Kurashi - News From Japan

This is a topic I happen to care a lot about, especially after the US lost a case with the WTO, ruling that its COOL legislation went against its NAFTA obligations with Canada and Mexico.  The EU has the same rules, so how WTO could ignore the global attempts to provide consumers with this kind of information is mind-boggling. These WTO rules are called "Technical Barriers to Trade" (TBT) meaning they are not sanitary rules, which involve all kinds of barriers countries may wish to put up to stay unhealthy food out. And, yup, note that processing companies (meaning they import a lot or all of their ingredients, or even entire packaged foods) are not happy with this. From JA Agri-News : Consumer Affairs Agency and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries jointly set up a panel to consider how to expand a list of processed food items to be covered by the mandatory labelling system of origin of ingredient. At the first meeting of the panel held on Jan. 29, peopl...

This is huge news today, state-owned ChemChina pays some 43 Billion $$$ for Swiss agrochemical biotech giant Syngenta. Syngenta was approched by US Monsanto last year who offered even more, but for antitrust reasons, that might not have been a good match, so Syngenta turned them down. Last year, Dow and DuPont also agreed to merge, creating another giant. What it reveals is that the main players in the US/European chemical/GMO sector are having major difficulties. Incidentally, last year I did a study of Syngenta for Consumers Union of Japan and the No! GMO Campaign. I may have to revisit that and publish it in English as well. ETC Group is the NGO that has followed these companies closely for a long time. They are very critical of the concentration of power that is emerging. The Big Six agrochemical corporations (BASF, Bayer, Dow, DuPont, Monsanto, Syngenta) that dominate commercial seed and pesticide markets worldwide now insist they must get bigger, faster if the world ...

Sunday Nov. 1 - Lots of organic farmers and peace activists and artists meeting up at Hibiya Park in central Tokyo. Music and talk shows plus the chance to support climate change groups and meet anti-TPP experts. All GMO-free. Hope the weather is better than 2 years ago when I participated, and it rained all day. The market and the show and everything started back in 2007, thanks to Tokiko Kato and Yae and many, many others. A great way to celebrate harvest and autumn, and join up with so many wonderful people. This is a Japan that the rest of the world can learn a lot from.  Yae official page (J) Makes me so very happy to live here. And that message comes from Anja (E) This event is the start of Artists for Farm Aid for Japan . Following up from the Love Farmers Conference on September 3-6, 2015 第１回ラブファーマーズカンファレンス Tanemaki official website (J) Talk show website (J)

Do you drink "English tea" from Harrods, or Earl Grey from Twinings? Thinking it is worth the heavy price? Or Kirin's Afternoon Tea? Maybe you think the NGO Rain Forest Alliance label makes it worth even a little extra? So did I, until BBC and others revealed indescribable conditions for the workers at the plantations at India's Assam tea plantations. Shocking. BBC: The bitter story behind the UK's national drink Several of Britain's biggest tea brands, including PG Tips, Tetleys and Twinings, have said they will work to improve the tea estates they buy from in India after a BBC investigation found dangerous and degrading living and working conditions. Harrods has stopped selling some tea products in response, and Rainforest Alliance, the ethical certification organisation, has conceded the investigation has revealed flaws in its audit process. The joint investigation by Radio 4's File on Four and BBC News in Assam, north-east India, found ...

Just published is the 83rd issue of KJ, as it is known among fans. I have some old print issues that I hope will become really valuable at some point (just kidding) from when I first lived in Japan 1988-1993. This time, KJ is all digital, the topic is food, and what could be more timely? Japan, Asia and the world face a number of huge challenges, including food safety, food security, seed/genetic/biodiversity concerns, not to speak of water and agro-chemical/fertilizer related concerns. Climate change is already causing havoc. Fuel? It will not stay cheap forever, and then how do we keep supermarkets and convenience stores up-to-the-last-minute with the latest "fresh" goods? Fertilizers? Not up for grabs forever, either. Add to that land ownership legal battles, and the fact that in many places, farmers are aging and not enough young people are prepared to take over. Plus trade related issues like WTO/TPP and a "spaghetti bowl" of bilateral trade agreements ...

