Podcast by Footprint Media Group
08 September 2026
In the week when the secretary of state, Angela Eagle, advised households to keep buffer stocks of several days’ worth of food and water, the independent watchdog said Defra should do more to strengthen food supply chain resilience to major disruptions. In a new report, the National Audit Office said the department has taken some steps to improve its preparedness in recent years, but has not done enough to engage critical stakeholders, including businesses. In this week’s episode, one of the report’s authors, Rich Sullivan-Jones, joins Nick to talk through the key findings of a report which lands at a time when extreme weather is already putting significant pressure on food supply chains. Rich also provides an update on government work to build a more resilient food system via the national food strategy for England, and considers whether the vital role of the foodservice sector in responding to food shocks is fully understood within government.
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36:15
01 September 2026
There can be few ingredients more essential to the hospitality and foodservice sector than the humble onion. From its role as the basis for soups and sauces, to its use as a standalone ingredient in burgers, stir fries and all manner of other dishes, the onion is one ingredient chefs cannot do without. Yet onion growers have just experienced their most challenging season ever following a summer of extreme heat and drought, with the British Onion Producers’ Association (BOPA) warning of major challenges with yields and quality. In this week’s episode, Nick is joined by BOPA’s chairman Ben Collins to highlight the difficulties extreme weather is causing onion growers, and set out the support British growers will need from buyers and policy makers to ensure a sustainable supply of onions long into the future.
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22:02
21 July 2026
Serving food and drink in reusable cups and containers is one of the most impactful ways businesses can reduce packaging waste, improve resource efficiency and embed the principles of a circular economy. Yet adoption of reuse systems at scale remains low, with logistical and cost barriers often seen as insurmountable. Compass Group is showing what’s possible in the UK & Ireland by rolling out Cauli's technology-enabled reusable food and drink packaging system across a range of sectors including healthcare and business and industry, eliminating almost 400,000 single-use items to date. In this week’s episode, Cauli co-founder Ming Zhao and Compass Group UK & Ireland’s head of environment Ashleigh Taylor join Nick to discuss the journey they’ve been on in scaling a reusable packaging system and why foodservice, with its closed-loop settings, is well placed to lead a long-awaited, industry-wide charge on reuse.
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32:01
14 July 2026
It's well-evidenced that serving more plant-rich dishes is an effective way for foodservice operators to reduce the climate impact of their food offer. The World Resources Institute works with organisations via its Coolfood initiative to deploy tools and techniques that empower consumers to choose more sustainable meal options. It recently published new guidance that looks beyond the behavioural science and explores the operational challenges operators can face in successfully scaling plant-rich dishes and how these can be overcome. In this week's episode, WRI's Edwina Hughes joins Nick to share her key insights for how businesses can make plant-rich dishes the go-to choice for customers.
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34:32
08 July 2026
The annual Groundswell Festival of regenerative agriculture took place at Lannock Farm in Hertfordshire last week. In this week's bite-sized episode, Nick shares his key takeaways from the 10th staging of the event which speak to the trajectory of the regenerative movement, the tensions that still exist within it, and what it all means for farmers and businesses. In particular, Nick highlights growing scrutiny over the relationship between more sustainable food production and healthy consumption amid passionate debate over whether it matters how ingredients produced in regenerative systems end up being deployed within the food chain. As one speaker asked provocatively: 'Is a regeneratively farmed KitKat too good to be true?'
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15:56
24 June 2026
As experts continue to question the resilience of the UK’s food system amid geopolitical turmoil and weather extremes, Canada has forged ahead with developing a new national food security strategy. The document explicitly positions food security as national security and sets out how Canada plans to assert greater control over its food supply through investment in domestic production and infrastructure. In this week’s episode, Nick is joined by Sid Mehta, an expert in Canada’s food system with experience working across the foodservice, policy and consultancy spheres. Sid provides the background to Canada’s food system and explains the context behind the new food security strategy, the political economy that has shaped it, and what it tells us about the risk of relying on others to feed us in an increasingly volatile world.
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37:47