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The Why Factor: Bananas and the global food chain

Factual: Science & Nature

27/07/2012 GMT

Bananas and the global food chain

BBC World Service - The Why Factor, Bananas and the global food chain

Hanging out with millions of bananas to learn about global food supplies (repeat).

This week on One Planet, another chance to hear our programme on global food networks from earlier this year.

Fifteen million tonnes of bananas are shipped around the globe every year. Consumers in the developed world have become used to exotic fruit and vegetables at all times - but the UN believes the best way to ensure nine billion people are fed and watered by 2050 is to produce and consume a significantly larger proportion of locally grown food.

On this week's One Planet we consider how resilient our global food chain really is. We visit Europe's largest banana ripening warehouse; we hear from the community who are trying to bypass the food chain by growing everything themselves, plus we hear from Liberia - a country that is struggling to rebuild its agricultural sector after years of civil unrest.

As ever, tune in and let us know what you think. Email the team at oneplanet@bbc.com, or join us on Facebook and Twitter, the links are below.

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