Rising food prices are the new normal across the world ¨C year by year, we¡¯re hit by new reports about food inflation and price hikes. In Singapore, a country which imports 90 per cent of its food, the cost of such staple groceries as fish or bananas has almost doubled since 2008.
What are the forces driving the food prices up? How much will buying basic ingredients hurt our pockets in the future? Self-taught chef Lennard Yeong takes iconic Singaporean dishes, such as laksa or chicken rice, and dissects them to unravel the unlikely connections between world events and our table.
From price fixing scandals to pollution and mysterious diseases, Lennard travels across Southeast Asia to understand how seemingly random occurrences disturb the food supply in Singapore ¨C and if it is possible to predict and prevent the price hikes and food shortages in the future.
Episode 1: Chickens and Cockles
How do the cheapest ingredients become a luxury? Lennard Yeong uncovers a case of chicken suppliers fixing their prices, and travels to Malaysia to find out if cockles are disappearing for good.
Episode 2: Bananas and Sugarcane
Fruit prices are skyrocketing - but why? Lennard Yeong travels across Southeast Asia to find out how food fads, farm fires, and deadly diseases are costing us our daily serving of fruit.
Episode 3: Pantry essentials: Rice
Who can go without fragrant Thai jasmine rice? In the last episode, Lennard traces how politics and extreme weather are driving up prices of these beloved staples.
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