The Food Chain

From a baby’s first cry to the funeral feast: food as the language of love. This week, the Food Chain examines the link between our food and our feelings. Why, in times of high emotion do we tend to give and receive food? And why is the compulsion to care for others through preparing and sharing food a part of all cultures? We look at the science behind craving childhood comfort foods and hear your personal stories. Plus can all that generosity pose a physical risk to our well-being?Featured voices: Elisabeth Mahoney: Baker Jeni Barnett: Broadcaster Hewete Haileselassie: BBC Africa Lizzie Mabbot: author of China Town Kitchen Peymane Adab: Professor of Public Health at the University of Birmingham Carol Landau: Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Brown University. John S. Allen: author of The Omnivorous Mind Colm O'Regan: Comedian(Photo: Heart-shaped strawberry. Credit: Thinkstock)

We explore one of the world’s most important foods - the chicken. It is set to become the world’s most popular protein in four years time, surpassing pork. But does our taste for our favourite bird put our lives at risk? We discuss how poultry farmers are becoming increasingly embattled as highly contagious strains of avian flu continue to spread across the world. And we explore the genetic journey the a jungle bird from south east Asia took to our universal plate- via an American supermarket contest. Featured voices:Andrew Lawler: author Why the Chicken Crossed the WorldJohn Oxford: Emeritus Professor of Virology at the University of LondonAbou Simbel Ouattara: Egg farmer, Burkina FasoLee Perry-Gal: University of Haifa Wesley Batista, CEO JBS S.A(Photo: Chickens being farmed. Credit: Thinkstock)

Do you have a family recipe that friends say you should bottle and sell? Simon Jack looks at how you can grow a food business from scratch, how to choose an investor wisely, and how to ready your kitchen-cooked product to sell to the masses. Is growth in the food business simple economics - supply and demand - or is it something more intangible? We ask if a food business can stay small and still survive. As a company begins to supply more food to a wider market, how can you keep their commitment to quality, without having to sacrifice quantity. Plus, we look at how micro-brews are a microcosm of buying and selling on the bigger market. (Photo: Conveyor belt of bottled beer. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

How does our gender affect our relationship with food? Does it determine what we want to eat, how we cook or what we buy? And as gender roles change, how too are the traditional roles for men and women changing when it comes to food? We speak to renowned food campaigner and feminist Susie Orbach, retailer Andrew Opie and chef turned whole-food campaigner Michel Nischan about how food is marketed to women and about the gender stereotypes still prevalent. We talk to two Michelin starred female chefs about sexism in the professional kitchen. We visit Mauritania to hear about traditional gender roles in the fishing industry there and we get an insight into the 1970s idea of what constitutes 'masculine' food by taking a glance back at Playboy, with food historian Polly Russell.(Photo: Michelin-starred French chef Helene Darroze in the kitchen. Credit: Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images)

Most of the food we eat - beef chicken, wheat, apples, corn - is farmed on the land, produced under controlled conditions and transported to market rather than gathered from its natural habitat. But one source of the world’s protein is still taken straight from the wild. Fish and other sea food. That's now changing, but should it? This week The Food Chain has a special programme about the ocean, and the meals we take from it. Tanya Beckett reports from Lisbon where world leaders are meeting to discuss the oceans' economic fate, while Audrey Tinline is in Norway asking whether fish can ever be a truly sustainable source of food.

Why is food advice so confusing? Up for debate is the role of fat in our diet. Adrian Golberg takes a look at the methods behind determining what food is good for us and what food is bad for us, and asking why is it so hard to be certain. He speaks to Nina Teicholz, who tells the story of Ancel Keys, the researcher whose work laid the foundation for many dietary guidelines today, as well as Gary Taubes, a journalist who wants to improve the way nutritional studies are carried out. Ayela Spiro of the British Nutrition Foundation says that nutrition, like all science, is ever evolving, and not always exact.(Photo: Woman holds up a hamburger in one hand and an apple in the other. Credit: Thinstock)

A deeper look at the global network of commerce that comes with the flavouring of our food. Marnie Chesterton visits the UK's Kew Gardens, and gets a better understanding of the horticulture behind many of the world’s most popular spice plants. Simon Jack tries to understand the appeal of competitive eating when it comes to heat, sampling some hot sauce made with the Naga Viper chilli. Plus, we hear about the business behind growing the world’s hottest chilli pepper. And, Polly Russell of The British Library reads through one of the oldest recipe scrolls in modern English to show us how spices were used in the courts of kings.

How the coffee industry is changing for growers, sellers, and consumers around the world. This week's programme follows in pursuit of a widely traded commodity- meeting connoisseurs from every part of the coffee chain, from the picking of the coffee cherry to the very last sip. Coffee is not an industry without its challenges. Small farmers are threatened by external factors like climate change and are subject to price volatility on the open markets. Maud Jullien reports from Burundi, a country trying to market itself towards niche coffee markets amidst political turmoil. Then in Colombia, Arturo Wallace meets a real life marketing mascot in the form of a farmer portraying Juan Valdez, the symbol of the Colombian coffee brand and speaks to the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos. And Shalu Yadav is in India exploring how an aspirational class is setting aside their tea in favour of something stronger. Plus, how many cups a week is too much?

We meet some of the people fighting food fraud around the world. Manuela Saragosa asks what risks the consumer faces when they buy food that has reached super-market shelves via a complicated global supply chain, and speaks to some of the people working to improve the traceability of our food. We meet the 'wine police' asked to investigate the origins of a $26,000 bottle of Petrus. Also, the leader of the 'flying squad' of the Danish Food Administration talks about what happens when the food company you are investigating only has a mailbox for an address. Plus, tracing food at an atomic level - how a new method for detecting food fraud has its origins in crime scene investigations.(Photo: From left, a bottle 1990 Bordeaux's Chateau Petrus, a 1996 Le Montrachet Grand Cru, a 1989 Musigny Grand Cru, a 1985 La Romanee and a bottle of 1986 Chateau d'Yquem of 1986. Credit: Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images)

Why won’t your kid eat broccoli? And should you bother to force them? We ask whether children need a different diet, do their palates differ, and whether they should be given more say in what they eat.This week, the BBC has been handing over microphones, recording equipment, studios and air time to children, as part of an annual event called School Report - where children take control. We hear from reporters at a school in Washington DC, about the tricky task of providing healthy meals, when the children do not like them.Manuela Saragosa speaks to Dr Jackie Blissett about neophobia - and the evolutionary reason why children become picky eaters. And Amy Bentley, author of Inventing Baby Food gives us a potted history of potted baby food. Plus, a panel of teenagers takeover the studio, to share their food likes and dislikes(Picture: Child eating vegetable soup Credit: Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images)