Domestic fair trade

Think about the farmers who support our lives

The expression "fair trade" is being heard more and more these days. It describes the idea of developed countries and developing countries engaging in fair trade. Fair trade goods, such as coffee and embroidered accessories, can now be bought easily in shops and online.

At the same time, have you heard the expression "domestic fair trade"? This fair trade movement involves consumers actively buying and supporting agricultural products and foods that are produced domestically.

Is it the case that you automatically look for less expensive items when you go shopping? Is the amount of money you pay for the food you buy and eat every day sufficient for farmers to make a living?

One reason that people hesitate to take over farms is the fact that it's hard to earn a living from farming. What is a "suitable price" for the food we eat? In this issue of Peace Seeds, we ponder issues involving food, an essential element in sustaining our lives.

Keeping milk cows / Planting tomatoes

Mr. Oki (right) talks to the junior writers as he guides them around his farm.

Masafumi Oki, 51, runs the "Tom Milk Farm" in the city of Higashi Hiroshima. He keeps a herd of about 220 milk cows and produces some 1,200 tons of milk a year.

Because of the atomic bombing, his grandfather left his work in the transportation industry and began farming around 1950. Mr. Oki joined the family farm in 1980.

A few years before Mr. Oki started working on the farm, the selling price by processing companies that sterilize and package the milk hit its peak. One reason the price has fallen since that time is because these companies began selling milk on sale and thus were forced to lower the amount they would pay to farmers for their milk.

In such circumstances, Mr. Oki started making ice cream from his milk in 2005 and selling it on the farm. And this past spring he opened a restaurant alongside the farm that serves "milk curry" dishes. By engaging in activities in which he processes and sells milk products directly, not simply producing milk, Mr. Oki is seeking to increase his revenue and strengthen the farm's operations.

He also welcomes visitors to raise public awareness of dairy farms. "Milk isn't an industrial product," Mr. Oki stressed. "I want people to understand that other living creatures are blessings to our lives."

Tatsuki Nishida, 39, of the town of Kita Hiroshima, has been growing cherry tomatoes for three years. He has thought long and hard about ways to maintain the financial health of his farm, and has pursued such ideas as using fertilizer that is automatically applied to his crops and selling tomatoes with a poor appearance to a ketchup maker.

窶廬 want to prove that we can make a living from farming,窶・Mr. Nishida said with enthusiasm. 窶廣nd increase the number of people who want to get involved in agriculture.窶・(Minako Iwata, 18, Miyu Sakata, 15, Yusuke Suemoto, 15, and Reiko Takaya, 14 )

Mr. Nishida and his wife are growing cherry tomatoes. (Photo taken by Miyu Sakata, 15)

Mr. Kato shows vegetables to be delivered to consumers. (Photo taken by Shoko Kitayama, 15)

Receive orders and deliver local farm products

"Ikiiki Sanchoku" is a group composed primarily of farmers that was established in 2006. The leader of the group, Noriaki Kato, 59, lives in the city of Fukuyama. They obtain agricultural products directly from farms in Hiroshima and Shimane Prefectures, bypassing the marketplace, then receive orders for these products and deliver them to consumers.

The prices paid by the group are set by the farmers themselves. Beef from cattle raised with mainly domestic feed and vegetables grown with little or no chemicals are delivered to about 1,000 families in Hiroshima Prefecture. Such products are especially popular among families with children.

Around 1975, as pollution became a serious concern and people's awareness of food safety grew, Mr. Kato began breeding livestock and cultivating vegetables north of Osaka. About 20 years ago, seeking a new and larger farm, he relocated to the city of Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture. The delivery service was launched with his wish to "form a bridge between reliable producers and consumers."

To create an ideal cycle, where the producers can continue to produce their agricultural products and the consumers can buy safe food, Mr. Kato says that "The three parties--the producers, the distributors, and the consumers--should all be viewed as equals." (Mizuki Yata, 16 and Arisa Shiromoto, 14)

Buy produce directly at a fixed price

Mr. Akiyama (left) talks to a customer in his shop.

