The Food Programme

Dan Saladino finds out how farms confiscated from Sicily's mafia are providing food and wine, helping to fight crime and providing a future for a new generation on the island.The project, a not for profit farming operation called "Libera Terra" (which translates as "Free Land"), was made possible by an Italian member of Parliament killed by the mafia in 1982, Pio La Torre. He was a Sicilian and communist who believed the best way of taking on Cosa Nostra was by seizing its assets, including its farm land. Decades later that law is the way in which thousands of acres of citrus groves, wheat fields and vineyards have been placed in the hands of farming co-operatives. Libera Terra is the main organisation helping to turn this seized land into a food and wine business, create jobs and give young Sicilians a way of improving the island's future.As John Dickie, Professor of Italian Studies at University College London, and author of Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia, food and agricultural provided the conditions necessary for the mafia's birth in 19th century Sicily. By the 1860's the lemon groves around Palermo were among the most profitable agricultural land in Europe, that combined with the weak political and legal framework in place after the unification of Italy, provided the conditions for what became the world's most successful criminal organisation.In the 1940's, when efforts were made to instigate land reform and give more access to farmland to Sicily's peasants, the mafia would often intervene and exert its control over this valuable resource. Dozens of peasant leaders and trade unionists were killed in the years following the second world war simply because they tried to implement these new laws.It's this backdrop that gives the Libera Terra project added significance, but it's more than just a noble cause. As Italian wine expert and writer for www.jancisRobinson.com Walter Speller explains, some of the confiscated land is in territory that has the perfect conditions for excellent wines. Land seized from the former "boss of all bosses" Toto Rinna, is now producing excellent Nero d'Avola wine that also tell a powerful story of Sicily and its fight against the mafia.Dan also visits people farming this land despite experience of mafia intimidation in the past, young farmers who say they want to build a future in Sicily free from the influence of organised crime.Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.

Wendell Berry has been described as 'An American Hero' but his work and teaching have inspired and influenced leaders, writers and campaigners around the world. Ella McSweeney had no hesitation in choosing him as her 'Food Hero' and travels to meet him at his farm in Kentucky. She explains why his work affected her so profoundly, even thousands of miles away in Ireland.As a leading and respected farmer, writer, campaigner, philosopher and poet, he wrote that "Eating is an agricultural act" yet argues we have become disconnected from the land by the industrialisation of the food chain, that the growth of agribusiness has driven many small farms out of business with a loss of their 'moral fibre and wisdom' and is destroying rural communities. He argues we must acknowledge the impact of agriculture to society.Yet despite his widespread influence he lives at a different pace to the majority - using horses to work the land and refusing to get a computer.For those unfamiliar with his work Ella will explain just how significant he's been on politicians and game-changers and, for those who know him already, a chance to hear his thoughts on how to feed ourselves without destroying the land and plant we have.Ella also visits the city of Louisville to see how people are putting his thoughts into action in projects that provide access to fresh food and but also unite communities otherwise divided. Presented by Ella McSweeney Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Dan Saladino retraces his Sicilian food roots and goes in search of a great expert on the island's cuisine, Mary Taylor Simeti. She left America in the early 1960's and has now lived in Sicily for 50 years.Sicily has one of the oldest, continuous, food cultures in western Europe. Invasions, conquests and Mediterranean trade led to influences being exerted by the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish and French. That combined with an abundance of sun and fertile soil has given it one of the most important and delicious food stories to tell.With a Sicilian father, and extended family, Dan spent a lot of his childhood staying with his grandmother, watching home cooks in action, visiting markets and eating in espresso fuelled bars. For many years traditional Sicilian foods like caponata, cannoli, arancini and pasta con le sarde, were enjoyed but not fully understood. Sicily remained a mysterious place with an equally mysterious array of foods.In the last in the series in which presenters meet their food heroes Dan meets Mary Taylor Simeti at her home and farm on the outskirts of Palermo. Her series of books on Sicily and its food provided the first detailed insights into this ancient cuisine in the English language.She started to write in the early 1980's, "On Persephone's Island" is a personal account of life on a family farm and of life lived near Palermo. It was a violent time in the city's history, a period now known as the "second mafia war". The book weaves in snapshots of that side of Sicily, but also captures the changing seasons on the farm, olive and grape harvests, religious festivals that feature food rituals and first-hand accounts of traditional lives lived on the land and producing ingredients.It was followed by "Pomp and Sustenance: 25 Centuries of Sicilian Food", a book that explores the island's cuisine from the classical world right up to her own experiences of food among family and friends. A third book, "Bitter Almonds" told the story of Maria Grammatico, who grew up as an orphan in a convent, trained to make intricate biscuits, cakes and sculpted almond paste. The book explains how from a Dickensian childhood she'd produce the most skilfully made and delicious foods.Mary Taylor Simeti's work not only helped Dan make sense of all the food, cooking and festivals he saw around him, but also helped chefs including Giorgio Locatelli have a better understanding of Italian food. Mary explains how she left a life in Manhattan that seemed destined for an academic career to life on a Sicilian farm documenting one of the world's most colourful food stories. Presented and produced by Dan Saladino.

