Food and Drink (3)
For example, I wanted to win the game at all costs. I didn't know you were so competitive,
Neil. And finally, demonize means to make someone or something seem very bad. Politicians shouldn't
demonize their opponents. They often do, though, don't they? Okay, well that's all we've got time
for on today's show, but please check out our Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube pages.
Join us again soon! Meanwhile, visit our website: bbclearningenglish.com where you'll find
guides to grammar exercises, videos and articles to read and improve your English. Goodbye. Bye.
Hello, this is 6 Minute English. I'm Neil and I'm Catherine. Catherine are you flexitarian? Oh no,
I'm not really religious, Neil. It's not a religion, it's a diet. It means mainly eating
plant-based foods and only occasionally eating meat. Oh, I see. Sorry, um, well,
I don't eat too much meat, so i'm kind of on the way to flexitarianism. Some people don't eat meat
for ethical reasons - that means that for them, it's wrong to eat meat. It's wrong that animals
should be killed for our food but one of the reasons for being flexitarian and only eating meat
once in a while is for the benefit of the planet. According to a recent report, being flexitarian is
healthier for the individual but can also help to fight climate change. Before we look in more
detail at this topic, a question - do you like peppers, Catherine? Yes, I do. Is that correct?
Well , that's not the quiz question but this is - all peppers are in the same food group. What group
is it? Are peppers fruit, vegetables or herbs? Any ideas? This one sounds like a trick question
but I think it's obviously vegetables. Yep? Well, you'll have to wait a bit to find
out. I'll have the answer later in the program. Now, Dr Marco Springmann
is from the University of Oxford and was one of the lead authors of a major report
that looked at the global food system and how it affects the climate. On the BBC Today program,
he talked about what changes would be needed. Does he mention just one thing?
We really found that a combination of measures would be needed to stay within environmental
limits and those include changes towards healthier more plant-based diets, ambitious
technological improvements and changes in farming management and a reduction of food loss and waste.
So, did he mention just one thing, Catherine? No, not at all. He said that there would need
to be a combination of measures which means a variety of different actions
including moving to a plant-based diet, developing technology, changing the way we farm and wasting
less food. He described the need for ambitious technological improvements. Ambitious here means
the developments will have to be impressive - above the ordinary, not simple. Dr Springmann
was asked if we had to completely remove meat from the food that we eat to be healthy. What was his
recommendation? Well, we look... we've surveyed the literature on what a healthy diet is and
according to that, um, if you treat it as luxury it's probably okay but you shouldn't have more
than one serving of red meat, which includes beef and pork, per week. So the more plant-based you go
the healthier and the lower in environmental impacts. And lamb is just the same? Yes.
So, do we need to cut out meat entirely? He says that while a plant-based diet is certainly
healthier, you could still have some red meat but only once a week. Yes. He said think of it as a
luxury - a luxury food is one that we really enjoy but don't eat very often. perhaps because it's
very expensive or rare. Or delicious but very bad for us. We eat it as a treat but not every day.
Springman says we should think of red meat in the same way - it shouldn't be a regular part of our
diet. How did he come to this opinion? Did they just make it up themselves because it sounds like
a good idea? Not at all, Neil. He said that they surveyed the literature - this means that as part
of their report, they studied different scientific research that had previously been published. Their
advice is based on the evidence of those research papers. Okay, now the answer to our quiz question.
I asked: to what food group do peppers belong. Was it a) fruit, b) vegetables c) herbs? Catherine,
you said... I said b) vegetables. Oh dear. Good try but not right. Thanks for playing. The answer
is a) fruit. Fruit? Really? Yes, a fruit is the part of a plant that contains the seeds,
so peppers, like tomatoes, pumpkins, avocados and olives are actually fruit. Well done if you
got that one right. Now our vocabulary. Our first word is flexitarian - this is the term for a diet
that is mainly plant-based but can include meat occasionally. Our next word is ethical - this is
in the context of choosing not to eat meat. Some people are vegetarian because they don't like meat
some because they want a healthier diet and some for ethical reasons. This means that their choice
is because they feel it is the right thing to do. The next phrase was a combination of
measures - this means taking different actions to achieve something - not just doing one thing. We
then had ambitious. If a person's ambitious, it means they want to get on in life and be
successful. But ambitious can also be used to describe a plan or achievement which is impressive
and above the ordinary. The next phrase was to survey the literature. This means
to study and analyze the different scientific research on a particular subject. And finally,
we had luxury - when talking about food, a luxury is something that we only eat occasionally as a
special treat because it's expensive or unhealthy but delicious. Well, I'm off for a plate of
delicious vegetables - please join us next time and why not check us out on your favourite social
media platform on our app and, of course, the website: bbclearningenglish.com Goodbye. Bye.
