The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened Japan’s critical situation of food security. It is not time now when the country could purchase foodstuff as much as it wants at any time. Everyone has well realized that improvement of self-sufficiency of food items is indispensable.
INDISPENSABLE IS SAFETY, SECURITY AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF FOODSTUFF
Many countries have decreased production of food and agricultural goods due to lockdowns to prevent the Covid-19 from spreading, and the 19 food-exporting nations have taken export restriction measures. As the result, Japan has reduced its import of foodstuff and agricultural products by almost 10%.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is another factor that aggravates the situation. The two countries occupy 30% of the world’s total wheat export volume (approximately 90 million ton), a sharp drop of which has rapidly surged prices of wheat and maize.
Both of quantity and quality should be guaranteed
When considering security of foodstuff, quality must be satisfactory in the same way as quantity. Quality means that agricultural goods and food we need should be safe and secured. Japan imports over 60% of its required foodstuff from foreign countries, including US, China, Australia and Canada.
However, the said countries are known for the everyday uses of agrichemicals and growth-promoting materials that may cause cancer and birth abnormality and post-harvest agents and produce GMO items.
Today it is well-known that diseases like atopic dermatitis and food-induced allergy prevail more extensively along with the rapid growth of imported agricultural items. Unfortunately, however, the Japanese governments have ignored the fact; they have liberalized the agrichemicals and have not prohibited GMO items. As for the GMO, the government does not even order to show its identification on the labels. That means the administration disregards the aspect of quality in terms of food security.
‘Strategies’ of Japanese government
The world now closely focuses on reduction of carbon dioxide (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), the Convention on Biological Diversity and the SDGs, and the Japanese government, too, has declared carbon neutral to be achieved by 2050 (zero-emission of carbon dioxide). It has compiled ‘Green Food System Strategy’ to attain the goals.
The targets to reach by 2050;
A reduction by 30% of chemical fertilizers,
A reduction by 50% of agrichemicals, and
An expansion by 25%, in total 1 million ha of crop land for organic agricultural production, from the current 0.5%, or 20 thousand ha.
It has a plan of industrial production of agricultural items, including application of GMO technologies. This is the image given by the government.
Main targets lie in efficiency and large-scale production as well as mechanized agriculture. That is continuation of the policies taken after the enactment of the Basic Act on Agriculture in 1961, which is mechanization and growing in size. The Green Strategy totally disrespects the fact that such a large-scale agricultural management has exhausted farming villages and agriculture itself.
Income compensation measures should be well prepared
It is important to safeguard incomes of farmers engaged in organic agriculture, vitalizing the Green Strategy. The right path toward foodstuff security will be built up by stimulating family-based agriculture, enhancing local production for local consumption, coordination of farming and cattle breeding and links of producers with consumers, and enhancing locally-circulating agricultural production scheme that will strengthen local relationships.
