafarers.  If you would like to share your own experience, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk  Presenter: Ruth Alexander  Producers: Izzy Greenfield and Hannah Bewley  (Image: A container ship at sea. Credit: Getty Images)

Lemn Sissay: My life in five dishes

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