Care for healthy food and want to join the discussion how to make it better, here in Japan... Busy weekend! How about joining the Japan Organic Agriculture Association conference in Tokyo this weekend? JOAA is the oldest organic group in Japan, founded in 1970. They are known abroad for their work promoting teikei, which is a system to connect farmers and consumers. While similar schemes have evolved in other countries, like the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) trend, teikei is about more - how agriculture can support communities. I will speak in a panel on Sunday March 8, but there is a lot to do and enjoy during the 2 days, including films and seminars by Japanese organic farmers and experts. For more, check out the JOAA website about teikei (E) and details about the conference (J) on March 7-8, 2015 at the Kokugakuin University in Shibuya. Tema: Healthy food and soil for our children. If you are in Kumamoto, you can attend the GMO Free Zone Meeting on Saturday Marc...

Starting on January 31, NHK is airing a Saturday evening drama series about organic farming. I am as surprised as anyone, but yes, the key word is indeed pesticide-free veggie-growing. Who would have thought? Filmed in the lovely mountains of Yamanashi prefecture, it is a story about a small rural village with some 50 souls left, who are wondering how to survive. Farming is easy here, with fertile soil and great weather, but nobody has any ideas how to save the village from disappearing from the map. Miho, the youngest, leaves town to try to get a job in Tokyo, but fails. Meanwhile her grandfather passes away. Her father also appears, after a long stint away, but how will they manage? A consultant, Takigawa Yu appears with lots of ideas. But who is he? His flamboyant manners and fast talking create initial suspicions, but he actually has good ideas for the village. For example, bring in kids and their grandparents on field days, to enjoy learning about vegetables, and getting a t...

Great to see a story on Japanese TV about attempts to make people more aware of the need for a healthy diet. Hope you can catch the video: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/insideasia/20141217.html People in Thailand are dealing with a growing problem...their waistlines. The World Health Organization says one in every four Thais is overweight. NHK WORLD's Dhra Dhirakaosal has the story of one woman who's trying a fresh approach to eating well. This is a canteen of an electronics plant in the suburbs of Bangkok. It's open 24 hours a day. Many of the dishes are rich in oil and sugar. One costs only about 50 cents -- half the normal price. The rice is free. Customers can eat as much as they want. "If our employees become more obese, it'll create problems for our firm." Sampan Silapanad / Vice president, Western Digital Thailand Aki Yamato from Japan works for the electronics maker as a diet and nutrition advisor. ...

...You will be glad to hear that there will be a new international standard for these "non-fermented" soybean foods, agreed today in Tokyo by the Codex Alimentarius, at the 19th CC Asia meeting held this week. Final words on Friday, then the text will be sent to the global food standards body that will put it in the rules books sometime next year. Important both for protecting consumers from fraudulent products and for companies that want to make the stuff. Of course, we want such products to be supplied in a pure form, without unnecessary chemicals! It's like watching paint dry, but the past couple of years provided results. For example, "plain" soy milk will not be allowed to contain any artificial food additives or colourings at all. That's progress as some countries initially tried to water down the standard and delayed the work. Also today, Indonesia almost put a spanner in the works for tofu, by insisting that turmeric or annatto, i e yellow colo...

...and I was not invited, again. LOL, I went to visit the new one in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, that just blew me away. What a culture shock. The best and the worst, of two worlds! First, it is HUGE unlike anything I have seen in Japan. Yes, there are other Home Centers and some are rather big, but IKEA is humongous and like a maze, once you get inside. You will get lost among the Älmhult designs with names like Tönt or Skvallerkärring and Kullerbytta. Well, not the first two, but maybe the last one, say for a cozy armchair made in Malaysia. Funny thing, at IKEA, next to nothing sold is actually Made in Sweden. Dazed amongst all the blue and yellow, I walked and walked, lost among plastic window cleaners at 200 Yen or pretty classy paper lamps at 2000 Yen. Oh, they have expensive items too, but I wasn't in the mood. Weird plastic Christmas decorations and mass produced Almoge curtains. Not an Organic cotton cushion in sight, but that might change, I suppose, if people here sta...

