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Government Investigation Team Finds US Precautions Against BSE "Inadequate" A government team dispatched to the United States and Canada to investigate the BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) problem in the United States published its findings on January 19. The team's report concludes that the cow diagnosed with BSE probably contracted the disease from meat-and-bone meal it was given while in Canada but adds, "It is hard to find any significant difference between the United States and Canada in terms of contamination and there is no guarantee that the United States will see no further outbreaks of BSE." The joint investigation team, made up of experts from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Food Safety Commission, traveled to the United States and Canada to conduct on-site interviews and inspections and returned to Japan on January 18. The report of the team's findings accepts the United States' assertion that it is highly probable the animal was infected through meat-and-bone meal it was given on a farm in Canada, but states, "There is a two-way trade between the United States and Canada in both livestock and feeds, and the related industries are highly integrated. It is possible that the meat-and-bone meal fed to the infected animal was also exported to the United States." As regards controls on meat-and-bone meal in the United States, the report says it is uncertain whether all small farms have been complying with the ban on the use of meat-and-bone meal as a livestock feed and that it is also possible feeds may be contaminated with meat-and-bone meal at factories, during the production process. For these reasons, the report says feeds used in the United States cannot be considered safe and finds precautions against BSE in that country are "inadequate". However, the team notes many issues have
yet to be cleared up and proposes to continue
its investigation, asking both the
United States and Canada to provide further information. MAFF to Establish More Detailed Criteria for BSE Risk Assessment to Cover Countries With Outbreaks In view of the outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in the United States, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has decided to revise the method by which it assesses the level of BSE risk facing a country. MAFF will establish a more detailed risk scale that will also cover countries in which there has already been an outbreak of the disease, for which risk has not until now been assessed. The aim is to make it easier to press the United States to introduce further safety measures in the negotiations over the lifting of Japan's ban on imports of beef from the United States. At present, Japan's assessment standards simply divide "countries with an outbreak" from "countries with no outbreak" and because imports of beef from countries where there has been an outbreak are banned, it has been difficult to press those countries to pursue measures to improve safety. MAFF is considering a proposal to revise Japan's assessment methodology, with reference to the assessment standards of the OIE (Office International des Epizooties; the world organization for animal health), which classify risk according to five levels and also cover risk in countries with outbreaks of the disease. As the risk in a country with an outbreak will fall into one category or another according to the measures taken in response to the outbreak, the necessary safety standards will be clear and it will be easier to negotiate the strengthening of countermeasures. While a number of countries, including Australia, have applied to the OIE for risk assessments,
MAFF intends to recruit support from other
countries, through diplomatic channels, for
a review of OIE standards, with a view to
having the new assessment methods
Japan proposes to adopt reflected in international
standards. LDP Publishes Draft "Basic Law on Food Awareness Education" On February 6, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) published an outline draft of a "Basic Law on Food Awareness Education". The draft law proposes the establishment of a "(National) Council for the Promotion of Food Awareness Education" within the Cabinet Office, the appointment of a minister with responsibility for food awareness education, and the establishment of numeric targets for the proportion of locally produced foodstuffs used in the preparation of school meals, etc. The LDP intends to present it to the Diet in the form of a bill submitted by a Diet member in mid-March, aiming to have it enacted by June and implemented by July. The text of the Basic Law includes an introduction,
basic principles and key measures, and is
positioned as a "foundation for education",
aimed at promoting greater food awareness
in
Japan. It seeks to promote initiatives such as
the improvement of dietary habits in nutritional
terms, the assurance of food safety, the
preservation of culinary traditions, etc.