コロナ感染防止のためのロックダウンで各国の食料・農業生産が低下し、農産物輸出国の輸出規制（19カ国）で、日本の食料・農産物輸入が10％近く減少している。
ロシア・ウクライナ戦争がこれに輪をかけた。世界の小麦輸出量の30％（約９千万㌧）を占めるロシア、ウクライナの輸出激減が、小麦、トウモロコシの価格を急騰させた。
量と質の両面こそ
食の安全保障には量とともに質の面がある。質は、農作物や食品が安心安全であるかということ。日本は食料の60％以上を米中豪加など外国輸入している。
ところが、これらの国では発がん性や催奇性の強い農薬や成長剤、ポストハーベスト（収穫後農薬散布）の使用、遺伝子組み換え（ゲノム編集）作物の生産が普通になっている。
アトピー性皮膚炎や食物アレルギーが、輸入農産物の増加とともに拡大してきたことはよく知られている。しかし、政府はこれら農薬を自由化、遺伝子組み換え農作物・食品を禁止せず、ゲノム編集食品に至っては表示義務なしだ。質的な食の安全保障は全く軽視されている。
日本政府の「戦略」
ＣＯ2削減（気候変動枠組条約）、生物多様性条約、ＳＤＧｓ（飢餓撲滅など持続可能な発展）が世界的な課題になっている。政府も２０５０年カーボンニュートラル（ＣＯ2排出ゼロ） を宣言。「みどりの食料システム戦略」を策定し、実現を目指す。
50年までに①化学肥料30％低減、②農薬使用量50％低減、③有機農業を耕地の25％１００万ha（現状＝ ０・５ ％ ２ 万ha）に拡大というものだが、遺伝子操作技術の応用など工場的農業がイメージされている。
その行き着く先は効率と大規模、機械化農業。農業基本法（１９６１年）制定以来今日まで続けてきた機械化、規模拡大だ。「みどり戦略」は、規模拡大路線が農業や農山村を疲弊させてきた事実を全く無視している。
所得補償の充実を
「みどり戦略」に安全安心の魂を入れ、有機農業などへの所得補償充実が重要だ。そして、家族農業を活かし、地産地消、耕畜連携、生消提携を進め、地域の絆を充実させる地域循環農業を強化発展さることこそ真の食料安全保障への道だ。
英訳版↓
No. 1278 Crisis in Food Security
The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened Japan’s critical situation of food security. It is not time now when the country could purchase foodstuff as much as it wants at any time. Everyone has well realized that improvement of self-sufficiency of food items is indispensable.
INDISPENSABLE IS SAFETY, SECURITY AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF FOODSTUFF
Many countries have decreased production of food and agricultural goods due to lockdowns to prevent the Covid-19 from spreading, and the 19 food-exporting nations have taken export restriction measures. As the result, Japan has reduced its import of foodstuff and agricultural products by almost 10%.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is another factor that aggravates the situation. The two countries occupy 30% of the world’s total wheat export volume (approximately 90 million ton), a sharp drop of which has rapidly surged prices of wheat and maize.
Both of quantity and quality should be guaranteed
When considering security of foodstuff, quality must be satisfactory in the same way as quantity. Quality means that agricultural goods and food we need should be safe and secured. Japan imports over 60% of its required foodstuff from foreign countries, including US, China, Australia and Canada.
However, the said countries are known for the everyday uses of agrichemicals and growth-promoting materials that may cause cancer and birth abnormality and post-harvest agents and produce GMO items.
Today it is well-known that diseases like atopic dermatitis and food-induced allergy prevail more extensively along with the rapid growth of imported agricultural items. Unfortunately, however, the Japanese governments have ignored the fact; they have liberalized the agrichemicals and have not prohibited GMO items. As for the GMO, the government does not even order to show its identification on the labels. That means the administration disregards the aspect of quality in terms of food security.
‘Strategies’ of Japanese government
The world now closely focuses on reduction of carbon dioxide (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), the Convention on Biological Diversity and the SDGs, and the Japanese government, too, has declared carbon neutral to be achieved by 2050 (zero-emission of carbon dioxide). It has compiled ‘Green Food System Strategy’ to attain the goals.
The targets to reach by 2050;
- A reduction by 30% of chemical fertilizers,
- A reduction by 50% of agrichemicals, and
- An expansion by 25%, in total 1 million ha of crop land for organic agricultural production, from the current 0.5%, or 20 thousand ha.
It has a plan of industrial production of agricultural items, including application of GMO technologies. This is the image given by the government.Main targets lie in efficiency and large-scale production as well as mechanized agriculture. That is continuation of the policies taken after the enactment of the Basic Act on Agriculture in 1961, which is mechanization and growing in size. The Green Strategy totally disrespects the fact that such a large-scale agricultural management has exhausted farming villages and agriculture itself.
Income compensation measures should be well prepared
It is important to safeguard incomes of farmers engaged in organic agriculture, vitalizing the Green Strategy. The right path toward foodstuff security will be built up by stimulating family-based agriculture, enhancing local production for local consumption, coordination of farming and cattle breeding and links of producers with consumers, and enhancing locally-circulating agricultural production scheme that will strengthen local relationships.
October 12, 2022