Food Education as a Way to Improve the Global Environment

JFS Newsletter No.58 (June 2007)

What is Food Education?

Food culture in Japan has long been based on rice (the staple food) and seasonal foodstuffs. People around the world are attracted to Japanese food, and one of its attractions is seen as its role in promoting longevity. Since the 1990s, however, the country has shifted increasingly toward a consumer society brimming with products and information, and Japan's the dietary situation has changed rapidly. The typical diet has become more Westernized, greater in variety, easier to prepare, and includes more meals prepared outside the home. Healthy dietary traditions cultivated here over centuries are disappearing -- traditions like regular meal times, nutritionally well-balanced diets, cooking methods that minimize leftovers and food waste, and happy family meals around the table.

Food education is one response to the threats to food traditions. In the preamble of the Basic Law on Food Education, enacted in June 2005, food education is considered a fundamental aspect of living, along with intellectual, moral and physical education. The text states that food education should promote learning about and the selection of healthy foods, and help citizens to have healthy diets.

The law encourages actions such as (1) preservation of the best aspects of traditional food culture, (2) appreciation of food production in harmony with the environment, (3) revitalization of rural communities engaged in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and (4) improvement of food self-sufficiency. Mr. Yukio Hattori, President of Hattori Nutrition College and a proponent of the law, has been promoting food education in three areas: food selection ability, table manners, and global food issues.

Enactment of the Basic Law on Food Education

The government has been active on the issue of food education. Since the mid-1990s Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has been promoting health education that fosters life skills. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has been dealing with issues such as local production for local consumption and the nation's level of food self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, prompted by the emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and other food safety problems, the Council for the Promotion of Food Education was jointly established in November 2002 by three ministries: MEXT, MAFF and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). "Shoku-iku" (literally, food education) has become a unifying concept that covers diverse terminologies and movements in different circles: "food education" or "dietary guidance" by educators and nutritionists, "food-agriculture education" by agriculturists, children's cooking classes organized by citizens, and a campaign that promotes rice (instead of the currently more-common bread) in school lunch services.

Proponents say that people must pay more attention to and learn about their diets in order to solve problems related to food safety, misinformation, an overdependence on food imports, an increase in lifestyle related diseases, and so on. They say that food education should be boosted in a national effort to promote physical and mental health. This requires cooperation among families, schools and local communities as well as between rural producers and urban consumers who value the traditional food culture.

'Early to Bed, Early to Rise plus Breakfast' Campaign

Studies have suggested that physical and mental health problems (loss of interest in learning, physical weakness, obesity, and short tempers) can be associated with disruptions of children's lifestyles at home, including eating and sleeping habits. A 2004 survey on health and nutrition by the MHLW in Japan found that 3.0 percent of children aged 7 to 14 and 34 percent of men in their twenties did not eat breakfast.

To improve the situation, MEXT came up with the "Early to Bed, Early to Rise plus Breakfast" publicity campaign as part of its food education efforts, believing that this would help children develop healthy and regular lifestyles. In 2006, a national council was established to promote this campaign on a private-sector basis. The council has been conducting promoting awareness throughout the nation, aiming to create momentum in society to support family education through efforts by the whole community.

'Tokushima Miso Soup Project' at Ichiba Elementary School

Now, let us introduce a unique program, named the "Tokushima Miso Soup Project," led by Mr. Yuji Fujimoto, a teacher at Ichiba Elementary School in Awa City, Tokushima Prefecture. The school has been active in community-based food education since 2005, when Ichiba Town (recently changed to Awa City as a part of municipal amalgamation) was designated by MEXT as a model municipality of schools, families and communities joining forces to promote environmental education. Mr. Fujimoto, head of environmental education at the school, has long been involved in education with focus on food and agriculture as teaching materials, while inviting cooperation in classes of various subjects and integrated study. The school has been providing children with hands-on learning experiences to help them develop life skills through interaction with people in the community.

