Click here for updates about the Joint Statement for Peace in Asia and how to sign
Joint Statement for Peace in Asia
Japan Resources 195
Please click here for our latest English newsletter (pdf): JR 195
Contents:
From the Editors: Many Thanks!
Over 67,000 Signatures for UN Plastic Convention Petition
Alert: Kewpie, Keep GMO Eggs Out of Our Mayo
Many Thanks for Joining our Tabe Kime Action Campaign 2024
Genome-edited Organisms Already Marketed in Japan
Joint Statement for Peace in Asia
In the News: OECD Meeting for Consumer Protection that is “Fit for the Future”
Over 67,000 Signatures for UN Plastic Convention Petition
In Japan, the Network for Protecting Children from Toxic Chemical Substances, of which Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ) is a member, is calling on the Japanese Government to make the United Nations Plastics Convention effective.
The Network is also collecting signatures for a petition to the Japanese Government to make this Plastics Convention effective.
The Network is led by the Japan Endocrine-disrupter Preventive Action, the National Council for Dioxin and Environmental Hormone Control, and 20 citizens’ groups, including NPOs such as the Toxic Watch Network, the Toxic Chemical Substances Reduction Network and 32 consumer cooperatives across Japan.
In the run-up to INC5 in Busan in November 2024, the Network has collected more than 67180 signatures in about two months in a petition drive calling for (1) reduction of new plastic production, (2) regulation of toxic chemicals contained in plastics, and (3) a phased ban on the use of disposable plastics.
14 November 2024
Link (Japanese)
Update: Joint Statement for Peace in Asia
Many thanks to everyone who has supported the Joint Statement for Peace in Asia that we released in August 2024. 16 organisations, including five from abroad, have so far signed the statement that we released with Dure Consumer’s Cooperative Union (South Korea) and Shufuren Association of Consumer Organisations (Japan):
SHISUK (Bangladesh)
GE Free NZ in Food and Environment (New Zealand)
Consumers’ Association of Penang (Malaysia)
Friends of the Earth Malaysia (Malaysia)
Indonesian Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas – InDHRRA (Bina Desa)
You can still sign the statement here (in English) until 31 December 2024.
Kewpie Action Alert
Canada Biotechnology Action Network has kindly posted this in solidarity with our efforts here in Japan:
Alert: Kewpie, Keep GMO eggs out of our Mayo
In solidarity with the Consumers’ Union of Japan, CBAN asks Canadian consumers of Kewpie mayonnaise to write to the company. Ask Kewpie not to use genetically modified eggs:
Contact Us | kewpie
The Consumers’ Union of Japan is calling for Kewpie Corp, a Japanese food processing company famous for its mayonnaise, to cease the development of genome-edited “low-allergen” eggs that are intended to eventually become commercialized through the company’s food product line. In collaboration with Kewpie, Hiroshima University is developing a chicken to lay eggs that cannot produce the allergen ovomucoid. A clinical trial is currently underway at Sagamihara National Hospital and may be completed by spring 2026.
The Consumers Union of Japan has asked Kewpie not to support or use genome-edited eggs in their mayo and other products because of food safety and animal welfare concerns.
See Consumers Union of Japan materials in Japanese. Your browser should offer the option to translate to your preferred language:
Call for a halt to the development of genome-edited eggs
Kewpie Responds to Re-Questionnaire on Genome-Edited Eggs
Letter of Inquiry to Kewpie Corporation Regarding Genome-Edited Egg Clinical Trials
For more info on the risks of genome-editing in food and farming see cban.ca/gene-editing