and to revitalize local agriculture, forestry
and fisheries-related industries and raise
Japan's food self-sufficiency ratio. "Landscape Preservation Law" to Open Up Way for NPOs to Use Farmland The government recently drafted a "Landscape Preservation Law" that seeks to protect the landscape in and around Japan's cities and farming, mountain and fishing villages. The government plans to seek Cabinet approval for the bill on February 10 and present it to the Diet. With regard to farming villages, the draft law includes measures for involving the entire community in the preservation of the landscape in "Areas Designated for Agricultural Development", on the basis of plans drawn up by municipal governments. It opens up the way for NPOs to acquire rights to use farmland such as terraced paddy fields, in areas where many tracts of farmland are disused, and keep it in cultivation. The government hopes to implement the new legislation by the end of the year. Besides setting out basic principles and the role of the government in landscape preservation, the draft law includes measures for the support of landscape preservation activities and regulations on non-agricultural development. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of the Environment have been working on the legislation together since the autumn of 2002. With regard to farming villages, the proposed law will allow municipal governments to draw up plans for the development of scenic farming villages and advise owners of farmland to use the land in a way that harmonizes with the landscape. If landowners fail to follow this advice, municipal governments will have the power to nominate public service corporations and NPOs as "bodies responsible for landscape preservation". These bodies will be permitted to acquire the rights to use farmland through negotiation between the parties concerned. This constitutes a relaxation of the Agricultural Land Law, which, with the exception of "special zones for structural reform", has allowed only farmers and agricultural production corporations to acquire rights to use land. Corporations acquiring the rights to use farmland will also be allowed to sell products grown on the land as long as they do not do so for profit, for example, to cover management costs. According to MAFF, the Landscape Preservation
Law will allow central and local governments
to work together to support preservation
initiatives in areas where the landscape
should be protected. Yamaguchi Prefecture to be Declared Fowl Plague Free on February 19 On February 14, Yamaguchi Prefectural Government announced that tests on chickens
at farms within the quarantined area after
an outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain
of avian influenza (fowl plague) at a poultry
farm in the Prefecture, had all given negative
results. The tests were conducted to determine
whether or not the outbreak had spread. On
receiving notification, the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) informed Yamaguchi
Prefectural Government that it was considering lifting
the ban on the movement of poultry as of
February 19. MAFF revealed its intention
in a reply to Yamaguchi Prefectural Government's request for an early lifting
of the ban. If no further outbreaks are discovered,
an official decision will be made at a meeting
of the countermeasures headquarters on February
18. Lifting of Ban on Poultry Product Imports is Conditional on Thorough Avian Flu Countermeasures Referring to the ban on imports of chicken meat from Thailand, China and other major exporting countries imposed following the outbreaks of highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza (fowl plague), Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoshiyuki Kamei told reporters at a regular press conference on January 30, "Imports of chicken and other processed poultry products may be permitted if it can be determined that avian influenza in the country concerned has completely died out, or that the facilities at which they are processed are run in a hygienic manner. If a request for the lifting of the ban is received from an exporting country, Japan's policy is to discuss the recommencement of imports of poultry products separately for each processing facility. If the ban on imports of processed poultry
products from a country that has had an outbreak
of avian influenza is to be lifted, it will
be necessary to agree new hygiene standards,
such as control temperature to which products
are heated and maintenance of factory facilities
with the country concerned, and to send inspectors
to conduct on-site checks at processing facilities. No Progress in Japan-US Talks on Lifting of US Beef Import Ban On February 11, US Trade Representative Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick, currently visiting Japan, met, in succession, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoshiyuki Kamei, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, for talks on the import ban on American beef imposed by Japan following the outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in the United States. In response to the USTR's repeated requests that the ban be lifted, the ministers reiterated Japan's position that the US must first introduce measures for the testing of all slaughtered cattle and take steps to ensure the removal of all specified risk materials from carcasses, and the two sides failed to reach agreement. During the talks, the United States communicated its intention of sending a team of government representatives to Japan to re-open talks with a view to obtaining the lifting of the import ban. However, the United States has merely said it is "considering" whether or not to strengthen its BSE countermeasures in response to the recommendations of the international committee of experts, published on February 4, and has not changed its negative stance on the testing of all slaughtered cattle, taking the position that the need for testing of all slaughtered cattle should be assessed on a scientific basis and that care should be taken to ensure that trade is not obstructed.agreement. 90% of Consumers Concerned at
Japan's Low Food Self-Sufficiency Ratio More than 80% of consumers felt that Japan's current food self-sufficiency target,
40% on a calorie basis, "should be raised
by a significant margin". More than
90% of farmers took the same view. Only 50%
of farmers and 20% of consumers were aware
of the government's objective of raising
Japan's food-self sufficiency ratio to 45% by
2010. When respondents were asked what they
thought should be done to raise the food
self-sufficiency ratio, the most commonly
cited measures were initiatives relating
to consumer awareness, including food awareness
education and the promotion of domestically
produced foods, cited by around half of both
consumers and farmers, followed by "boosting
domestic production in line with consumer
needs". Food Expenditure Down 1.2%; Sharp Fall in Spending on Fruit and Vegetables On February 10, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPM) released the results of its 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey. The statistics on income and expenditure for all households reveal that average monthly living expenditure per household (average household: 3.12 persons) for 2003 was 302,623 yen, falling after the rise recorded in 2002. In real terms, excluding the impact of price fluctuation, expenditure was down 0.8%. Expenditure on food fell by 1.2%. Overall monthly expenditure on food was 70,260 yen. The breakdown reveals that spending on fresh fruit saw a sharp fall of 7.9%, while spending on fresh vegetables fell by 4.1%, spending on fresh meat fell by 1.9%, spending on rice fell by 2.1%, and spending on dairy products fell by 3.9%. Spending on eating out fell by 2.1%. By contrast, consumption of convenience foods has held firm, with spending on bento [boxed lunches], sozai [precooked/delicatessen foods] and other precooked foods rose by 1.6% and spending on beverages rose by 2.1%. MPM commented, "The fall in expenditure is due to a fall in incomes. Within expenditure on food, the fall in spending on unprocessed foods such as fruit and vegetables has been particularly large. The cool summer in 2003 appears to have made the flavor and price of food less stable and led to a decline in consumption." Cabinet Office Launches Avian Influenza Emergency Research Program On January 23, the Cabinet Office revealed that all government institutions concerned would be undertaking emergency research in connection with the recent outbreaks of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza (fowl plague). Besides determining the source of the disease and measuring its pathogenicity, the research will seek to develop vaccines to prevent transmission to humans, methods for early diagnosis and response manuals. The research will be conducted jointly by
a number of research organizations and universities,
led by the National Institute of Animal Health
(NIAH). The official decision to launch the
program was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet
Office Council for Science and Technology
Policy, on January 29. 2003 Foreign Trade Statistics: Imports of Fresh Vegetables Rise Sharply According to the Foreign Trade Statistics
for 2003 published by the Ministry of Finance
on January 28, imports of fresh vegetables
continued to rise in 2003, reaching 884,000
tons, up 15% on the previous year. Imports
of negi [Japanese spring onion] for processing and
food service use rose. Imports of onions,
carrots, turnips, cabbage and hakusai [Chinese leaf] also rose sharply after the
domestic supply was affected by poor weather.
