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”
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)
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.
Canada Biotechnology Action Network has kindly posted this in solidarity with our efforts here in Japan:
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
For World Food Day on 16 October, we have again started the campaign “I decide what I eat. I decide what I plant and grow. Not for the benefit of multinational corporations.” We call this campaign the Tabe Kime Action (Tabe=Eat Kime=Decide). Participants can post photos of our message board on Facebook. Our campaign was launched in response to the criticism voiced by family farmers, small-scale farmers‘ groups and citizens’ groups around the world against the multinational corporations led UN Food System Summit in September 2021, and to show Japan’s support for them. Last year, over 200 photos were submitted. In addition to the message board with the text there is also a blank board on which you can write your own message. This year, our Tabe Kime Action is running until 16 November. Please take photos of yourself and the view of the food or food production sites you want to protect. For example, you can take photos of fields or rice paddies, a scene of a meal at an organic restaurant or at home can also be included. Do add a personal message if you wish!
Message board with Japanese text: JPG PDF
With no text: JPG PDF
Message board with English text: JPG PDF
With no text: JPG PDF
※To print out it may be easier to use the PDF files.
Post on the Facebook site here
Information in Japanese here
There are two ways to post photos.
If you are on Facebook yourself, you can post directly yourself on the following page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/806047030062792
If you are not on Facebook, you can send a photo and a brief description of the photo to the following email address:
tabekime@nishoren.org
Note: About posting to Facebook
When posting on Facebook, please add the following hashtags:
Note: Posting by email
If you do not have a Facebook account, please send an email attachment to CUJ’s dedicated Tabe Kime Action email address (tabekime@nishoren.org). In this case, please include your name (real name or nickname/handle name) and a brief comment. The CUJ staff will post your submission on the Facebook public group “Tabe Kime Action” and on the CUJ’s “summary website”. Please make sure that the message board is included in the photographs.
Please refrain from promoting a particular religion or political party. If a photo or expression is deemed to be highly offensive, it will not be published.
Campaign period:
16 September – 16 November 2024
Click below to see photos from our previous Tabe Kime Actions:
2021 Website:
https://nishoren.net/flash/16659
2022 Website:
https://nishoren.net/flash/16659
2023 Website:
https://gmo-iranai.org/?p=4306
YouTube videos on Channel Nishoren:
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