In the second of a special series of food heroes, Sheila Dillon meets one of the most influential writers on international hunger and social justice in recent times. Susan George published her first book 'How the Other Half Dies: The Real Reasons for World Hunger' almost 40 years ago. It was a book that, at the time, offered a radically different perspective on famine in the developing world. In 1985, as pictures of East African drought and hunger started appearing on our TV screens, Susan George published 'Ill Fares The Land' a collection of essays which didn't shy away from criticising International aid efforts, and demanded a different approach to trade and development. She wrote 'A more just society is a better-fed society'. It would become a seminal text. Now, aged 81, and continuing to speak at conferences around the world, Susan George speaks to Sheila Dillon about her career, the predictions she made 30 years ago, and the problems we still face in feeding our growing global population.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Tim Hayward meets the man who changed the whole way he approached food. Someone who inspired Tim, and many others, to look at food and the techniques of cooking in a completely new way.A surprising food figure perhaps, he is a best-selling author, writer of "The IPCRESS File", creator of Harry Palmer (played by Michael Caine). He is also an illustrator, and pioneering food writer. He rarely gives interviews. He is Len Deighton.Leonard Cyril Deighton - now 86 - has had a fascinating life - and as he explains, food has always been at its heart. His vivid and extraordinary story takes in post-war London with double agents and off-ration cooking, to a newly opened-up world of international air travel, and into the swinging sixties.Len Deighton created the totally unique "cookstrips", fusing his skills at illustrating and writing with his cooking knowledge. For a young Tim Hayward, once he had seen these things would never be the same again.Photograph by David Rose.Presented by Tim Hayward Produced by Rich Ward and Dan Saladino.

Staying sober on a night out can be a limiting experience with the soft drinks choice on offer in many places. But with an increasing number of 16-24 year olds staying teetotal, demand is increasing for more interesting, varied and healthier choices. Dan Saladino explores the traditional, quirky and novel drinks putting some fizz back into the market.Reports say a resistance to heavy sugar and artificial sweeteners has seen soda sales drop off in the USA. 'Craft sodas' are making a play for some of the market by offering alternative flavours and drinks flavoured with cane sugar rather than corn syrup. Tristan Donovan heads on a mission to scour the soda fountains of the US and find some of the wackiest drinks available. How about a lactart or phosphate?But in the UK too those with brewing skills are applying their knowledge to create soft drinks low on sugar and strong on flavour. Dan looks into the future of fizzy pop to see what the future might hold for those who still sparkle at the thought of a refreshing glass of pop.Presented by Dan Saladino Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Scotland has a problem with food. For all the salmon, whisky and summer berries celebrated in this year of Scottish Food & Drink, the Government says its spending billions fighting an obesity crisis, and when it comes to groceries, the supermarket is king.But for the last five years, a small community run bakery on the Scottish borders has been quietly gaining momentum, aiming to change the way Scotland thinks about food, and more specifically, about bread.In this programme, Sheila Dillon visits the family behind Breadshare, now based in Portobello in Edinburgh. In the city's first community run bakery, husband and wife team Debra Riddell and Geoff Crowe, along with their son and a host of bakers and volunteers, sell bread, made with simple ingredients, and teach people how to make it. Could involving local people be the key to reconnecting Scottish people with Scottish food?Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

With a new "living wage" announced Sheila Dillon explores the world of fast food workers. In the U.S. a campaign over low pay, started in 2012, has now gone global. Saying they could no longer live on the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 the workers called for a salary based on $15.00 an hour. The protests spread to more than 200 cities and inspired workers in other parts of the world to stand up for better pay. The campaign received the backing of President Barack Obama and cities including Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles have now increased the minimum wage. Sheila hears from one fast food work in New York's Bronx, Flavia Cabrell. She holds down two jobs including one at a McDonalds' restaurant and low pay led her to take action and join the protests. She explains why she's motivated by wanting to change the future for her children.Meanwhile low pay was one of the main targets in Chancellor George Osborne's summer budget. Changes to tax credits and the introduction of a "national living wage" was the outcome. But some workers say the changes will still mean they live a precarious financial existence with zero hours contracts still a dominant model in the food industry and the living wage only applicable to over 25's. Producer: Dan Saladino.

There's a revolution happening in the world of wine. While tradition once dictated the way things were done, a new generation of wine drinkers are shaking things up - in the way it's sold, consumed and written about - with the intention of shaking off the fustiness and perceived snobbery. Not only is there a new attitude about what's deemed good but there's an openness to alternative production methods and artisanal producers. Sheila Dillon asks if the underground movement we saw towards craft beers and ciders and specialist coffees is now being witnessed in the world of wine. Dan Keeling of Noble Rot magazine argues this movement echoes indie labels in the music scene in which he started before immersing himself in wine writing. Award-winning sommelier Charlotte Sager-Wilde explains how trying to train up on wines while earning a small salary working in hospitality led her and her husband to a new model of wine bar - selling good wines by the glass rather than the bottle and training staff to share ideas with the curious rather than look down their noses. Meanwhile Peter Honegger has started his own wine store - while still a student - selling Austrian wines from niche producers who weren't being stocked elsewhere. Meanwhile we hear about the new tech which is enabling wine enthusiasts to gen up on wines and form their own opinions and ask is branding is putting style over substance. Sheila Dillon asks if the slow moving world of wine is seeing its own revolution and if these new ideas can open the world of wine to more enthusiasts. Presented by Sheila Dillon, Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Following the food operation at the centre of British politics. Lunch to Lights outThe Food Programme team go behind the scenes of one of the most historic food operations in the world.In the second part of this edition, we hear how dining in Parliament is under new pressures.Presented by Sheila Dillon & produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.