Major grain producer, Cargill, starts segregating produce

<Tofu>After our disclosure of fake "organic non-pesticide" labeling on Tofu products last March, most companies changed their labeling to a read "Domestic product." At that time, labels reading "Domestic product" could only be used on Tofu made with at least 50% domestic soybeans. Since August 10, however, only Tofu made from 100% domestic soybeans can be labeled as such. So Tofu containing imported soybeans is labeled differently like "soybeans rigidly selected."
<Miso: bean paste>Soybeans imported from the U.S. are not used in Miso ingredients since the types of soybeans are different. Therefore, Miso rarely contains GM soybeans.
<Natto: fermented soybeans>Most natto is made from Chinese soybeans, so natto too rarely contains GM soybeans.
<Cornstarch>Change to starch made from domestic potatoes.
<Corn snacks>select products with "non-GM" labeling; these will appear shortly on the market here.


Select correct products even with no labeling

Products exempt from labeling requirements, such as soy sauce, vegetable oil, corn flakes, potato products, and margarine can be also be easily avoided as well.

<Soy sauce>Choose Nisshin Food's, "using organically-grown corn -- 'Grain principle.'"
<Vegetable oil> Instead of oil made from soybeans, rapeseed, corn, and cotton, choose ones made from safflower, sesame seed, sunflower, grapes, olives and rice.
<Margarine> Choose butter, which also offers less calories and is cheaper, since the amount of oil used is usually less than in margarine. If you still prefer margarine to butter, choose "Safflower high-plus," by Sokensha, for those with a light taste preference, and "Olive soft," by Meiji Nyugyo, for full-bodied preference.
<Potato products> Choose those made from domestic potatoes. Since fresh potatoes cannot be imported into Japan, sliced potato chips are made from domestic produce. Most types of croquettes, including frozen ones, are made from domestic potatoes.
<Eggs and Meat> Almost 99% of stock feed is imported, therefore, it is difficult to avoid non-GM feed. Nevertheless, some farms use only domestic feed, for instance, two farms introduced in the JOF last newsletter:

* Uozumi Farm (tel & fax: +81-299-43-6826) One set of eggs and vegetables is about 5000 Japanese yen. A chicken is 1200 yen (delivery charge is not included).

*Masumi chicken farm (tel & fax: +81-859-72-0655) One set of 50 eggs is about 5000 yen (delivery charge included).

Articles

Trading companies, manufacturers and retail stores start taking action

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Since the announcement of the labeling requirement for GM foods by MAFF, news about GM foods has dramatically increased. Even products that are exempt from the requirementd are to be labeled "non-GM." To meet consumer demand, severe battles among corporations have started. For example in the beer business, on exactly the same day Kirin announced its shift to non-GM ingredients, Sapporo announced the same policy as Kirin. Corporations had already decided that consumers will choose "Non-GM" products, instead of "GM" or "non-segregation" products. Therefore, let's support the purchase of "non-GM" products. Such action accelerates competition among corporations to provide non-GM products. In fact, the label, "Non-segregation," is equivalent to "GM," so it is necessary to encourage the boycott of products labeled "non-segregation" from now on.


Quick reactions by large, chain grocery stores

- Nihon Seifun (milling) announced the sales of non-GM corn (corn grit) from this October and flour for tempura within this year. These prices are expected to be higher than general products ( Nikkei newspaper, Aug. 13).


Labeling on products exempted from the requirement

Kirin announced that cornstarch, an ingredient of Kirin beer, will be shifted to non-GM by 2001. Sapporo also announced a similar plan. Asahi and Suntory are investigating their own countermeasures (Nikkei, Tokyo and other newspapers, August 24, 25).


Signs of volunteer labeling among restaurants

* A chain restaurant, Jonathan, plans to label menus marking those items that are made using non-GM materials. Its subsidiaries, Skylark and Aiya also have the same plan (Nihon Nogyo newspaper, August 21).
* Skylark, a family restaurant chain, will label "non-GM soybeans used" entrees on its menu from as early as this November (Mainichi newspaper, Sep.12).


A rush of requests to inspection organizations

The Center of gene analysis (Shiga prefecture) has received a rush of requests, three times as many as last year. One of the largest inspection organizations, Genetic ID, opened its analysis center (Yokohama City) in October, a half year earlier than its original plan. In the U.S., requests for inspections have greatly increased for products destined for the Japanese market (Tokyo newspaper, Aug. 18).


Problem corporations also take quick responses

* Nisshin Seiyu (oil manufacturer) decided to change to non-GM soybeans in sales to Tofu manufacturers from this December; however, its main soy oil ingredients will remain the same.
* Nisshin Shokuhin has announced a shift to non-GM ingredients, such as fried bean curd and Miso soup, in cups of instant noodles from September 2000.