The "Tokushima Miso Soup Project" at Ichiba Elementary School was launched to cope with the growing number of children who could not concentrate in morning classes because they skipped breakfast or stayed up late the previous night. Under the project, teachers use traditional Japanese miso soup, which is familiar to children, as a means to draw their attention to food, communities, and the environment. The school conducted this project in collaboration with two other schools in the prefecture. By studying miso soup, students became aware of the importance of having breakfast, and developed an appreciation for their community. They also enjoyed "eco-cooking" using locally produced food in season. Their study then evolved into discussions about the issue of food self-sufficiency.

In the first semester of 2006, the school children researched what ingredients are used for miso soup and then prepared their own miso, or fermented soybean paste. In the second semester, they cooked special miso soup using the handmade miso and locally produced food. As a preparation for the cooking, they studied seasonal foods, and noticed that many of the seasonal food items are now available at any time of year, regardless of the season. This was a cue to look at various factors behind food supplies, such as advances in cultivation techniques, advanced cooling and freezing technologies, and increasing imports. They also discussed issues of local consumption of local products and the environment, based on the results of their 2005 program in which they cooked noodles, to practice the concept of local consumption of local products. In this noodle program, the school invited a representative of the Regional Agricultural Administration Office to talk about the current situation of food self-sufficiency in Japan, and the viability of local consumption of local products. Children learned about the risks of overdependence on imported foods. When asked their impressions, their comments were telling: "We'll be in trouble if food imports stopped suddenly." "Imported food has environmental impacts in producing countries." "Food security is something to think about."

At the end of October, Ichiba Elementary School received soup stock made by students of Shishikui Elementary School, and good wakame seaweed from Naruto-higashi Elementary School. These schools are partners in an educational exchange program. Using the miso paste made in the first semester, students of Ichiba Elementary School prepared miso soup just like their ancestors had done, using local seasonal foods and ingredients they had obtained through trade, as well as homemade ingredients. In a sense, the students experienced a traditional way of life. They discovered that there is nothing quite like the aroma from a newly-opened barrel of handmade miso paste.

In the third semester, students learned about their community's seasonal vegetables. Mr. Fujimoto thinks that since miso soup is universal in Japan (with regional variations), it would be an excellent tool for an educational exchange program across the country. He is proposing to expand the miso soup project nationwide based on its success in Tokushima Prefecture.

The campaign "Early to Bed, Early to Rise plus Breakfast" produced a number of positive results: children became more attentive in classes; their parents' rhythm of daily life and physical fitness improved; and people spent more time with their families, building closer relationships with their neighbors.

Heiwado Declaration to Promote Food Education Activities

Today in Japan consumers can easily buy box lunches, "onigiri" (rice balls), and ready-to-eat side dishes at supermarkets and convenience stores. As more people prefer simple and easy-to-prepare meals and purchase prepared foods, food-related industries are playing in increasingly important role. Supermarkets are now being expected not only to sell food, but also to serve as information providers about products.

Since its establishment in 1957, Heiwado, a general retail chain with 94 stores (headquarters in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture), has been promoting various food education initiatives to encourage healthy diets for mind and body. As a food distributor the company considers these activities as part of its corporate social responsibility.

According to its website and social and environmental report, Heiwado established a committee for the promotion of food education, and in May 2006 declared on its website that it would promote hands-on food education activities with the aim of promoting safe food and healthy living for customers.

Heiwado's activities include (1) encouraging people to eat daily more than five dishes of vegetables and more than 200 grams of fruit; (2) disseminating information to improve diets, in collaboration with food manufacturers; (3) increasing each year the ratio of locally-produced vegetables at stores, in order to promote the local consumption of local products; and (4) revitalizing traditions by publishing booklets about nutrition, traditional Japanese cuisine, and food culture.

Food and diet are intimately connected to our daily lives. Everyone could benefit by reflecting on our diet and paying more attention to what we eat each day. And consideration of our own communities and planet will also lead us toward environmentally-friendly diets. This article has reported on some of the trends and initiatives happening in Japan. We hope it will inspire others around the world to support the idea of food education.

(Written by Eiko Yukawa)