"Hand-made" food



The gyoza involved in the current food safety withdrawal here in Japan are marketed as "hand-made" (手作り) on the package. In this photo from the Japanese Consumer Co-Operative Union, we get a rare glimpse into the world of modern food production.

Factory-made would be more apt, but ok, the workers (who are paid about 15,000 yen per month, or less than 1/10 of Japanese wages) are actually using their hands. The protective gear is rather impressive.

Japanese Consumer Co-Operative Union has has a long history, dating back to 1919. They have an ambitious English website here, but news and details regarding the recall of contaminated frozen products is only published in Japanese on the JCCU.COOP website.

Comments

Pandabonium said…
Hmmm...is that protective gear to protect them from what's in the food? (just kidding).
10:08 pm, February 04, 2008
Pandabonium said…
Perhaps an employee who didn't get a 50 yen per hour raise, or a person in Japan who resents China. (Both also mentally ill). The more information that comes out, the more I think this is the act of one person. That is just speculation of course.
6:44 pm, February 05, 2008
Martin J Frid said…
"Cheap food" comes at a huge cost. I'm glad this stirs up debate here, but I feel sorry for all involved. Why food has to be so complicated!
10:39 pm, February 05, 2008
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War

Image
A unique three-day international conference is being held at Makuhari near Tokyo, a day after the 61st anniversary of the enforcement of Japan's Constitution. It is organized by nongovernmental groups, including Japan-based Peace Boat . Organizers said the meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the significance of the constitutional article that endorses demilitarization and what people can do to promote its spirit, notes The Japan Times . While the constitution stipulates that Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and that it will not maintain land, sea and air forces, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been keen to make amendments. "The war in Iraq has shown that even the strongest, biggest army in the world can not keep peace in a single city. It proves that aggression never instates peace," Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of Peace Boat and a representative of the event's organizing committee, said during the opening remarks. "Article 9 is a treasu...
Read more

マーティンの鵜の目鷹の目 -世界の消費者運動の旅から

Image
  My new book has been published! マーティン・フリッド (著)   世界中の消費者が同じ課題を抱え、悩み、たたかっている。スウェーデンに生まれ、ヨーロッパ、そして日本の消費者運動の現場を歩いてきた著者が、人びとの日常によりそいながら軽妙なユーモアを交えて食、環境、エネルギー、社会のあり方、政治、経済を考えます。   https://nishoren.net/new-information/14177 Consumers all over the world are facing similar problems, worries, and struggles. In this book, the author, who was born in Sweden and has walked the frontlines of consumer movements in Europe ...
Read more

Salvador Dali, Hiroshima and Okinawa

Image
Spanish artist Salvador Dali was deeply terrified by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and his exact, detailed style was very much suited to show the horror of the A-bomb, which America tried to keep a secret by classifying photos and descriptions until the end of the occupation of Japan in 1952. The Bureau of Atomic Tourism has more details if you want to know more about the legacy of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Even today, do people understand the real horror of atomic bombs? If not, then, why not ? Dali's paintings are on display in Fukushima prefecture, where you can view Melancholy Atomic and Uranium Idyll and The Three Sphinxes of Bikini at the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art . Long YouTube video from the Nihon University (Nichidai) channel with an interview featuring Morohashi Eiji, the son of the founder of the unique museum, and scenes from the Morohashi Museum (29:20): #271美術館への誘い ダリの世界 Is there a hidden message in Dali's Bikini hydrogen bomb painting...
Read more