BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has op… Read Full Bio ↴BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927.

The BBC today runs ten national domestic radio stations, four of which are only available in a digital format: via DAB Digital Radio, UK digital television (satellite, cable and Freeview) plus live streams and listen again on the Internet.

The "main" radio stations, available via both analogue (FM & AM frequencies) and Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), are:
BBC Radio 1 - youth oriented, mostly contemporary pop music (including Top 40 singles), plus news, original in-house live music sessions, original live music concerts & music documentaries.
BBC Radio 2 - adult oriented entertainment, wide range of music - especially adult contemporary and middle of the road, also talk, comedy, plus news, original in-house live music sessions, original live music concerts & music documentaries.
BBC Radio 3 - arts and high culture, special-interest music (classical, jazz, world music), plus news, original in-house live music sessions, original live music concerts & music documentaries.
BBC Radio 4 - news, current affairs, arts, original in-house drama, original in-house first-run comedy, science, books and religion
BBC Radio 5 Live - news, sports, talk.

The new Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) only radio stations are:
BBC Radio 1Xtra - new urban music, plus news, original in-house live music sessions, original live music concerts & music documentaries.
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra - a companion to Radio 5 Live for additional sports events coverage
BBC 6 Music - rock, funk, punk and reggae, plus news, original in-house live music sessions, original live music concerts & music documentaries.
BBC 7 - classic comedy, drama, books, science fiction, fantasy and children's programmes
BBC Asian Network - aimed at the large South Asian community in the UK (primarily a digital radio station, but available in parts of the Midlands on mediumwave)

The BBC also runs radio stations for three of the nations of the UK. These stations focus on local issues to a greater extent than their UK counterparts, organising live phone-in debates about these issues, as well as lighter talk shows with music from different decades of the 20th Century. Compared to many advertising-funded Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations, which often broadcast contemporary popular music, BBC nations' radio stations offer a more "serious" alternative.
BBC Radio Scotland - Scottish news, debate, music and sport.
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal - Scottish Gaelic station.
BBC Radio Shetland - News, music, sport and talk from Shetland.
BBC Radio Orkney - News, music, sport and talk from Orkney.
BBC Radio Wales - Welsh news, music and sport.
BBC Radio Cymru - Welsh language network.
BBC Radio Ulster - News and music from Northern Ireland.
BBC Radio Foyle - News and music from County Londonderry.

There exist many BBC Local Radio services across England, often catering to individual counties.

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Thuỳ Trang

49w↑64

VOCABULARY FROM VIDEO “How can we prevent food shortages? 6 Minute English”
1. Affordable: not expensive
2. Anarchy: a situation in which there is no organization and control, especially in society, because there is no effective government
3. Famine: a situation in which there is not enough food for a great number of people, causing illness and death, or a particular period when this happens
4. Food shortage: situation where not enough food is produced
5. Since records began: used to show the point in the past when people started keeping written accounts of events, rather than just remembering the in their heads, in order to be able to use that information in the future.
6. Glasshouse: large greenhouse; building with glass sides used for the commercial growing of fruit and vegetables
7. Step up (to): start taking responsibility to act to improve a situation
8. Biodiversity: the variety of the number and types of plants and animals that live in the earth’s natural environment
9. Canny: clever and quick-thinking
10. Taking responsibility for
05.18.2023 VIETNAM
ALL THE BEST FOR YOU ^^

Smb

49w↑2

Vocabulary

food shortage
situation where not enough food is produced

since records began
used to show the point in the past when people started keeping written accounts of events, rather than just remembering the in their heads, in order to be able to use that information in the future.

glasshouse
large greenhouse; building with glass sides used for the commercial growing of fruit and vegetables

step up (to)
start taking responsibility to act to improve a situation

biodiversity
the variety of the number and types of plants and animals that live in the Earth’s natural environment

canny
clever and quick-thinking

TRANSCRIPT

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Neil
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.

Rob
And I’m Rob.

Neil
Do you know where the food on your plate comes from? Many people just assume that shops will always be ready with a cheap and plentiful supply.

Rob
But recently a lack of certain foods in the UK, a situation known as a food shortage, has left supermarket shelves empty of everyday items like eggs, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Some see these food supply problems, which were caused by unusually cold weather combined with rising energy prices, as a warning not to take a reliable supply for food for granted.

Neil
Like many countries, the UK imports much of its food from abroad, and for years has enjoyed a stable and affordable supply. But with changes in the world economy, inflation, and the effects of climate change, how much longer will this continue? In this programme, we’ll be finding out, and as usual, learning some useful, new vocabulary as well.

Rob
A reliable food supply is essential. In fact, there’s an English expression about the dangers of not having enough food for everyone: ‘we are only nine meals away…’ but, ‘away from’ what, Neil? Is it:
a) a revolution?
b) anarchy? or
c) famine?

Neil
I guess the expression goes: we’re only nine meals away from revolution.

Rob
OK. I’ll reveal the answer later on. Besides difficulties in importing food, some countries are also producing less food than they used to. In the UK, many farmers are selling their apple orchards to housing developers rather than struggle with increasing production costs. Here’s Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer magazine, speaking with BBC Radio 4’s, The Food Programme.

