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  • M Garrido Davies

    I’m interested in the biochemistry of the food we eat and of the crop plants we grow for food. I did my undergraduate degree in biochemistry and biotechnology at KU Leuven in Belgium, with an Erasmus year at Durham University, where I did my masters in plant genetics. Before starting my PhD, I worked at a vocational training college in Spain. I still dabble in teaching and outreach work where my energy levels allow. Outside work, I’m most likely to be found on the basketball court, where I lead the Oxford wheelchair basketball team, or in my bed, recovering from…

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  • Tomatoes on the vine; image for podcast episode "How do you grow the perfect tomato?"

    How do you grow the perfect tomato?

    Is there anything nicer than a fresh, juicy, home-grown tomato on a summer’s day? Whether you like them sliced up in a sandwich or blended into a delicious sauce, in this episode of the Big Questions podcast we reveal the secrets behind growing the perfect tomato. Let us transport you to Trap Grounds Allotments in Oxford, where Emily is joined by plant scientist Christian Norton, who is ready to reveal his five easy steps to the ultimate crop!

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  • Pizza. Image for podcast episode "Is ordering a pizza bad for the climate?"

    Is ordering a pizza bad for the climate?

    In this episode of the Big Questions podcast, we’re talking about one of our favourite guilty pleasures – ordering a pizza! From the machinery required to harvest the wheat for the dough, to the cardboard packaging your finished pizza is delivered in, we’re considering all aspects of a pizza’s journey and asking: is ordering a pizza bad for the climate? Environmental scientists Eleanor Hammond and Dr Mike Clark are here to provide some answers, and tell us about ‘4 steps 4 the Earth’. (Don’t worry, they’re not banning pizza!)

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  • Mike Clark profile image

    Mike Clark

    I am a researcher focusing on the links between food, environment, health, and economics. I am particularly interested in using quantitative models and large data sets to provide insights into the types of food system transitions that could help make food systems capable of meeting societal goals on climate, biodiversity, well being, and justice. Before coming to Oxford in 2018, I did my PhD at the University of Minnesota. My first encounter with food – as is the case with probably everyone – was before I can remember! My mom and grandma quickly got me involved in baking as a…

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  • Eleanor Hammond profile image

    Eleanor Hammond

    I am a researcher focussing on the links between food and the environment, and how changes to our food consumption patterns and food systems can alleviate the worsening climate and biodiversity crises. Specifically, I am interested in how the scientific insights gained from analysing large datasets on different food products’ environmental impacts can be communicated in ways that inform organisations and individuals how combinations of actions can sum to them meeting environmental targets. I did my undergraduate degree (Natural Sciences) at Cambridge. I was interested in food production and where food comes from at an early age, because my mum…

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  • Ache Atta Boateng profile image

    Aché Atta-Boateng

    My Story I grew up in a family of eight in Kumasi, Ghana, and they currently live in Accra. Each of us is unique, so home was very lively with lots of laughter. Perhaps, what we share in common is our deep-rooted faith and love for music. Almost everyone has been a chorister at some point. I sing tenor in the Oxford University Chorus, have been a church organist and choirmaster, and still do informal piano recitals when I can. Bach and Chopin are favourites, but I’m now discovering the exciting expressionism of African pianism. My childhood interest in science…

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  • Cocoa Pod

    Could chocolate go extinct?

    Chocolate. It’s rare to find anyone who isn’t partial to a square or two of this delicious treat. But is its very existence in danger? (*Cue worried faces.*) In this episode of the Big Questions Podcast we chat to chocoholic and researcher Acheampong Atta-Boateng, who studies the relationship between cocoa trees and their micro-pollinators. We hear about how monocropping, pesticides and climate change all pose a risk to the cocoa tree and ask – could chocolate go extinct?

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  • Is a snack tax on the horizon?

    Do you remember when the price of fizzy drinks in the UK went up slightly a few years ago? Soda fans, perhaps you remember all too clearly…! Well, this was because the UK government introduced a sugar tax (or the Soft Drinks Industrial Levy, to be precise), requiring manufacturers to pay a tax on sugary drinks – a cost which was then passed on to the customer. Following the success of this tax (perhaps not for your pocket, but fizzy drinks now contain less sugar) we’re asking public health nutritionist Dr Lauren Bandy – is a snack tax on the…

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  • Changing Plant Chloroplasts to Improve Crop Performance

    Changing plant chloroplasts to improve crop performance

    Chloroplasts are tiny protein-filled units within plant cells. As well as being responsible for photosynthesis, they are critical to a plant’s ability to respond to its environment (for example, to the intensity of light or the threat of disease). They do this by importing the proteins they need – and getting rid of those they don’t need. Scientists at the University of Oxford have been examining this removal system – which they call CHLORAD – and investigating how it might be manipulated to improve crop quality.

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  • Garlic bulbs - image for the podcast episode "How garlicky is your garlic?"

    How garlicky is your garlic?

    When it comes to mass-producing food, it’s important to make sure the taste is consistent, and good! But how can we detect the taste of something without eating it ourselves? Prof Richard Compton and his team in the Department of Chemistry are experts in electrochemical sensors, and in this episode of the Big Questions podcast he tells us all about their new sensor…to detect the strength of GARLIC.

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  • Cartoon of crops growing in a dry field. Featured image for the animation "Hardy Crops to Tackle Food Insecurity".

    Hardy Crops to Tackle Food Insecurity

    Our world is getting more and more densely populated. By 2050 there’ll be nearly 10 billion people on our planet and agricultural demand is predicted to rise by 70%. So how will we ensure that every human alive gets the food they need? Drought and soil salinity: serious threats to global food and bioenergy production. By 2050 the world’s population will reach 9-10 billion, 20 percent higher than today. In conjunction with changing dietary preferences, this means that agricultural production must increase by up to 70 percent. However, plant growth and productivity are increasingly threatened by various abiotic stresses, often associated with…

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  • Rice

    How do you grow rice faster?

    3 billion people depend on rice for survival & owing to predicted population increases, land that provided enough rice to feed 27 people in 2010 will need to support 43 by 2050. In this week’s podcast episode we ask: how do you grow rice faster? Currently over three billion people depend on rice for survival, and, owing to predicted population increases and a general trend towards urbanisation, land that provided enough rice to feed 27 people in 2010 will need to support 43 by 2050. In the hopes of meeting the food needs of billions of people around the world,…

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