"Verde" is a company that runs two fruit and vegetable shops in Fukuoka Prefecture. The Verde staff buy fresh vegetables directly from farmers and sell this produce at their shops. The fresh food offered by Verde has made the shops popular with consumers.

Regardless of the amount, Verde buys its vegetables at a fixed price in order to help the farmers maintain a stable income. For example, a head of lettuce is always 105 yen, whether the harvest is good or poor. In return, they ask the farmers to produce safe and tasty produce grown with little or no use of chemicals.

Like the wholesale price, the retail price is fixed, too. The price of vegetables at Verde shops is sometimes higher than at supermarkets nearby, but the staff does its best to explain the reasons for this to shoppers to gain their understanding. Every day they also offer customers the chance to taste samples of four or five different products in their stores.

Verde was founded in 2001 by Isao Akiyama, 52, who had worked for a company dealing with agricultural machinery. Verde takes in about 120 million yen a year from its shops and its wholesale business. It now has ties with some 100 farmers.

Hiroshi Inoue, head of a consulting company for community development

"If consumers demand only low prices, farmers will be put out of work. The food we need to sustain our lives will disappear," said Hiroshi Inoue, 59. Mr. Inoue, a former civil servant for the city of Iida in Nagano Prefecture, now heads a consulting company for community development. He travels around Japan providing guidance to revitalize farming villages and promoting the idea of "domestic fair trade."

He points out that Japanese agricultural products are viewed with an eye on low prices, not according to the necessary expenses required to produce them, such as labor and seeds. Agriculture is dependent on weather conditions and damage sometimes occurs through disease or pests. "Farm products demand a lot of time and effort from the farmers' hands," Mr. Inoue stressed, "so they shouldn't be put on sale like industrial goods that can be mass-produced in line with a fixed plan."

Typically, agricultural products move from farmers to consumers through agricultural cooperatives, wholesale markets, and then retail shops. If farmers attempt to sell their produce at an amount appropriate to their costs, consumers, who want cheap vegetables, would balk at paying higher retail prices.

Japan as a nation produces less than 40% of the food it needs (on a calorie basis). To improve this rate of self-sufficiency, Mr. Inoue says, "It's important that everyone concerned, like the farmers and distributors and consumers, be considerate of each other's needs." Understanding agriculture in Japan, and buying and supporting locally-produced food, are vital aims for us all.

After the massive earthquake which struck eastern Japan on March 11, a movement to buy and support agricultural products from the disaster-hit area has appeared. Mr. Inoue says this is one example of "domestic fair trade." He hopes the idea of appreciating the food produced throughout the nation will spread more widely. (Kana Kumagai, 16)

Noriko Segawa, representative of an NPO for consumers

Ms. Segawa says, "We need to be wise consumers." (Photo taken by Reiko Takaya, 14)

Noriko Segawa, 63, representative of an NPO for consumers in Hiroshima that seeks to support area agriculture, sat down for an interview with us about how consumers can help promote "domestic fair trade."

Ms. Segawa mentioned five important actions that can help protect Japanese agriculture and promote fair trade: 1) Show interest in the producers of the products; 2) Appreciate the food you eat and eat everything on your plate; don窶冲 waste food; 3) Buy locally-produced agricultural products; 4) Realize that the taste is the same, regardless of a "bad" appearance; and 5) Buy cartons of milk with earlier expiration dates, usually placed in front of the other cartons.

For example, curved cucumbers can't usually be found in the supermarket, but if you visit a farmer's market, fresh produce like this comes directly from local farms. You can then pay prices that the farmers themselves have set and you know who the producers are and that you're buying safe food. And the farmers don't have to throw away vegetables that are shaped "bad."

Ms. Segawa told us that consumers wanting to buy things at low prices isn't always bad, and she encouraged us to consider our criteria when we buy food products. "Whether price or safety is a higher priority depends on you," she said. "But we all need to be wise consumers." (Yuka Iguchi, 15 and Kantaro Matsuo,12)