“Only good things will come from the clean water that flows in the stream, when only good things are put into the water…” Notes from a lecture by Mr. Uozumi Michio, Japan Organic Agriculture Association, on December 9, 2009 as part of Consumers Union of Japan’s seminar series about safe living, connecting food and agriculture with our daily lives. Uozumi-san emphasized that humus is the most important organic material for livings things: “Let us create a movement to promote deep connections and affiliations with strong links between organic farmers, fishermen, forest workers, and consumers!” Japanese people have had many historical experiences such as Ashio mining pollution,…
Press Release: GM Wheat rejected by 233 Consumer, Farmer Groups in 26 Countries
Press Release GM Wheat rejected by 233 Consumer, Farmer Groups in 26 Countries Embargoed to February 9, 2010 Ottawa, Montreal, Washington, Tokyo, Sydney: 233 consumer and farmer groups in 26 countries have joined the “Definitive Global Rejection of GM Wheat” statement to stop the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) wheat and remind the biotechnology corporation Monsanto that genetically modifying this major crop is not acceptable to farmers or consumers. (1) The 233 groups signed the rejection statement first launched by 15 Australian, Canadian and U.S. farmer and consumer groups in June 2009.
Survey: Japan’s Wheat Importers Reject GMO
The No! GMO Campaign has conducted a survey, clearly showing that Japanese wheat companies do not want to import or handle genetically modified wheat that consumers do not desire In June 2009, there were renewed efforts in North America to introduce genetically modified wheat for commercial cultivation. Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, a citizen group based in Ottawa, started a global campaign to reject GM wheat. By January, 2010, some 177 groups from 23 countries have signed the appeal to stop the commercialization of GM wheat. We are pleased to see that groups in Europe, Asia and South America have also joined the campaign. In 2004, when Monsanto first applied for…
World Social Forum: Another World Is Possible
10 years have passed since the failed World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. Soon after that, activists and experts, along with the many representatives of different non-governmental organizations that had participated in Seattle, both in the demonstrations and inside the conference halls, created the World Social Forum. This was an effort to change the debate from “anti-WTO” or “anti-globalization” to discuss how to create a way forward towards a more fair global order. On Sunday, January 24, 2009, the forum meets in Tokyo under the theme of Another World is Possible. Yasuaki Yamaura from Consumers Union of Japan will participate as facilitator. Update: Read Yamaura-san’s report!
In Memory of Urano Hisako
Mizuhara Hiroko writes: Ms. Urano Hisako, who supported the international activities over the past 20 years at Consumers Union of Japan, has passed away on 2009 December 14. She was only 60 year old. I first met Urano-san as Consumers Union of Japan planned its 20th anniversary in August 1989: When we started the work to prepare for the large Asian Pacific Consumers’ Conference (APCC) held in Omiya, Japan, she began working as a volunteer at our office. Urano-san, together with almost 50 other volunteers who were fluent in English, contributed to the success of the APCC, coordinating this large meeting as we welcomed 20 guests from countries in the…