Adam Leyland
The forecast is for the lowest levels of production since records began. And when you think about how much investment there has been in glasshouses and polytunnels since 1985 in a way that's transformed UK supply, quite frankly, the fact that this is what's being forecast is extraordinary.

Neil
Adam says that British food production is at its lowest since records began – a phrase used to mark the point in the past when people started writing down an account of something rather than just remembering it, so that the information could be used in the future.

Rob
Production is decreasing despite improvements in how food is grown, especially the use of glasshouses and polytunnels. A glasshouse is a large greenhouse – a building with glass sides used for the commercial growing of fruit and vegetables. A polytunnel is a similar structure but made using plastic instead of glass.

Neil
However, it’s not only Brits who are worrying about the production and supply of their food - changes are happening all around the world. When global demand for food outgrows supply, countries start competing with each other. According to Oxford University’s, Professor Charles Godfrey, an expert on the global food system, we’re now living in a less connected, less collaborative world, a world which he says is ‘de-globalising’.

Rob
Deglobalisation involves sourcing food nearer to home - domestically or from neighbouring countries. While this sounds positive, Professor Godfrey is worried that deglobalisation makes it harder to supply food to parts of the world which cannot produce enough for themselves. Here, he shares his concerns with BBC Radio 4’s, The Food Programme.

Prof Sir Charles Godfrey
We think that in the next 30 or 40 years we will probably see global demand for food rising 30 to 50 percent, and I think a question is: should the UK be stepping up to help meet that demand, given that we have a very sophisticated home agriculture… or you could argue completely the opposite, that we live in a country where we are very depauperate for biodiversity - perhaps we should produce less food here and use our land more for biodiversity. My view is that if we plan our land use in a canny way, one can produce more food, and one can increase the biodiversity in the country.

Neil
Professor Godfrey thinks only a globalised food system can successfully feed the world population. Countries that can produce food should be stepping up to meet demand. If you step up to a situation, you start taking responsibility for doing something to improve things.

Rob
We need a balance between growing food and maintaining the Earth’s biodiversity – the number and variety of plants and animals living on earth. Depending on their circumstances, countries could use their land either to grow food or to promote biodiversity, but Professor Godfrey thinks both are possible if we are canny – an adjective meaning clever and quick-thinking.

Neil
Feeding the world is an urgent global challenge with serious consequence, as mentioned in that English expression, so… maybe it’s time you revealed the answer to your question, Rob.

Rob
Yes. I asked you to finish the saying, ‘We’re only nine meals away from…’.

Neil
And I guessed it was ‘nine meals away from revolution’?

Rob
Which was the wrong answer, I’m afraid. Actually, the saying goes ‘we’re only nine meals away from anarchy’. I really hope not, but just in case let’s recap the vocabulary we’ve learned starting with food shortage – a situation where not enough food is produced.

Neil
The phrase, since records began shows the point in the past when people started keeping written accounts of events, rather than just remembering them.

Rob
A glasshouse is alarge greenhouse – that’s a building with glass sides used for growing food.

Neil
If you step up to a situation, you start taking responsibility to act to improve things.

Rob
Earth’s biodiversity is the variety of plants and animals living in the natural environment.

Neil
And finally, the adjective canny means clever and quick-thinking. Once again, our six minutes are up. Goodbye for now!

Rob
Bye bye!

All comments from YouTube:

MrMor94ok

49w↑28

My childhood passed in the USSR in the late 80s in the north of Kazakhstan. At that time there was a shortage of food. Some of the products were sold limited by coupon. On coupons they sold: sugar, eggs, sausage, cheese, cigarettes, vodka. To buy this product, you had to have a coupon and money, as well as stand in a long queue at the store. At that time, an ordinary butcher shop sold old steel, beef bones without meat, 3 liter cans of birch sap (birch is a tree) and canned seaweed. Coupons were issued for each family member every month, I don’t remember exactly, but it seems that only 2 kg of sugar could be bought for each family member. Sugar was in short supply because it was difficult to buy vodka and the population made moonshine. Although the production of moonshine at that time was a criminal offense.

Илья Горих

49w↑4

Yes, my dear compatriot, I remember this blessed time well))). At that time I served in the Soviet Army and didn't smoke, so my comrades were glad because I shared my cigarettes coupon for them)))

MrMor94ok

49w↑1

@Илья Горих Now I live in Ukraine in Kharkov. In the first days of the war, bread, cereals, vegetables, fruits, meat, sausages, canned food disappeared from stores. There were only expensive canned seafood, expensive sea fish. On the 2nd or 3rd day I managed to buy bread. After 1 week, vegetables and cereals appeared, after 2-3 weeks, meat appeared. Even during the war in Ukraine, there were more products in the store than in the USSR at the end of the 80s.

Илья Горих

49w↑3

@MrMor94ok Your are right, in 1980th there was food shortage in USSR, but nobody starved to death and Ukrainians and Russians didn't kill each other. Now we have a big choice of food and we have the bloodshed too. Every period has its own advantages