Japan Offspring Fund (JOF) Monthly Newsletter
Dec. 2004, No.188

* Supersize Me documentary opens in Japan The award-winning American documentary Supersize me opens in Japan on December 25. Japan Offspring Fund saw the funny, scary - but true - story by Morgan Spurlock, who ate only at McDonald's for a whole month. Not only did he get fatter and fatter, he also got sicker and sicker... He gained 11 kilograms and began showing early signs of heart disease, liver disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. "I felt terrible, awful," Spurlock said. "I had massive headaches, my cholesterol went up 65 points and my liver filled with fat." Our opinion is that this type of dining is especially dangerous for small children.

Morgan Spurlock visited Tokyo in October 2004. Also, do read this quote from his travel diary blog on http://blogs.indiewire.com/morganspurlock/archives.html

"None of the advertising driven [Japanese] TV or radio stations are coming to do interviews with me while here. Coincidence? I think not. In every country we go to, McDonald’s reps threaten media outlets with the fear of loosing their ad revenue if they talk to me or do stories on the film. This is just another rung in a tall ladder of media manipulation by a company that may only sell burgers and fries but still has the ability to influence what you see, hear and read. Nice free speech, right? Just think of what companies with REAL power are able to withhold from you in the news."

For info about the film in Japanese: http://www.supersizeme.jp

* Safe pork: how to avoid antibiotic resistance Japan Offspring interviewed veterinarian Dr. Kazuo Kogure. He is an outspoken critic of the way antibiotics are misused. Healthy farm animals should not be given antibiotics as growth promoters. The drugs are added to feed by feed manufacturers and dealers who profit from this unsafe practice. The problem is that it leads to increased resistance among bacteria. By eating pork and other meat from animals fed with a lot of antibiotics, consumers are increasingly at risk.

* Vacuum cleaners tested We tested popular models of vacuum cleaners and were surprised to find a lot of dust particles in the exhaust from most of the models. For kids and others with allergies, it can make a big difference to pick a properly designed vacuum cleaner. We also did a decibel test of four models. Dyson DC12 was noisiest and Electrolux Oxygen Z5954 was the most quiet. The Dyson machine reached above 90 dB which is REAL loud.

Read more here about Testing Vacuum Cleaners