![\"It's](\"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Its-not-just-all-about-vegetables..jpg\")
<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 <\/b>Therefore, while many jars of Spanish olives and blocks of American cheese are likely to appear in my future in this country, I can still buy the majority of my groceries locally. I am lucky to live in semi-rural Aioi, for it is full of farming families that pack the local farmer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s market with stuff from their backyards. Not just that, but I can also procure locally-produced ice cream, tofu, honey, noodles, and so much more. Slowly I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m learning the beauty of eating and cooking seasonally, and the many detriments that come along with buying foods from unknown or far-off sources.<\/p>\n\u00e9\u0081\u00ba\u00e4\u00bc\u009d\u00e5\u00ad\u0090\u00e7\u00b5\u201e\u00e3\u0081\u00bf\u00e6\u008f\u203a\u00e3\u0081\u02c6\u00e3\u0081\u00a7\u00e3\u0081\u00aa\u00e3\u0081\u201e<\/b> <\/b>(idenshi kumikae denai) <\/i><\/b>Non-GMO<\/b>: Unlike in the US, there are regulations<\/a> regarding the labeling of foods that utilize genetically-modified ingredients in Japan. If a product contains more than 5% total mass of ingredients derived from genetically-modified crops, Japanese law requires that information to be noted on the label. However, most foods that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> utilize GM ingredients voluntarily specify so, using the term above, in their ingredients lists to make their products appealing. The most common GMOs used in food products are corn, canola, and soybeans. If, next to these foods in the ingredients list, the product doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t specify one way or the other, one might assume that between 0 and 5% of the ingredients comes from genetically-modified sources, though this rule of thumb probably applies to more widely commercially produced goods than it does to goods from your local farmer.<\/p>\n \u00e7\u201e\u00a1\u00e6\u00b7\u00bb\u00e5\u0160\u00a0<\/b>(mutenka) <\/i><\/b>No additives: <\/b>This is usually included on the labeling of processed foods, such as miso, that do not use any artificial additives or preservatives.<\/p>\n \u00e6\u0153\u2030\u00e6\u00a9\u0178<\/b>(y<\/i><\/b>\u00c5\u00ab<\/i><\/b>ki)<\/i><\/b>\u00ef\u00bc\u008f\u00e3\u201a\u00aa\u00e3\u0192\u00bc\u00e3\u201a\u00ac\u00e3\u0192\u2039\u00e3\u0192\u0192\u00e3\u201a\u00af<\/b>Organic: <\/b>The kanji term is slightly more common. When you buy from a farmer, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to remember that you are not necessarily buying organic food. There is great interest in Japan in permaculture and sustainability, and many farmers utilize these techniques to minimize their pesticide and fertilizer usage, but are keeping things so small that there is little point in getting organic-certified. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m willing to trust what my genki elderly neighbors are eating. Here are more specific terms to look for instead:<\/p>\n \u00e7\u201e\u00a1\u00e8\u00be\u00b2\u00e8\u2013\u00ac<\/b>(mun<\/i><\/b>\u00c5\u008d<\/i><\/b>yaku) <\/i><\/b>No pesticides: <\/b>This probably means that farmers use natural means to keep their plants pest-free, perhaps by using soaps as pesticides or keeping ducks in their rice paddies to keep the insect population down. Now that you are familiar with what types of food to look for, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s introduce the myriad types of marketplaces for purchasing local groceries<\/p>\n \u00e3\u0192\u2022\u00e3\u201a\u00a1\u00e3\u0192\u00bc\u00e3\u0192\u017e\u00e3\u0192\u00bc\u00e3\u201a\u00ba\u00ef\u00bd\u00a5\u00e3\u0192\u017e\u00e3\u0192\u00bc\u00e3\u201a\u00b1\u00e3\u0192\u0192\u00e3\u0192\u02c6<\/b>Farmer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Market: <\/b>Really, this is a catch-all term that probably won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lead you to the kind of farmer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s market you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking for (some offer the exact opposite<\/a> of regionally grown food, in fact). In searching or asking around, try one of the terms below instead:<\/p>\n \u00e7\u2030\u00b9\u00e7\u201d\u00a3\u00e5\u201c\u0081\u00e5\u00ba\u2014<\/b>(tokusansh<\/i><\/b>\u00c5\u008d<\/i><\/b>ten) <\/i><\/b>Specialty Shops: <\/b>Specialty shops typically sell all kinds of \u00e5\u0090\u008d\u00e7\u2030\u00a9, or famed goods, from your area<\/a>. They might range from souvenir shops to grocery stores to seafood markets, and likewise fluctuate in price, but they are guaranteed to carry products that have been produced locally.