Genetically engineered fish

U.S. health officials are set to rule on whether a faster-growing, genetically engineered fish is safe to eat in a decision that could deliver the first altered animal food to consumers' dinner plates.

The fish, made by Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc, is manipulated to grow twice as fast as traditional Atlantic salmon, something the company says could boost the nation's fish sector and reduce pressure on the environment.

But consumer advocates and food safety experts are worried that splicing and dicing fish genes may have the opposite effect, leading to more industrial farming and potential escapes into the wild. Side effects from eating such fish are also unknown, with little data to show it is safe, they say.
"They're basically putting the fish on permanent growth hormone so it grows faster ... so they can sell bigger fish faster," said Jaydee Hanson, a policy analyst for the nonprofit Center for Food Safety.
It also raises questions about the industrialization of the nation's food supply at a time when consumers -- exasperated by massive egg and other food recalls -- are growing increasingly concerned and seeking more locally produced meals.
The small Massachusetts-based biotechnology company is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval to sell its salmon, called AquAdvantage, to fish farmers nationwide.

If given the green light, the salmon could be followed by the company's engineered trout and tilapia. Other scientists are also developing altered pigs and cows for food. The United States already allows genetically modified plants.

Vegetarianism in Japan???

Today I talked about Vegetarianism with one of our students. Vegetarians do not eat meat or fish. Vegans exclude any products from their diet that are derived from animals, including eggs, milk and dairy products – even honey. Reasons for Vegetarianism vary from religious to ethic motivation, since cows and pigs are as much living beings as our pets, which we would never want to see encaged, slaughtered and served on a bowl of rice at Matsuya’s around the corner.
Even though traditional Buddhist Shōjin Ryōri contains neither meat, nor fish, eggs, or milk, purely vegetarian food is really hard to find vegan dishes in Japanese restaurants today. The drive for Westernization during the Meiji Era allowed Japanese food culture to adapt beef and pork. So meat has become a natural component of Japanese cooking. If we think of Japanese food today, it is hard to imagine Sukiyaki and and Oyakodon without any traces of animal products.
As there are only a few vegetarian restaurants in Tokyo, it is hard for Vegetarians to eat out. Asking the staff to leave out meat or fish might be possible at some places, but considering that franchise sticks fast with standardized menus and dishes (e.g. Salami Pizza from the chest freezer) and cooks are not familiar with alternative foodstuffs, it is obvious that most restaurants are not prepared to respond to the needs of those whose eating habits differ from the mainstream customers’.
We came to the conclusion that it is quite hard to be (and stay) Vegetarian or even Vegan in Japan. Respecting each other goes along with being aware of the individual’s habits and culture. This does not concern food exclusively but shows how important communication and exchange among cultures is. Since we might not want to have visitors feel discriminated in our countries and we ourselves do not want to be misunderstood abroad, being able to embrace diversity is a valuable skill – And that’s why we learn foreign languages, right?

The Ups and Downs of Kawaguchiko

Yesterday I visited the Fuji Q highland theme park with 4 of my friends and had a great time. We thought that Monday would have been very quiet and uncrowded but were soon to discover that this was not the case. We were sharing the theme park with thousands of University Students making the most of their last few weeks of summer holidays. It was a quite a shock when we were told that the wait for some rides would be 3 hours long. We couldn’t believe it! In the 6 hours we spent at Fuji Q we were able to ride 4 of the attractions and spent a total of 4.5 hours standing in line. However, the rides and attractions themselves were amazing and we soon forgot about all the waiting as we were flying through the air and dropping down huge drops on the various rollercoaster.

The highlight of the day for me was the Do Don Pa, a super fast rollercoaster that accelerates to 176km/h in 1.8sec! It was extremely scary but very exhilarating. My whole body was shaking for about 20 minutes after the ride.

After the day at the theme park, my friends and I ate Houtou noodles at a traditional restaurant in Kawaguchiko. Houtou are wide noodles, served in miso based soup with lots of pumpkin, mushrooms and seasonal vegetables and are incredibly delicious. I highly recommend a trip to Fuji Q followed by a dinner of Houtou noodles as a terrific day out.

White Tuna

White Tuna

When I visited the States, I went to a sushi restaurant and stumbled upon a new type of sushi, “white tuna,” or as some Americans call it, “Super White Tuna.” Now I have tried just about every type of sashimi out there and was amazed to find something that I have neither heard of nor tasted. As soon as I got home, I checked online to find out what it was. I found out that most restaurants that serve this “white tuna” are not actually serving tuna but rather, escolar, snake mackerel. Escolar is super high in fat, causing a laxative effect in many people and has been banned in some countries, including Japan, because of this. That would explain my surprise at finding this at a sushi bar in the States. The real “white tuna” is actually albacore and is known as shiro maguro in sushi bars. This is what is usually considered the white tuna in Japan but of course, if you're surprised by the look and taste of the “white tuna” here in the states, remember, its probably escolar. Be careful!

Don't forget to Vote!

I'm sure you have all noticed the signs in the train stations, in shop windows, and on buses. On August 30th, that's tomorrow, Japanese people go to the polls to elect new representatives, and probably a new prime minister as well. When I walked by the station this morning near my home in Koiwa, the communist party and the democratic party of Japan were both giving speeches and handing out campaign leaflets.

