Fed with Chris van Tulleken

About Fed with Chris van Tulleken

Fed with Chris van Tulleken is a new food podcast, investigating the entangled web of forces that shape what ends up on our plates. In the first series, Planet Chicken, Chris digs into the story of one of the most widely eaten meats on earth - to try to get to the truth of why we eat so much of it, and what that means for the birds, for us, and for the planet. If there's one thing Chris knows, it's what he should and shouldn't be eating. He's across the dangers of ultra-processed foods: those nutritionally empty snacks that fill our supermarket shelves and entrance our kids. And at the same time, he's confident he knows what we should be eating: good, old fashioned whole food - recognisable ingredients, no mysterious additives, no harmful rubbish. Something like a nice wholesome roast chicken, perhaps? In fact, in the van Tulleken household that's a family favourite. But recently, Chris has been getting asked more questions - by neighbours, people on the street, even government ministers: and he's realised there's a massive gap in his food knowledge. Sure, he knows what happens in our bodies once that delicious gravy-drenched chicken dinner passes our lips: but what about everything that comes before that? Where it's from, how it was reared, how it was processed? Can he say what toll the process of getting that chicken from farm to plate might've have taken on the animal, the environment, the nutritional content? Because in a world where so much food comes via an industrialised, globalised food system; where we're subtly influenced at every turn by advertising and price tags; and where ALL food choices ultimately come with a cost of some sort - how much do any of us really know or want to know about the consequences of our dinner?

Publisher

BBC Radio 4

Category

arts · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Oct 2023

Latest episode

30 Apr 2025

Latest episodes

11 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Apr 2025

   Introducing What’s Up Docs? With Chris and Xand van Tulleken

   In their new BBC Radio 4 podcast, Drs Chris and Xand are on a mission to help us take better care of ourselves.

2. 

   29 Oct 2024

   Hay Festival Special

   Dr Chris van Tulleken shares stories from the making of his chart-topping podcast, Fed. In conversation with Leyla Kazim, at Hay Festival 2024. In Fed, Dr Chris van Tulleken, investigated the entangled web of forces that shape what ends up on our plates. And he focused his investigation around one foodstuff in particular. The most widely eaten meat on our planet, a staple of nearly every diet and a global food production phenomenon: the humble chicken, Chris dug into the history of our relationship with this extraordinary animal, to try to get to the truth of why we eat so much of it, and what that means for the birds, for us, and for the planet. In this lively conversation, recorded live at Hay festival 2024, Chris talks to Leyla Kazim about the hidden stories behind the globalised food networks of today. From industrial-scale farming, to food labelling, to ethical dilemmas, environmental quandaries, and the complexities of the world of fast food. Plus tales from the adventure that ran through the whole series: raising his own tiny flock of broiler chickens, in his back garden.

3. 

   18 Dec 2023

   8. Beyond the Bird

   So we’ve got a comprehensive overview of the chicken planet we live on... Do we still want to eat it? And if NOT, what are the alternatives? Dr Chris van Tulleken wrestles with the final dilemma: slaughter. Could he bring himself to dispatch an animal himself? Is he happy supporting an industry which kills animals in his name? And if not, what could he eat instead? We explore the rise of the alternative protein industry – plant-based meat alternatives, lab-grown meat, or most shocking of all for some, actual meat abstinence. Veganism. Where should we go from here? And it’s time to revisit that initial question: what’s influencing our choices when it comes to eating chicken, what impact is that having – and are we bothered?

4. 

   11 Dec 2023

   7. Big Chicken

   We're a planet addicted to chicken - and our appetites fuel a massive global industry... but is it one we should support? As Chris wrestles with how he personally feels about this weird and wonderful bird, he decides to take a look at the business as a whole: a global industry that's cited by some as a shining example of a super-efficient food production system, one that could help drive food security around the world. But others say it’s a cruel, destructive and outdated structure that makes a few people richer while exploiting others – along with animals and the environment. In Brazil, one of the world’s biggest chicken and soya producers, our reporter Leonardo Milano hears accusations of threats and pollution relating to the feed sector; while in Africa, Chris learns about poultry-farming initiatives helping to make struggling nations more food-secure. And then there are the other challenges that the industry is wrestling with: from antimicrobial resistance to the threat of another major global pandemic, potentially stemming from chicken farms… So is there a ‘big business bad guy’ to blame – or does responsibility lie closer to home, with unquestioning consumers like Chris? Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight. Additional reporting, editing and translation by Fernando Otto, BBC News Brasil.

5. 

