'Japan's First Food Miles' Cafe Gaining Popularity

Copyright The Association to Preserve the Earth

The Association to Preserve the Earth (Daichi wo Mamoru Kai, in Japanese), a corporation that provides an organic food home-delivery service, launched Japan's first "food miles" cafe, at Jiyugaoka in Tokyo, April 1, 2009, and it is turning out to be a success. The Tsucione Cafe serves up dishes using organic and additive-free vegetables and food ingredients, and it also indicates on the menu its food-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, in terms of "food miles," or the distance travelled by food to get to the restaurant.

Except for foods with "fair trade" certification, the association uses as much grown-in-Japan ingredients as possible. The company launched its food miles campaign in 2005 to promote the use of local products by indicating food miles on its menus in "pocos," with one poco representing 100 grams of CO2 emissions for food transport.

The chefs use seasonal vegetables, free-run chicken eggs raised on feed produced in Japan, and beef from short-horned cattle (Tankaku) from the village of Yamagata, in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture. Also, the seasonings and any processed foods used are made from healthy ingredients. The cafe's menu includes a wide variety of items ranging from breakfast, lunch, and dinner items to cake for dessert.

With a convenient space provided for storing baby strollers, a space covered with tatami mats, and a nursing room, the cafe is geared for customers with children. The floor is made of larch wood from Hokkaido. Japanese oak tables and tatami mats made from special rush grass from Kyushu furnish the space, while the interior design and layout are kept simple and natural.

Daichi-o-Mamoru-Kai(Association to Preserve the Earth) No.36 (August 2005)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/
027961.html
Daichi wo Mamoru Kai Opens Noodle Soup Shop Using Domestic Rice (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/029365.html

Posted: 2009/11/06 06:00:15 AM