Please click here for our latest English newsletter (pdf): JR 187 Contents: From the Editors: It Is All Connected Report on the Special Forum for the Promotion of Organic School Lunch all over Japan Growing Movement to Prevent Distribution of Genome-Edited Tomato Seedlings to Elementary Schools and Welfare Facilities Public Comment: Ban 30 Substances in Pesticides Press Release: “We Decide What We Eat Ourselves” In the News: Over 11 years, close to 9 million people sign drive against nuclear power From the Editors: It Is All Connected This year ends with COP15 of the UN conference for biological diversity. We hope media will follow it as much as they did…
Open Letter Regarding Genome-edited Fish in Indonesia
Following the announcement by Regional Fish, a Japanese company that develops and markets genome-edited red sea bream and genome-edited tiger pufferfish, that it will begin a demonstration of genome-edited seafood products in Indonesia, we sent the following letter of inquiry to the company. ————————————————————- 16 November 2022 To: Regional Fish Co. Mr. Tadanori Umekawa, President From: No! GMO Campaign Representative Keisuke Amagasa Consumers Union of Japan Co-Chairperson: Ado Kameyama Co-Chairperson Miyoko Sasaki Co-Chairperson Martin Frid Open letter of inquiry regarding the demonstration project of genome-edited fishery products in Indonesia We are a consumer and citizens’ organization working for food safety and security. In August 2022, your company, together with an…
Public Comment: Ban 30 Substances in Pesticides
Pesticides used in agriculture can contain many ingredients that are not well known and may be unsafe to humans and the environment. Proposed Ministerial Order to Prohibit 30 Substances of in Pesticides Mr. Tetsuro Nomura, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries To: Agricultural Safety Management Division, Consumption and Safety Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 20 October 2022 From: Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ) Co-Chairperson: Ado Kameyama Co-Chairperson Miyoko Sasaki Co-Chairperson Martin Frid Regarding the Proposed Ministerial Ordinance to list and ban the use of 30 auxiliary ingredients of agricultural chemicals in the Standards for Refusal of Registration under the Agricultural Chemicals Control Law: We, Consumers Union of Japan,…
Organic School Lunches, All Over Japan
On 26 October the National Organic School Lunch Forum will be held at Nakano Zero Main Hall in Nakano Ward, Tokyo Food is deeply related to the environment. Expanding the use of food with a low environmental impact will lead to a society that is kind to living creatures and the planet, and where everyone can be happy. So, to help expand that system, we can give a boost to introducing organic food into school lunches. And of course organic school lunches are delicious and very healthy for the children. At this event, we will introduce examples from Japan and other countries that have introduced such organic school lunches, how…
Message from Michiyo Koketsu, CUJ
My name is Michiyo Koketsu, and this year’s message for the TABEKIME Campaign is again from the field. As the Secretary General of Consumers Union of Japan, I feel strongly about this topic! My T-shirt reads, “Defend Our Rice! Fight For Our Rights”. I received it from MASIPAG, an NGO against genetically modified rice in the Philippines. I wear it as a gesture of solidarity to MASIPAG and to my colleagues who are fighting against the domination of food by multinational corporations in the world. I decide what I eat. I decide what I make. Not for big corporations. #たべきめキャンペーン #WorldHungerDay2022 #FoodChained #Hungry4Change How to Participate: Please take a…