   4 Dec 2023

   6. The Fast Food Trap

   Chris has learned how to make better chicken choices, and what those choices really mean. So why is he STILL eating CRAP? Like many of us, Chris is always trying to eat better food: healthy, high welfare, good for the environment. This kind of consumer demand is making the chicken industry better, in tiny increments. So why do so many of us give ourselves a pass when it comes to the food we KNOW we shouldn’t be eating, yet we do in absolutely vast amounts… fast food? Chicken is at the very heart of this industry. As a cheap meat that doesn’t have a strong taste, can easily take on other flavours and doesn’t have any religious restrictions, it’s the ideal takeaway ingredient; from nuggets to chow mein to tikka masala. And although we might be careful about chicken choices when buying it raw to prepare at home, somehow we don’t seem to mind turning a blind eye to the origins and nutritional content of our fast food favourites, especially if we’re hungry… Chris discovers just how bad this food can be for both us and the planet, and why we’re powerless to resist it. Produced by Emily Knight and Lucy Taylor

6. 

   27 Nov 2023

   5. Fine Print

   Do YOU know what you're eating? Are you sure? Dr Chris van Tulleken is keen to make good food choices, and buy the best chicken possible for his dinner. High welfare, tasty, and good for the environment, ideally. But it's not as easy as that. How CAN he make good food choices if he has no idea what he's buying? Chris explores what we actually know about the food we buy, and to what extent we can trust what's on a label. He also uncovers the startling truth about two very different ways that we buy chicken - lifting the lid on why sometimes, even the most moral meat shoppers turn a blind eye... Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight.

7. 

   20 Nov 2023

   4. The Ethical Consumer's Dilemma

   We’ve heard about the potential problems around chicken welfare. But how does that square with their impact on the environment? Dr Chris van Tulleken finds out what it takes to produce the most eco-friendly chicken meat possible. And makes a devastating discovery. Welfare concerns, and environmental credentials, often pull in OPPOSITE directions. Does he want to eat the happiest birds, or the ones kindest to the planet? Halfway through his poultry quest, Chris remains massively conflicted: he loves chicken, but some of what he’s discovered makes him question how much he eats it. Will he still be able to look at it the same way as he goes deeper down the rabbit hole? And more importantly, should he keep serving it up to the family? Produced by Emily Knight and Lucy Taylor.

8. 

   13 Nov 2023

   3. U OK Hen?

   We eat chicken. A LOT of it. We might love the taste, but what about how we're treating those birds? After witnessing first-hand the reality of indoor chicken farming - how most of the chicken we eat is raised - Dr Chris van Tulleken wants to know: are the birds happy enough, or is our method of rearing cheap chicken actually cruel? If so, what’s the ‘happier’ alternative – and do carnivores like Chris care enough to pay the price for that, or does a love of meat ultimately trump ethics? Chris battles with his conscience, and finds the answer hard to stomach. Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight. Archive audio: - VIVA broiler investigation video (2021) - BBC and Channel 4 news reports on battery cage ban (2012)

9. 

   6 Nov 2023

   2. A Chicken and Egg Story

   So we started farming this bird called chicken, and it spread around the world. But what does it actually TAKE to feed us the amount of chicken we want to consume? 100 years ago this was a scrawny, egg-laying bird, only good for a stew once her eggs ran out – no one ate chicken meat. Fast forward to today and it’s the most consumed protein on the planet. How did we come to eat it in the first place, and what are the consequences of producing chicken meat on the vast, industrial scales we now consume it? Dr Chris van Tulleken uncovers the extraordinary accident of history that birthed a new industry, and changed the way we eat – and think about – meat forever. Produced by Emily Knight and Lucy Taylor.

10. 

    30 Oct 2023

    1. The Invention Of Chicken

    Dr Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to find out what we’re eating, why, and who or what might be influencing our decisions. And he’s starting his quest to uncover food truths with the most eaten meat in the world, and one of the most numerous animals on our planet: chicken He’s recently been forced to confront a serious gap in his food knowledge - what happens before it gets to our plates - and has decided this, the world’s most popular meat, is an ideal starting point. Chris’ initial investigations reveal the vast scale of modern chicken consumption; and how a once revered jungle fowl was manipulated to become a modern food success story, a fast-growing heavy-breasted beast to feed the masses. Now, he's torn: is this a triumph of human ingenuity – or the creation of a monster? Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight. Archive audio: 'Chicken of Tomorrow' (1948) from the Prelinger Archive. 'Fanny Cradock Cooks for Christmas' (1975) from the BBC.

11. 

    23 Oct 2023

    Introducing Fed with Chris van Tulleken – Planet Chicken

    How chicken got big. Dr Chris van Tulleken unwraps the forces that shape what we eat. This is how we changed chicken - and chicken changed us.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

13 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 19 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

18

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact Fed with Chris van Tulleken

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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