<\/p>\n \u00e3\u201a\u00a4\u00e3\u0192\u00b3\u00e3\u201a\u00b7\u00e3\u0192\u00a7\u00e3\u0192\u0192\u00e3\u0192\u2014<\/b>In-Shop vendors: <\/b>Especially in larger cities, one can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect to find stores entirely dedicated to local foods. As a result, there are many areas that have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in-shops,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d where local sellers can corner off their goods for purchase. In Hyogo, we can find many in-shops in A-Coops (the JA-run supermarket) as well as some MaxValus in the Kobe area, and the occasional department store. Goods from in-shop vendors are rather inconsistent: some carry local specialty products while others focus on produce, but either way, they’re probably worth a browse!<\/p>\n JA<\/b>\u00e3\u201a\u00b0\u00e3\u0192\u00ab\u00e3\u0192\u00bc\u00e3\u0192\u2014<\/b>: Central Union of Agriculture Cooperativea:<\/b> This is the major agricultural organization of Japan. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to be a union, but it does have many area-specific chapters that farmers pay dues towards to promote local agriculture. These local JA chapters organize many of the chokubaisho<\/i> in Hyogo.<\/p>\n \u00e9\u0081\u201c\u00e3\u0081\u00ae\u00e9\u00a7\u2026<\/b>(michi no eki)<\/i><\/b>\u00e3\u20ac\u20ac<\/b>Rest stops: <\/b>The network of highway rest stops in Hyogo also serve as chokubaisho<\/i>, although many carry primarily packaged local goods. My nearest michi no eki<\/i> is the primary greengrocer for my household.<\/p>\n After researching all of this, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve decided to create a map with English information, called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Hyogo Local Grocers Project<\/a>,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d based on the information I could find in Japanese<\/a>. However, as much as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d enjoy researching and reviewing these markets in English, wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it defeat the purpose to visit markets out of my own area? Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a compromise: I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll check out and report about the markets near me if you do the same. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d love to start featuring especially impressive markets in this column, as well as update the map with English reviews and more specific basic information, so if you find anything especially interesting, drop a line with your thoughts on it! miso.green.ht@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Once, a few years ago, another friend of the eco-friendly prerogative asked me which I would rather pay for, organic food or local food. My instant reaction was to say local. When comparing the carbon footprints of organic food that was transported from a far-off place to local food grown using non-natural fertilizers and insecticides,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":2628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false},"categories":[342,308],"tags":[300],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Plastic-is-basically-unavoidable-but-its-a-step-in-the-right-direction..jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2623"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Many JETs have told me about their woes in trying to find local produce. The truth is, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s EVERYWHERE, but there are a slew of terms to wade through before you can even know where to search for local foods. First, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about package labeling. Here are terms that concern hippie-folk:<\/p>\n
\n\u00e6\u0153\u2030\u00e6\u00a9\u0178\u00e8\u201a\u00a5\u00e6\u2013\u2122<\/b> <\/b>(y<\/i><\/b>\u00c5\u00ab<\/i><\/b>ki hiry<\/i><\/b>\u00c5\u008d<\/i><\/b>) <\/i><\/b>Organic fertilizers: <\/b>Many markets will also proudly tout their use of EM (aka bokashi<\/a>) as a fertilizing agent!<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00e6\u0153\u009d\u00e5\u00b8\u201a<\/b>(asaichi) <\/i><\/b>Morning Market: <\/b>As the name suggests, these are produce markets that operate for half-days or less. While they typically carry quality fruits and veggies, and the person that pulled them out of the ground will likely be the person you hand your money to, morning markets usually operate on irregular days and, even on weekends, are often too early for JET-folk to make it to.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00e7\u203a\u00b4\u00e5\u00a3\u00b2\u00e6\u2030\u20ac<\/b>(chokubaisho) <\/i><\/b>Farmer-Direct Sellers: <\/b>If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking for local produce as well as locally produced packaged foods, a chokubaisho<\/i> is probably your best bet. These places purchase products directly from farmers and sell them en masse in one large store without the price hikes caused by distributors. Chokubaisho<\/i> are everywhere, but you can often find them attached to these two terms:<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nUluwehi Mills<\/p>\n