Even though I can't vote, I am looking forward to see the results. It seems like prim minster Aso is on his way out, and Mr. Hatoyama will likely be the new prime minister of Japan. I am also interested to see how the communist party does. They say that many young people are now joining the party, and it will be interesting to see if they turn out to vote.

Japanese politicians always seem to become unpopular soon after they win an election. It will be interesting to see how long the new government lasts, and what it will do to try and gain the trust of the people.

Everyone, don't forget to vote on Sunday!!!

Whats the Eco Point?

ECO POINTS

If you have bought an electrical appliance for your home recently there’s a strong probability that you would have received Eco Points. For those who don’t know, Eco Points are an initiative of the Japanese Government to encourage consumers to purchase products with low environmental impact. Points are awarded to consumers based on the price of the product as well as the products environmental friendliness. It was recently announced that these points can be exchanged for credit on Suica or Pasmo cards as well as used towards the purchase of flights with JAL and ANA airlines.

While the idea behind the Eco Points scheme seems honourable, I cant help but feel that the initiative is simply a broad gesture intended to persuaded the public that the government is actively working towards implementing strong environmentally focused policies. I recently received some Eco points with the purchase of a household appliance and was amused by the hypocrisy of it all as I was handed numerous sheets of environmentally damaging bleached paper explaining the Eco Points system.

Cynicism aside, I’m sure that the Eco points system will go some way to convincing consumers to purchase Environmentally friendly products in the future and therefore should definitely not be considered a useless initiative.

Is Food in Japan Expensive?

Is food in Japan Expensive?

Hello! This is my first post on the Global Communications Blog and today I’d like to talk about the cost of food in Japan.

If I ask my friends in Australia what they think of Japan, most people will say “expensive”. I’m not sure where this image comes from but before coming to Japan I also thought that Japan was a very expensive country. However, I was surprised to discover that eating in restaurants as well as grocery shopping in Japan is actually quite a fair bit cheaper than Australia.

It is usual to pay around $30 (2500yen) for dinner in a restaurant in Australia whereas in Japan you can eat a decent meal for around 1000yen. This is less than half of what you would pay in Australia!

Shopping in supermarkets is also, in general, cheaper in Japan than in Australia. Products such as packaged drinks (juice, soft drinks etc), tofu, fresh and dried noodles, fish, chicken and pork are much cheaper in Japan. However, fresh fruit and dairy products are more expensive in Japan.

I have found that if I steer clear of western style restaurants and cook Japanese style meals at home, eating out and grocery shopping is much cheaper in Japan than in Australia.

I also recently moved to a new apartment that is very close to a 100yen supermarket, which also helps keep my shopping expenses low!

Well, all this talk about food has made me hungry, time for my Onigiri!

School Lunch

School lunch in Japanese Elementary Schools

In April, I started teaching at elementary schools. One of the biggest differences that I noticed between elementary schools in Japan and the U.S. was the lunch system. In Japan, the students eat with their classmates and are required to eat EVERYTHING off their plate. I don't know about all of you, but being forced to eat everything is a bit extreme. Some people can eat more than others, and some have certain dislikes of food. In my case, I do not like hijiki or konyaku which is a main ingredient in most school lunches so I just leave it untouched. But as soon as the children see that I haven't eaten, all hell breaks loose. Kids start telling me that I have to eat it and then tell the teacher that I didn't eat everything. Even worse, some kids who just can't eat everything because they are full are bullied by the other kids into eating and aren't left alone until everything is clean off their plate.

In the U.S., kids are allowed to bring their lunches from home. Those who don't are allowed to choose what they want to eat from the school cafeteria so every one is happy. Now this is for me, the ideal school lunch system.

Media and Swine Flu

I am a little worried about the way that the media here in Japan is handling the outbreak of swine flu. This morning I noticed the lead story on the news was that the new swine flu had spread to the Tokyo area. They gave details on where the newly infected person lives, and even the route they traveled to get back to their house, even telling us if the person was wearing a mask or not. I think this is a little irresponsible. It makes people worry, yet doesn't seem to help them at all. I wish the news would focus on what people should do to prevent getting sick and reassure people that this new flu really isn't any more dangerous than normal flu.

The news did mention that you shoul wash your hands, and it did mention how to take care of people who were sick in their homes, and it did mention that you would likely not die from catching the flu, but it should have spent more time on these important matters and less time telling people about where the new cases of swine flu happened and transportation routes that the infected person may have traveled. This is simply not helpful.

The news is suppossed to be a public service. Encouraging people to panic is not a service. Instead, I would like to see the news providing more balanced coverage and urging people to recognise swine flu for what it is, just a bad case of the flu.

Hiroshima and Miyajima

Hiroshima and Miyajima

I recently took a trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima during Golden Week. Hiroshima is definitely a place that everyone should visit. As it is the site of the first atomic bombing during World War II, it has a very deep and sad history. Despite the horrors of the atomic bomb, the reconstruction of Hiroshima goes to show that there is always hope even at the bleakest moments. For anyone who hasn't been to Hiroshima, I highly recommend that you visit at least once. And be sure to try their okonomiyaki...its declicious!

Miyajima was also a lot of fun to visit. The Itsukushima shrine and red Torii gate were very beautiful, especially during high tide. I was even able to touch the gate during low tide. Be sure to check the tides before you visit so that you can see it at high and low tide. AND...be sure to try their barbequed oysters and momiji manju...wonderfully delicious!