Message in solidarity with our friends and colleagues in The Philippines Japanese Consumers’ Position on Genetically Modified Crops We say “No!” to genetically modified foods whose safety has not been confirmed and which will lead to food domination by multinational corporations Since 1996, when the distribution of genetically modified crops began, we, Japanese consumers, have been campaigning against genetically modified crops and foods, saying that we do not want them. Consumers Union of Japan, which has been at the center of the movement, has three reasons for opposing GMOs and GM foods: (1) Their safety as food has not been confirmed (2) They may have a negative impact on the…
OK SEED Mark has been Launched!
Our friends and colleagues over at the Japan Organic Agriculture Association have together with other groups and experts created a new label to help farmers and consumers avoid genetically modified foods and gene-edited foods. They write in a recent press release: The Japanese government has confirmed that seeds and food products can be labeled as “non-gene-edited” if there is solid proof to back-up the claim. If seeds can be labeled as “non-gene-edited”, then the crops and processed foods that results from the seeds can also be labeled, making it possible to protect the entire food chain. We should, therefore, start with seeds. After careful consultation with seeds producers, farmers, processors,…
Protect Organic Agriculture from Genetic Engineering
Genome-edited tomato seedlings are being distributed, and genome-edited foods, a new genetic engineering technology, are about to appear on our dinner tables without labeling. Currently, there is no obligation to label genetically-edited seeds and seedlings, and the distribution of genome-edited crops has become a major problem, especially for organic farming, which is designed to ensure safety and security and to preserve the ecosystem. We have gathered the voices of consumers, producers, and businesses, and have been collecting signatures since February 2021, calling for the labeling of genetic engineering on seeds and seedlings, as a first step toward genetic engineering labeling. We will submit the results to the Ministry of Agriculture,…
Fukushima 10 Years Later: Voices From the Continuing Nuclear Disaster
Japanese NGOs raise concern over the ongoing nuclear disaster On the 10th anniversary of one of the worst nuclear accidents at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, and amid the controversial decision of the Japanese government to dump “treated” radioactive water into the ocean, Japanese NGOs Friends of the Earth Japan and Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC) co-produced a documentary film Fukushima 10 Years Later: Voices from the continuing nuclear disaster. The film sheds light on the ongoing suffering of victims of the accident and poses critical questions about the Japanese government’s poor responses to the accident. While then-Prime Minister Abe vainly declared to the world that “the situation in Fukushima…
Consumers Union of Japan Invites You to Our Annual Symposium
Consumers Union of Japan invites you to our annual symposium: Program 13:30 – 13:40 Greetings 13:40 – 14:00 Toshiyuki Saito: What we have seen from the Green Food System Strategy 14:00 – 14:20 Keisuke Amagasa: Biotechnology is incompatible with organic agriculture: Dangerous RNA pesticides 14:20 – 14:25 Break Panel discussion (Yoshihide Kanno , Regine Maeda, Toshiyuki Saito, Keisuke Amagasa) 14:25 – 14:35 Yoshihide Kanno, “Creating a multi-layered, cyclical agriculture and community” (Online participation from Yamagata) 14:35 – 14:45 Mrs. Regine Maeda, “From a village in the south of France” (Online participation from France) 14:45 – 15:30 Panel discussion and summary Place: Rengo Kaikan, Tokyo ◆参加費のお支払いについて まだ振り込まれていない方は、できるだけ早急にお願いいたします。 参加費：一般800円、日消連会員・学生500円 振込先口座は以下をご覧ください。 https://nishoren.net/flash/16091