The COP12 conference in South Korea is currently discussing all kinds of matters related to biodiversity, from falcons and sharks to illegal logging and "Action for a World Living in Harmony with Nature": Read more: http://biodiversity-l.iisd.org/guest-articles/how-cites-is-taking-concrete-action-for-a-world-living-in-harmony-with-nature-cites-contribution-to-the-un-decade-on-biodiversity/ The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) from 1973 is contributing to: realizing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (2011-2020); achieving the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets; and celebrating the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity's vision of a world living in harmony with nature... Learn more about CITES by visiting www.cites.org or connecting to: www.facebook.com/CITES ; www.twitter.com/citesconvention ; www.youtube.com/citesvd ; and www.flickr.com/cites . The CBD Alliance is in Pyeongchang, and publishes dail...

...work obligations and long held convictions will take me to Pyongchang, South Korea, for the UN Convention of Biological Diversity conference. Remember Nagoya, 2010 ? I feel very fortunate to be able to participate in events like this. Since the Rio Summit in 1992, it was clear that climate change and biodiversity where among the most pressing issues facing our planet. We need sunshine and rain and food (seeds) and rain and then some certain comforts. Energy issues - another factor, but the global community never managed to create conventions for that, thus the uncertainty. Imagine - a UN convention for oil. Or a UN convention for energy. Didn't happen. I have kept working on food safety issues, trying to educate people about seed issue, and the importance of organic farming, and avoiding the massive amounts of antibiotics used for the animals people eat. Plus I try to tell everyone that cares to listen to avoid artificial additives, or colourings, if possible. But ...

What's the name of that children's game, where you get to hit one thing after another, and another one after the other pops up, and it is the same thing over and over? Same thing with TPP, the trade pact that seems to have no benefits at all, yet the economists and free market liberals and people in charge (who will no doubt profit from it since they own the right stock and have all the connections for future cushy jobs, aka revolving door or amakudari, with variations). Round after round of negotiations with little or no result. I went to the Brunei Round last year, and here we are, more smoke screens on the foggy radar (forgive mixed images). Ahem. Met a friend today, he just got married. Has his own issues, but loves nature and farming and has recently moved to an organic scheme near Tokyo, and he is getting a lot of attention. Young and handsome and generally genki. And even he said he was worried about TPP. "How can we farm if all these cheap foods are impor...

I think I have seen it all now. Someone next to me on the train played it, and I found out it's called Hatappi, a play on the word for farm field, "hatake" and "happy" (and maybe "app") by Tokyo-based LD Inc . It looks like a load of fun but come on, is this what the word has come to? We are now too rich and lazy to actually do farm work, and instead enjoy the simulation on an electronic device hooked up to satellites and electricity and batteries and... But ok, I get it. Not everyone has the opportunity to grow their own vegetables. It is a nice dream to have and I shouldn't rant about this. I really shouldn't. I mean, I want to, but... I like how they call it a Satoyama Kurashi experience, and it is tied up with real farmers that actually can provide the produce to gamers. Also, gamers can sign up for visits to participating farms, and there are all kinds of great ideas. Yet... I mean... You know what I mean... An app for farming......

Japanese farmers have completely rejected genetically modified organisms. There is no cultivation of GMOs in Japan for commercial purposes. Very few field trials are ongoing at research institutes, which we are keeping a close eye on. Meanwhile, reports from China indicate that GM rice will not be allowed, which is great news. South Korea also does not grow any GMOs commercially. Activists and experts in Asia are not supporting GMOs. Here is Third World Network and their campaign for biosafety . The Biosafety Information Centre is a website set up and managed by Third World Network. The goals are to: Increase knowledge on, and deepen understanding of, (w)holistic approaches for a comprehensive assessment of technologies and techniques that involve genetic engineering Contribute to a wider public discussion and critical understanding of the scientific, ecological , social, economic and ethical dimensions of genetic engineering under the rubric of biosafe...

I have been hearing good things about permaculture but I'm less inclined to agree that animal husbandry can be integrated in any such endeavor... Ken sayz… Personally for me permaculture is about just enough and finding contentment, not exerting energy to make money. I like that it’s focused on rebuilding the top soil and growing perennials and growing food and transforming yards into useful spaces, making everything have multiple functions. To me permaculture is not just about making it in the current economy, it’s about planning for a future economy after unsustainable practices fail and leave us with nothing but the more sustainable ones, which is something that I think young adults today will see as they grow old. Which made me come up this story, or parable, or fable, of our times: Once upon a time... there was a city boy in his early thirties who moved to the hills to farm with his young wife. They started small and that all went well for a while. Th...