Season 5, Episode 5: Food security, consumerism and health - What’s the connection?

In the months of both Ramadan and Lent, Generation One joins in with reflections on the relationship between food, community, and health with our fifth episode of Season 5.Hosts Mark and Simon explore not only the impacts of climate change on global food availability, but societal behaviour around food and decision-making. Examining the intersecting issues of food security and consumer culture, they uncover the effects of both on nutritional health.They’re joined by two UCL experts: Mark Miodownik (Professor of Materials & Society) who deconstructs the supply chain to highlight the damaging effects of packaging and microplastics. And Gail Taylor (Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences), who explains how the latest developments in plant science and agrotechnology can help make food more nutritious and widely available.We also heard from Dr Andrew Simms of the New Economics Foundation. And from UCL students Carson and Valentina, leaders of the Students’ Union’s Zero Food Waste project, which aims to tackle food waste on campus.Zero Food Waste: studentsunionucl.org/volunteering/o…ero-food-wasteTranscript: www.ucl.ac.uk/climate-change/pod…ne-climate-podcastDate of episode recording: 6 and 21 March 2025Duration: 55.46Language of episode: English Presenter: Professor Mark Maslin and Dr Simon Chin-Yee Guests:Professor Mark Miodownik, UCLProfessor Gail Taylor, UCLYat Hin Carson Chan, UCL Students’ UnionValentina (Hye Won) Chang, UCL Students’ UnionProducers:Adam BatstoneCaitlin Mullin