In September of this year (2021), the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will convene the United Nations Food System Summit. In this international event with the goal of building a “healthier, more sustainable and equitable food system,” and in 2021 (in the midst of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028) the participation and input of people engaged in family farming and small-scale agriculture, who account for more than 80% of the world’s food production, should be a priority. However, when concrete discussions began in 2020, the issues of human rights and land grabbing that small-scale farmer groups have been advocating were not at the center of the agenda,…
Campaign to Reduce the Use of Plastics
Consumers Union of Japan is stepping up the campaign against plastic waste. We are asking major convenience stores and coffee shop chains what they are doing in Japan, as their stores in other countries appear to be moving faster to reduce the use of plastic containers and cups. Questionnaire on Reusable Container Initiatives To: Seven & I Holding, FamilyMart, Lawson, Starbucks Japan, Doutor Coffee 27 May 2021 According to media reports, reusable container initiatives are progressing overseas. For example, 7-Eleven in Taiwan has announced a plan to eliminate the use of all disposable plastics by 2050, and has introduced a reusable cup system in four of its stores. In addition,…
Statement: We Protest Against the Distribution of Gene-edited Tomato Seedlings that are Destroying Biodiversity
Statement: We Protest Against the Distribution of Gene-edited Tomato Seedlings that are Destroying Biodiversity Calling on the Japanese Government to Strictly Regulate All Gene-edited Organisms 22 May 2021 Consumers Union of Japan 22 May is the International Day of Biodiversity, established by the United Nations. Although this day should be a day to celebrate the abundance of nature, in May this year, the free distribution of gene-edited tomato seedlings has begun in Japan, threatening biodiversity. In addition, gene-edited rice and potatoes are being grown on a trial basis, and there is even a new move to approve fish developed in this way. It is very unfortunate that this year’s Day…
Japan Resources – 181
Please click here for our latest English newsletter: CUJ JR 181 Contents: From the Editors: Special Issue About Organic School Lunches in Japan Organically Grown Food for School Lunch Programs Itadakimasu! School Lunches at a Public School in Chiba Prefecture News: New Wave of Protests Against Unregulated Genome-Edited Tomato Trend: Intense Activity Toward Commercialization of Genome-Edited Food
New Wave of Protests Against Unregulated Genome-Edited Tomato in Japan
Activists from Japanese consumer organizations and farmers’ groups protested again against the unregulated GABA tomato on Earth Day 22 April 2021. Sanatech Seed is introducing its genome-edited tomato this spring without any safety checks and no mandatory labelling. “It is a genetically modified food and consumers have no idea if it is safe or not, and no way of avoiding it, once it reaches the market,” said one of the speakers at the protest action outside Sanatech’s offices in central Tokyo. This is the second effort to stop the release of the GMO tomato, which is said to be engineered to have “high levels of GABA” without much research to…