Trading companies had expected the adoption of labeling requirements

* The Association of Kanto soybean wholesales will buy non-GM soy from the U.S. from this fall. It had a deal with trading companies for two hundreds tons of such soy per month from this November at the earliest (Nikkei newspaper, August 18).
* Itochu trading company will switch to non-GM for most all of its imported soy to be used in food products from this October (Nikkei newspaper, Sep. 7).


Certification by third-party organizations is likely to increase

* The Japanese Association of Oil Certification will start inspecting and certifying mixtures of GM ingredients, such as soybeans, from this fall. * Nissho Iwai will start business on a consignment basis with inspection companies. * Mitsubishi trading will establish a certification company with Takara Shuzo (distilling) (Nikkei newspaper, August 27).


Reluctant bureaucrats finally begin to take action

* The Ministry of Health and Welfare will start sampling inspections of imported soy, corn and rapeseed in five harbor-quarantine stations, such as Tokyo and Yokohama, from this fall (Nikkei newspaper, August 4).


Strong influence on the U.S

* National associations related to agriculture have asked farmers to choose non-GM corn for the next planting season. * Manufacturers of baby foods and pet foods which use only non-GM ingredients have increased, which in turn has lowered the price of GM crops (Kyodo news, Aug. 29, Nikkei, Sep. 16). * A major grain distributor, ADM, warmed farmers and grain suppliers to segregate ordinary crops from GM ones (Kyodo news, Sep. 2, Nikkei, Sep. 16). * A U.S. agribusiness giant, Cargill, the largest grain trading company, will reexamine its collection measures and plans to strengthen its segregation system (Nikkei, Sep. 16).


How victory has been achieved

In May 1998, the EU put labeling requirement into effect. Since then, the brakes have been put on the rapid growth of GM foods. Food companies stopped using GM crops and retailers also avoided them. Accordingly, almost all GM-food products disappeared from the EU market.

A paper in the British science magazine "Nature" in May accelerated the international campaign against GM foods. The magazine reported the negative impacts of GM crops on the environment. Since then, procedures for permitting new GM crops have been temporary frozen in many parts of the world.

As a result of these circumstances, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture attempted to speak positively--though with great deliberation--about labeling GM foods with higher nutritional value, allowing these GM crops to be sold at higher prices than traditional crops. He also touched on segregation as a means to sell non-GM crops at higher prices. In short, the U.S. tried to encourage selling GM crops with high nutritional value at a higher price, other types of GM crops at the same price as before, and non-GM crops at a slightly higher price. This strategy was a poorly disguised attempt to bolster agricultural earning by increasing prices on all crops, both GM and non-GM.

Then, this August, Japan's MAFF adopted labeling requirements for three types of crops, covering 7 varieties, 30 food products. In contrast, labeling requirements in the EU apply to only two types of crops. Japanese labeling requirements became stricter than those in the EU, and Japan imports more crops from abroad. Therefore, it was easy to imagine that the new Japanese requirements would have a great impact internationally. However, the change so far has been far beyond anyone's expectations. Now, the exclusion of GM foods is no longer a dream.

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Monsanto is put in a very difficult position

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Monsanto expected large profits from development and sales of GM crops, such as soybeans resistant to the pesticide "Roundup." Although Monsanto eagerly spread its name around the world, strong consumer resistance put its sales in danger.


Stock price down

In spite of good sales of pesticides for GM crops and in its pharmaceutical business, Monsanto's stock price has fallen 11% in the past six months. During the same period, there was an 18% decline in the stock price of a recent Monsanto acquisition, the company that produces "terminator seeds." As demand for GM crops has plummeted and dark clouds have gathered over future sales, stock traders are avoiding purchasing Monsanto stock.


A hope: GM crops

Monsanto is a U.S. biotech company, which developed and sold pesticides containing the notorious chemical, PCB, sales of which have been prohibited in many countries. Monsanto hoped that the development and sale of GM crops, which the company expected to be highly productive and environmentally friendly, would help erase its negative image.

Within 4 years in the U.S., 55% of the area under cultivation for soybeans was planted with Roundup-resistant soybeans. Sales of GM seeds, technical fees added to GM seeds, and sales of the pesticide Roundup seemed a revolutionary success. Mergers of seed companies and aggressive marketing increased internationally, resulting in GM crops being planted in increasing numbers all over the world until 1999.


Resistance from consumers changed Monsanto's fate

Monsanto, which seemed to be dominating the world market for GM crops, faced difficulties in Europe first. Beginning with consumer boycotts, food manufacturers and grain merchants began avoiding purchases of GM crops since the implementation of GM food labeling in May 1999. The procedure for permission to plant new GM crops was frozen. As a result, Monsanto cannot introduce its new variety of GM seeds to the EU market. Although Monsanto expected Brazil to be a good customer, a federal court judged ruled that Monsanto should carry out an environment impact assessment before selling its GM seeds. As a practical matter, Monsanto will not be able to sell these seeds in time for the next planting season. In addition to Japan, movements against GM crops have been spreading to other Asian countries, including India, South Korea and the Philippines.


