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The Food Chain

Factual: Food & Drink

Examining what it takes to put food on your plate

The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.

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The Food Chain: Stockpiles? What Stockpiles?

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Stockpiles? What Stockpiles?

10/08/2017 GMT

BBC World Service - The Food Chain, Stockpiles? What Stockpiles?

Is your government stockpiling enough food?

We’re on the hunt for the world’s biggest stashes of food. 

Can the food system handle a big shock, or is it time to stock up on your supplies? In last week’s episode we met people doing just that - stockpiling food in anticipation of anything from a major natural disaster, to the apocalypse. They had little faith that their governments would be able to keep the food supply under control in extreme circumstances. This week we set out to test their assumptions. 

From forgotten World War Two food sheds to Switzerland’s stockpiling sirens, which companies and governments are storing food in bulk? Where are they keeping it? Who can access it? And, if disaster strikes, will any get to you?

Presenter: Emily Thomas
Contributors: Tony Lister, Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Professor Tim Benton, University of Leeds, Tracey Allen, J.P. Morgan, Corinne Fleisher, World Food Programme.

(Photo: abandoned warehouse. Credit: Getty Images)

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