Category Archives: Others

Products made from wheat flour, such as bread, pizza, noodles and cakes, are popular foods on the table all over the world. However, there are people who can’t eat them. They are the people with wheat allergy or celiac disease who are sensitive to gluten, a mixture of proteins found in wheat and related grains. Meanwhile, rice is a grain but is gluten-free. Rice flour is attracting attention as healthy food and has growing potential for exports. The government should create a gluten-free labeling system for rice flour products which can be accepted at home and abroad. There are a wide variety of good-tasting products made from wheat flour, but … Continue reading →

[By Nobuhiro Suzuki, Professor of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences] Recently, Japan is repeatedly hit by butter shortages. The Regulatory Reform Council has attributed the shortage to dwindling income of dairy farmers who are unable to market their products freely because of the government’s system of designating organizations which control collection and sales of raw milk. But is this really true? My friend who teaches at University of Florida told me that the United States government treats the dairy industry almost like public utility companies such as electricity and gas, as it is necessary to maintain an orderly marketing of raw milk. In Western countries, … Continue reading →

  Mosses are now gaining slowly, but surely, popularity among city people. Gardening service industry has been increasing its demand for mosses replacing lawns in the garden. Mosses are also popular especially among young females as their favorite goods for interior decoration and the like. In Gotsu-shi, Shimane prefecture, farmers and a cosmetic company based at Osaka, president of which comes from the city, jointly established a moss producers’ association to meet growing demands for mosses on contract basis. Only a few examples of such organization are available in the country. Reiji Ishihara, 36, quit his corporate job last year and joined the moss production with his wife, because he … Continue reading →