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Food Problem in Japan
"We can't survive with hunger." which is almost a dead saying in Japan, because we are living with affluent food.
Especially for younger generation, it is impossible to think about the crisis. They regard it not as one of the indispensable factors to survive but as a kind of his/her own favor. They don't take three meals every day, and they have whenever or wherever they like. We seem to have lost the importance and appreciation for food.
In North Korea, more than three million people starved to death in '97, according to the former bureaucrat who asylumed to South Korea, and there are other countries where people are starving in the world. Do you think those countries are exceptional? Of course, there are some exceptional reasons, but there is no proof that we are never involved in the crisis in Japan.
It is surprising to know how much food material is resorted to foreign countries. Beans and flour which are the main sources of vital nutrition are almost imported, much more meat and vegetables so forth. Of course, now we could import a lot of food materials so easily and so cheaply. But what will happen once seriously unusual weather or political insecurity occurs?
We have to reconsider the prospect of Japanese agriculture. Originally, Japan has developed based on farming. But since World War 2, the structure of industry has drastically been changed. People flowed into the cities fascinated with city life where they were guranteed to get salary regardless of changable weather. And Japanese agriculture has been kept behind by people and the gorvernment as well.
Almost more than 60% of farmers are occupied with seniors, who are over 60's and suffering from fewer and fewer successors. They have been manipulated by the mostly LDP members provided with small amount of incentives of subsidy because of well obedient supporters of LDP. But farmers are no more patient with such tentative and poor policy. They try to be independent from JA-oriented policy. Following this tendency, the government set out to renovate The Basic Regurations of Agriculture which was established about 50 years ago.
According to the new policy, companies are allowed to run farming, which sounds interesting even though there are some difficulties.
In the cities, there are more and more jobless people increasing, and if they are encourged to try farming, such problem as described above may be solved to some extent.
Anyway, we have to remember we cannot survive without food security.
Question 1: Do you sometimes feel appreciated with what you eat ?
Question 2: Don't you mind poor rate of self-supply of food resources ?
Question 3: What is the best course for Japan to proceed to survive in the world ?
Question 4: Anything about this topic.