Fruit and veg are a clear link to our relationship to the plant world. Yet many of us have little understanding of the farming industry and the impacts it has on our planet, in bringing crops to our plates.In this episode, JC untangles the knots of these complex global food systems - and focuses on a grain that is central to many of our diets, wheat.

Professor of Archeological Science, Martin Jones, shares how our early ancestors began to cultivate crops, and why crops may have begun to cultivate us too. Author and environmental activist George Monbiot sheds light on the impacts and fragility of the modern farming industry, its implications for our global food networks, and the changes that need to happen to make it more sustainable.We meet Iain Tolhurst, a farmer in Oxfordshire whose organic agricultural methods may provide a potential solution for how we might better manage our farmland.

Presented by JC Niala

Lead Produced by Alannah Chance

Produced by Mae-Li Evans

Music and sound design by Alice Boyd

Artwork by Faye Heller

The Root of the Matter is a Reduced Listening production for Wellcome Collection.

You can find the full transcript for this episode, and much more, on the Wellcome Collection website: The Root of the Matter | Wellcome Collection