Imports of fruit rose 4% to 1,787,000 tons.
In particular, imports of bananas were stable,
rising by 5% on 2002 due to the reduced supply
of domestically grown summer fruit. MAFF Establishes New JAS Standard for Pork Requiring Disclosure of Production Information On February 4, the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) decided to
establish a new JAS ((Japanese Standard of
Agricultural and Forestry Products) standard
for pork. Pork for which specified information
(animal's date of birth, name of owner, date
slaughtered, feeds and pharmaceuticals given,
etc.) is recorded and disclosed will be certified
as joho kohyo butaniku ["production
information disclosed pork"].
Promoting Food Awareness Education: the Need to Make Japan a More Sensitive Society The draft of a Basic Law on Food Awareness Education is to be presented to the Diet during its current session. With a view to promoting food awareness education, the proposed legislation even makes specific provision for the creation of a system of nutrition teachers in elementary and junior high schools. However, the simple title "food awareness education" can cover a wide range of activities and concepts including families eating meals together, the study of nutritional balance and fostering a sense of gratitude for material things. It is important that Japan's traditional table culture be preserved by introducing traditional dishes into school meals and that our children learn about the community of which they are a part through the local consumption of locally produced foods. And, of course, food awareness education should also raise awareness of agriculture, which produces the foods that are the source of life. The educational value of agriculture and farming communities has been the focus of attention for some time. Playing in woods and rivers with friends, seeing the stars in the sky, getting bitten by insects, seeing vegetables from nearby fields on the dinner table — not so long ago, these were experiences everyone had. Even the little cuts and grazes one sustains in the course of play are of value, in that they give one the experience of pain. Pleasure and sadness are experiences one can share. But most children today sit in front of the TV playing video games while munching on salted snacks. They spend their time in a virtual world, without substance. Here there is no real pain, only stimuli. In this light, it is clear that using food as a base line for thinking about things is a powerful force that has the potential to change even the way we live. Experience of life in farming, mountain or fishing villages has a wide range of educational benefits — enhancing one's sensitivity towards the natural world and affording opportunities to learn how the foods that one eats are produced, to communicate with a wide variety of people, including farmers, and to learn the meaning of work and develop a sense of gratitude through experience of agricultural work, etc. In recent years, consumers have come to rely, more and more, on the food services industry and processed foods, their interest and knowledge of the processes by which food is produced is diminishing, and the gap between farm and table is growing. Moreover, over-emphasizing economic efficiency has led us to buy our food overseas, so that we cannot see the faces of the people who produce it. As is clear from the import bans imposed following the outbreaks of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in the United States and of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza (fowl plague) in China, the more Japan relies on imported foods, the greater the vulnerability of its food base. The same kind of thing happens when bad weather affects the harvest. Japan relies on imports for a great part of its consumption of soybeans and wheat, among other crops, and any restriction of imports is a severe blow to the food processing industry. It is important to be aware of the dangers of relying on imported food, and in this sense, food awareness education is vital to adults, too. Farming villages are an excellent place to experience contact with Nature. Through contact with flowers, grasses, insects, and animals one learns about ecosystems. One learns to care for other living things. One's sensitivity to Nature grows stronger. One also learns that, in nature, things do not always go to plan — crops wither if the weather is too hot for too long. One develops a sense of morality, a sense that one should not waste food. When one realizes that food is not just something one can get any time as long as one has the money to buy it, one develops a sense of gratitude, as embodied in the Japanese grace, itadakimasu ["I receive"]. According to The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2003, the annual hunger report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), over 800 million people worldwide are suffering from undernourishment. Japan should reconsider a dietary lifestyle that is widely satirized as "gluttonous", and give serious consideration to food awareness education as an investment for the future. (from an editorial in the January 31, 2004 issue
of the Nihon Nogyo Shimbun) |
