Did cooking make us human?
Anand Jagatia tests a scientific hypothesis that claims cooking made us the species we are today
Many of us enjoy cooking – but when did we switch from eating our food raw, to heating it? Listener Logan enjoys his beef burgers rare, but wants to know why he still feels compelled to grill them? Presenter Anand Jagatia travels to a remote South African cave where our ancestors first used fire at least a million years ago, which one man says could help prove when our species started cooking.
And he talks to a scientist who shows how the composition of food changes when it’s cooked, to allow us more access to give us more access to calories - and hears how a completely raw food diet could have disastrous consequences for health.
Producer: Marijke Peters
Presenter Anand Jagatia
(Image: A large pan held over an open fire. Credit: Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Clips
-
Were we cooking a million years ago?
Duration: 02:29
-
Why did humans start to cook food?
Duration: 02:01
Broadcasts
- Fri 3 May 2019 19:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service except South Asia
- Sat 4 May 2019 23:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service
- Mon 6 May 2019 04:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service Online, UK DAB/Freeview, News Internet & Europe and the Middle East only
- Mon 6 May 2019 05:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean & South Asia only
- Mon 6 May 2019 06:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service East and Southern Africa & East Asia only
- Mon 6 May 2019 10:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service West and Central Africa
- Mon 6 May 2019 13:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service Australasia
- Mon 6 May 2019 17:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service South Asia
- Fri 11 Sep 2020 19:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service
- Mon 14 Sep 2020 03:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service
- Mon 14 Sep 2020 08:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service
- Mon 14 Sep 2020 12:32GMT³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ World Service
Podcast
-
CrowdScience
Answering your questions about life, Earth and the universe