Is Food Processing the ‘Missing Middle’?

Is Food Processing the ‘Missing Middle’?

From The Food Programme by BBC Radio 4

March 27, 2026 · 42 min

About this episode

The episode explores the crucial role of food processing in the UK's food supply chain and its impact on self-sufficiency.

Much focus goes on food growing and selling, but is the missing link in increasing the UK's food self sufficiency actually food processing? It might be all about Ultra Processed Foods in the news, but there is another, much older, side to food processing that plays an integral role in getting food from fields to our plates. Beans, peas, oats, veg and barley can all be produced in the UK in abundance, but producers often have to transport their crops for miles to reach basic processing facilities like cleaning, sorting, de-hulling or grading. The UK’s processing factories are part of a globalised food supply chain, importing vast volumes of grains and pulses from overseas as ingredients in our food. But it wasn’t always the case, as we hear from a Sheffield historian who has uncovered the city’s link with pea canning and the female pea pioneer who transformed the processing industry. From the farmer making oat milk in his own barn, to the UK’s last remaining processing facility for peas and beans, Sheila Dillon lifts the lid on this hidden part of the supply chain, and finds an industry at a crossroads. Produced by Nina Pullman.

People in this episode

Host: Sheila Dillon

Topics covered

  • food processing
  • UK food self-sufficiency
  • Ultra Processed Foods
  • agriculture
  • food supply chain
  • historical food industry

Keywords

  • food processing
  • self-sufficiency
  • Ultra Processed Foods
  • agriculture
  • food supply chain
  • peas
  • oats
  • canning

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UK

Places: Sheffield

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