About this podcast
Fed with Chris van Tulleken is a new food podcast, investigating the entangled web of forces that shape what ends up on our plates. In the first series, Planet Chicken, Chris digs into the story of one of the most widely eaten meats on earth - to try to get to the truth of why we eat so much of it, and what that means for the birds, for us, and for the planet.
If there's one thing Chris knows, it's what he should and shouldn't be eating.
He's across the dangers of ultra-processed foods: those nutritionally empty snacks that fill our supermarket shelves and entrance our kids. And at the same time, he's confident he knows what we should be eating: good, old fashioned whole food - recognisable ingredients, no mysterious additives, no harmful rubbish.
Something like a nice wholesome roast chicken, perhaps? In fact, in the van Tulleken household that's a family favourite.
But recently, Chris has been getting asked more questions - by neighbours, people on the street, even government ministers: and he's realised there's a massive gap in his food knowledge.
Sure, he knows what happens in our bodies once that delicious gravy-drenched chicken dinner passes our lips: but what about everything that comes before that? Where it's from, how it was reared, how it was processed? Can he say what toll the process of getting that chicken from farm to plate might've have taken on the animal, the environment, the nutritional content?
Because in a world where so much food comes via an industrialised, globalised food system; where we're subtly influenced at every turn by advertising and price tags; and where ALL food choices ultimately come with a cost of some sort - how much do any of us really know or want to know about the consequences of our dinner?
Episodes
- Hay Festival Special · 28 minDr Chris van Tulleken shares stories from the making of his chart-topping podcast, Fed. In conversation with Leyla Kazim, at Hay Festival 2024. In Fed, Dr Chris van Tulleken…
- 8. Beyond the Bird · 29 minSo we’ve got a comprehensive overview of the chicken planet we live on... Do we still want to eat it? And if NOT, what are the alternatives? Dr Chris van Tulleken wrestles with…
- 7. Big Chicken · 29 minWe're a planet addicted to chicken - and our appetites fuel a massive global industry... but is it one we should support? As Chris wrestles with how he personally feels about…
- 6. The Fast Food Trap · 29 minChris has learned how to make better chicken choices, and what those choices really mean. So why is he STILL eating CRAP? Like many of us, Chris is always trying to eat better…
- 5. Fine Print · 29 minDo YOU know what you're eating? Are you sure? Dr Chris van Tulleken is keen to make good food choices, and buy the best chicken possible for his dinner. High welfare, tasty, and…
- 4. The Ethical Consumer's Dilemma · 29 minWe’ve heard about the potential problems around chicken welfare. But how does that square with their impact on the environment? Dr Chris van Tulleken finds out what it takes to…
- 3. U OK Hen? · 29 minWe eat chicken. A LOT of it. We might love the taste, but what about how we're treating those birds? After witnessing first-hand the reality of indoor chicken farming - how most…
- 2. A Chicken and Egg Story · 29 minSo we started farming this bird called chicken, and it spread around the world. But what does it actually TAKE to feed us the amount of chicken we want to consume? 100 years ago…
- 1. The Invention Of Chicken · 29 minDr Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to find out what we’re eating, why, and who or what might be influencing our decisions. And he’s starting his quest to uncover food truths…
- Introducing Fed with Chris van Tulleken – Planet Chicken · 3 minHow chicken got big. Dr Chris van Tulleken unwraps the forces that shape what we eat. This is how we changed chicken - and chicken changed us.