Criticism against GM crops gets stronger in the U.S.

In the U.S. , where GM crops have been widely accepted, voices against GM crops and requests for labeling of GM foods have finally begun to increase. Being sensitive to consumers' needs, big merchants and Japanese trading companies have started placing premiums on non-GM crops and encouraging farmers to segregate non-GM crops from GM ones. The prices of GM crops have become relatively lower and buyers are hesitating to purchase them. Monsanto's business outlook may worsen even further next year, as sales of GM seeds are likely to decline.

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Let's deliver consumers' opinions to the food industry

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Labeling will be required for 30 types of food products due to the new labeling requirements. Therefore, JOF has been working on companies that sell products exempted from the labeling requirements by advocating consumers' opinions.


JOF shares consumers' opinions with all business sectors, in particular seven baby food companies which are exempt from the labeling requirements. We also research the companies' current plans by sending them questionnaires.

JOF has requested that Japanese agricultural cooperative associations declare a five-year moratorium on the plantation of GM crops. As for baby foods, the Japan Association of baby foods has agreed to switch to non-GM ingredients. We will soon receive a list of baby food products that contain GM ingredient. This baby food industry would be the earliest to switch to non-GM ingredient.


An effective measure---JOF video

Our comment supporting the MAFF labeling requirement was only picked up by one newspaper; however, our video about genetically engineered foods, especially a scene showing an insect dying after eating a GM potato leave was widely used by the mass media. After we released its copyright, more than 10 TV programs put it in on air.

Even in one discussion dominated by supporters of GM crops, the video clip made their discussion appear to be an exercise in making exuses for the use of GM crops. This visual measure makes audience understand the potential and unknown risks of GM crops. The video was used in Taiwan more than 10 minutes in total and CNBC's Asian coverage broadcasted the comments of our staff. JOF has been active in international field as well. Ms. Kumasawa, a JOF staff member, attend the OECD meeting and took part in high-level discussions. The next issue will report details of that meeting.

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First participation in OECD meeting as a consumer group Appeal for abolition of the concept of "substantial equivalence"

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Recently, a JOF staff member was an official participant in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) meeting on genetically modified foods. At the meeting, held in Paris from September 15, Mr. Tim Lobstein of Food Commission UK and Ms. Kumasawa of Japan Offspring Fund spoke out in favor of labeling all GM foods, as well as called for the abolition of the concept of "substantial equivalence," which was proposed by the OECD itself.


JOF has gained more international power to speak out. IACFO*, of which JOF is a member, was invited to participate by the OECD. The OECD wields considerable influence in world politics and economics. Our staff took part in the first meeting of the "Task Force for the safety of Novel Foods and Feed" for three days in September. IACFO is the first consumer group allowed to attend and participate in official talks. Following the meeting, JOF was contacted by a Japanese OECD staff member who praised the first participation of a Japanese NGO.

* The International Association of Consumer Food Organizations, founded in 1997, consists of three organizations, JOF, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (U.S.), and the Food Commission (U.K).


Insist on the abolition of "substantial equivalence"

The OECD brings together 29 countries, including European countries, the U.S., Canada and Japan to exchange information and opinions and cooperation on policies. OECD proposed the concept of "substantial equivalence," which would weaken safety evaluation regulations. Substantial equivalence takes the position that a new product is safe as long as the product has the same nutrients, and no toxic substances have been added. Therefore, GM corn is judged as substantially equivalent---therefore safe---unless GM corn has less nutritional value and Bt toxin is toxic to human beings. As shown in the JOF video, insects die from eating GM crops, while no insects die from eating ordinary crops. The OECD concept, however, would assume that both potatoes are the same, and thus "safe."

JOF insisted on the abolition of this concept. When Ms. Kumasawa stated the JOF position, citing the example of the Bt potato, representatives from EU countries nodded in assent. A representative from Austria came up later to shake her hand and personally praise her comment.


The OECD keeps away from labeling GM foods

At the OECD meeting, JOF called for comprehensive labeling of GM foods as a consumer right. The report of this meeting will be distributed to representatives by the next G8 Summit to be held next year from July 21 in Okinawa, Japan. Due to the time limitations at this meeting, Discussion of labeling standards were left to Codex the task of GM labeling.

There is a huge gap between the U.S. and Canada on one side, which insist that safety of GM foods is guaranteed, and European countries on the other side, which seek to evaluate the safety and impact on the environment of GM foods, based on the principle of precaution and prevention. JOF will continue to keep an eye on the international arena, including WTO, and keep reporting to consumers.

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