Reuters | October 28, 1999 | Aya Takada
TOKYO - Officials have ruled, according to this story, that when children in the Japanese city of Kawagoe on Tokyo's outskirts sit down for their school lunch, nothing on their plate must contain genetically changed food.
The story says that the decision, which follows a petition from parents, reflects a slowly growing controversy over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that has led seven other Japanese local governments to also eliminate genetically modified (or GM) foods from school meals.
An education committee in Kawagoe City, which daily provides meals to about 28,000 students in 56 local schools, basically selects home-grown farm products for the meals, because genetic engineering technology is not used in domestic farming.
When it purchases food produced from imported farm products, the committee buys it from suppliers who can certify that their products are free from GM ingredients, such as soybean and corn.
Kawagoe is one of eight Japanese local governments that have recently decided to eliminate GM foods from school lunches.
Such moves are a result of a campaign against GMOs staged nationwide by Japanese consumers, said an action group leader.
