Monthly Archives: October 2020

New Booklet: Glyphosate

Biotechnology, Chemical pollution, Food, , , ,

CUJ and the No! GMO Campaign have published a new booklet about the dangerous herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and other brands. Written by Amagasa Keisuke, it outlines the recent events including lawsuits in the US and new data about the toxic effects. Here in Japan, residue of glyphosate has been found in bread made with imported wheat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The booklet also exposes how in 2017, the Japanese government increased the legal residue levels in many foods:

Wheat flour: From 5 => 30 parts per million (ppm)

Rye wheat flour: From 0.2 => 30 ppm

Soba flour: From 0.2 => 30 ppm

Corn: From 1 => 5 ppm

Canola: From 10 => 30 ppm

In Japan, many soybean farmers are using glyphosate-based herbicides including Roundup as a pre-harvest chemical, in order to dry the crops while they are still maturing. CUJ and the No! GMO Campaign have been successfully campaigning to get soybean farmers in Hokkaido to stop this practice. In other countries, especially in North and South America, farmers are growing crops that are genetically modified to tolerate glyphosate. In Japan, there is no commercial farming of such GM crops, but imported feed and food oils often contain GM ingredients such as GM soy, GM corn or GM canola (rapeseed). Look for the label on products including soy, such as tofu, soy sauce and natto if you want to avoid GM ingredients that can contain glyphosate residue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

しょうゆに表示される「遺伝子組換えでない」は任意のもの（写真＝柳井隆宏）

The 64 pages booklet is in Japanese. You can order it here:

2020年10月発行
【発行】遺伝子組み換え食品いらない！キャンペーン、日本消費者連盟
【著者】天笠啓祐
【表紙デザイン】いのうえしんぢ
定価：500円（送料別）／A5判・64ページ

＜ご注文は下記まで＞
日本消費者連盟
電話：03（5155）4765
FAX：03（5155）4767
eメール：office.j@nishoren.org

注文書（PDF）

 

Wild-growing GM Canola Still a Problem

Biodiversity, Biotechnology, Food, Trade, , ,

Activists have for many years participated in actions around harbours all around Japan. They collect and test wild-growing canola along roads and near food oil factories. The import of Genetically Modified canola, which started in the late 1990s, led to GM plants growing wild, an unintentional effect that poses a risk to the biodiversity of similar plants. Canola is a member of the Brassica genus and many other edible plants are grown in Japan, thus increasing the risk that cross-contamination will occur of related foods like cabbage or broccoli.

In 2006, the government started taking an interest in this issue, after intense lobbying by CUJ and the No! GMO Campaign, who are helping to organise the testing. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (MAFF) has again this year announced that they have found GM canola growing wild around seven harbours (Tomakomai, Kashima, Chiba, Nagoya, Yokkaichi, Kobe and Hakata). They also found wild-growing GM soy at one harbour (Hakata).

It is believed that the imported seeds easily fall off conveyor belts and lorries as they are transported from the ships that enter the harbours. According to Bio Journal, when 165 individual seeds of Brassica napus were tested, 20 were discovered to have resistance to both glyphosate and glufosinate.

Read more: MAFF reports results of GM rapeseed, GM soy wild volunteer survey

Read CUJ’s 2010 report about wild-growing canola