. We are happy to welcome Paige Tomaselli, senior staff attorney at US-based Center for Food Safety, who will be speaking at 3 events in Tokyo in May. She is invited by Consumers Union of Japan, No! GMO Campaign and Japan Citizens’ Network for Sustainable Food & Agriculture. May 18 is International day of biological [...]
If you like your proteins from soy, you already love tofu, natto and miso, important traditional foods here in Japan since a long time ago. But much of that soy is imported. No! GMO Campaign initiated a campaign some 15 years ago to encourage farmers to grow the beans again, and educate people about the [...]
Consumers Union of Japan opposes GM salmon, and sent the following appeal to US FDA as part of their Public Comment (deadline Feb. 25, 2013): Re: Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0899 Genetically Engineered Salmon We the consumers in Japan are strongly opposed to the approval of genetically modified (GM) salmon. This GM fish has been said to [...]
Open letter: Our demands regarding mad cow disease in Brazil To: Agriculture Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi From: Food Safety Citizens’ Watch January 9, 2013 Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced on December 8, 2012 on its homepage that beef from Brazil was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and that import of beef [...]
Symposium: What Can We Eat? Farmers and Consumers Reaching Out to Each Other The Three Mile Island nuclear accident that took place in the United States on March 28, 1979 had some impact on Japan and influenced the anti-nuclear movement here, especially in areas with nuclear power plant construction sites. Media, however, continued to treat [...]
Updates about GMOs from the Convention of Biological Diversity It is not always easy to follow the details of the discussions and negotiations of international agreements… Media pays scant attention or ignores important concerns. Governments provide a massive amount of information but it is not easy to find or digest. Fortunately, NGOs are usually present [...]
On the first Tuesday of every month, demonstrations will be held in front of the Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Tokyo. Together we can stop the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)! Consumers Union of Japan has joined together with other organizations to strongly voice our opposition to TPP. Starting in August, 2012, a new campaign strategy [...]
CUJ has joined other NGOs from around the world for the 6th Meeting of Parties (MOP6) of the Convention of Biological Diversity. The United Nations conference is held in Hyderabad, India October 1-5, 2012. Just over 2 years ago, everyone met in Nagoya for the MOP5, as negotiators finalized the Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary [...]
A study by the No! GMO Campaign has revealed that Japan’s supermarket chains are refusing to sell genetically modified papaya. The No! GMO Campaign was set up in 1996 to stop genetically modified foods. 16 years later, there is no commercial GM farming in Japan. Consumers and civic groups are continuing the battle against imported [...]
At the 11th meeting of the Ramsar Convention for wetlands, a draft resolution was introduced that came dangerously close to open a back door to genetically modified rice. Rice paddy fields in many countries are supporting wildlife such as migratory birds and marine species. The use of pesticides have caused much damage to such sensitive [...]