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil and I'm Georgina. I'm going to
order some takeaway food, Neil. Do you want anything? Maybe a pizza? Fish and chips?
Indian curry? Mmm, take away food to eat at home - that's a great idea. Yes, I'll have a poke bowl,
please. What's that? It doesn't sound like typical takeaway food. It is nowadays, Georgina.
Over the last few years, the explosion of food delivery apps like Deliveroo and Just Eat
has seen a revolution in takeaway food. Today, it's not just pizza and curries being delivered
to people's front door - there's a wide range of food dishes and styles from all around the world.
And with cafes and pubs closed during lockdown, more and more food chains and restaurants are
switching to delivery only services - takeaways, to bring meals to people who are isolating. Over
the last few weeks, many takeaway companies have seen orders increase dramatically as people find
themselves stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. But what are they choosing to eat?
That's my quiz question for today, Georgina. Last year, what was Deliveroo's most ordered dish:
was it a) Hawaiian poke bowls, b) cheeseburgers or c) chicken burritos?
I would have thought it was fish and chips but I'll go with b) cheeseburgers. Okay, we'll find
out later if you were right. One consequence of the increasing popularity of takeaways is
something called dark kitchens - unlike apps such as Deliveroo and Just Eat which connect customers
to local takeaways, these digital dark kitchens work as just for delivery restaurants. Inside,
chefs cook in kitchens without waiters tables or diners, preparing high-quality dishes ready
for delivery straight to your home. One of the first dark kitchen operations, Taster,
was started by chef Anton Soulier who in 2013 was working for Deliveroo when it was just a
tiny company operating only in London. Now he's in charge of 12 kitchens catering for customers in
London, Paris and Madrid. Sheila Dillon of BBC radio 4's, The Food Programme went to the Bethnal
Green area of east London to find out more. When you go on the Taster website, the restaurant names
are virtual. All of them sold as 'designed for delivery' by Taster. What that means is all the
menus drawn up by serious chefs are designed to travel well, chosen so they'll be warm,
retain their texture and won't look like a dog's dinner when they come off the back of a bike.
So, strangely the delivery, the bike has become a shaper of the foods we eat. All the restaurants
on Taster are virtual, existing online and created by computers to appear like the real thing. Chefs
cook the dishes using recipes and ingredients designed to travel well - be transported a long
way without being damaged or their quality being spoiled. That's to avoid the takeaway food ending
up like a dog's dinner - an informal way to say something that looks messy or has been very badly
done. Usually, the takeaways are transported in a box on the back of a delivery cyclist who rushes
them from the kitchen to the customer's home. It's a very modern way of eating which Sheila thinks
has become a shaper of the foods we eat - meaning that it has a strong influence on how a situation
develops. However, some are worried that the increase in takeaways and delivery-only food
means people are losing basic cooking skills. It's something that Taster boss, Anton, has noted too.
There is a strong underlying trend that, maybe, you know - in 20, 30 years people won't have
kitchens and it's already happening in the U.S., for example. I love cooking - it's one of my
passions but I'm really doing it occasionally - on Sundays and everything, and I think it's going to
almost become a weekend hobby. People choosing to eat takeaways instead of cooking at home has
become an underlying trend - a general development in how people behave, which is real but not
immediately obvious. And in the future, cooking at home may even switch from being a daily necessity
to a hobby - an activity someone does in their spare time for pleasure or relaxation. I do enjoy
tucking into a takeaway sometimes but personally I couldn't survive without my kitchen, Neil.
Ah, but could you survive without Deliveroo? Remember in today's quiz question, I asked you
what Deliveroo's most ordered dish was. I said b) cheeseburgers, but the correct answer was a
Hawaiian poke bowl - a Hawaiian version of sushi. Now that's something I couldn't cook at home.
Today, we've been discussing the revolution in takeaways and home delivered food which in recent
years has become an underlying trend - a general development in how people behave or in this case,
eat. Another trend has been the creation of virtual restaurants - online restaurants which
look like the real thing but exist only on the internet. Chefs create dishes using ingredients
which travel well - can be transported a long way without being damaged or spoiled. That's so
the customer doesn't end up with a dog's dinner - an informal expression meaning something messy
or badly done. Recent developments like high quality restaurant meals being delivered by bike
are shapers of modern eating - things that have a strong influence on how a situation develops.
All of which means that cooking may soon become just a hobby - an activity someone does in their
spare time for pleasure or relaxation. For example, cycling or learning English.
That's all we have time for today. Happy cooking! And goodbye for now! Bye.
Hello, this is 6 Minute English. I'm Neil. And I'm Sam. Sam, have you considered the future of food
much? Uh, well, I think in the future I might have a sandwich in about 30 minutes in the future. Uh,
