Seeds of Resistance, Seeds of Hope: Place and Agency in the Conservation of Biodiversity

8. Preserving Soybean Diversity in Japan

177 CHAPTER EIGHT Preserving Soybean Diversity in Japan Richard Moore Among industrialized countries, Japan has one of the lowest levels of food security. Although self-sufficient in rice, overall the country only produces 28 percent of its grain needs and a mere 5 percent of food and feed soybean requirements (MAFF 2005; Norin Tokei Kyokai 2003). Despite this reality, the Japanese people are strongly opposing and actively resisting the importation of genetically engineered (GE) soybeans and free-market conventional non-GE soybeans. The purpose of the resistance is to protect the biodiversity of local soybean varieties that have developed in Japan over the millennia. Soy, along with rice, is one of the most culturally significant foods in the traditional Japanese diet. This chapter examines the diversity and importance of soy foods in Japan, the nature of soy production, effects of global trade liberalization, and local resistance to the introduction of foreign varieties, especially those with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Japanese case demonstrates that cultural resistance combined with linking local producers to consumers can be a powerful countervailing force to the hegemony and comparative advantages of global markets. Japanese Soybeans in Historical and Regional Contexts Soybeans were first domesticated in China 4,000–5,000 years ago. The production of soymilk, which is used as a drink and to make tofu, started around 164 BC in the Han Dynasty of China. About 900 years later soy foods spread to Japan along with Buddhism and vegetarianism (Shurtleff and Aoyagi 1984; Liu 1997). Traditionally, Japanese diets have centered on rice and soybeans. While rice symbolically was tied to the Shinto religion, soybeans provided protein to a diet rich in fish and vegetables. Miso soup, based on a paste made by fermenting boiled soybeans with a mixture of rice or wheat, is usually served with rice. Both miso and rice are based on regionally selected varieties adapted to differences in altitude and latitude of the narrow archipelago. As a result of the isolation of each of the 270 feudal domains in Japan during the Tokugawa Period (1603–1868), local recipes were developed that were finely tuned to local environmental and cultural differences (Shurtleff and Aoyagi 1976, 1984, 2004). Today, the soybean continues to be a quintessential item in the Japanese diet and is rivaled only by rice in the number of ways it can be prepared. Table 8.1 shows the main soybean preparations in the Japanese diet. In 2000, the food soybean usage in Japan was 60 percent tofu, 15 percent natto, 11 percent miso, 6 percent soy protein, 5 percent soy sauce, 2 percent frozen tofu, and 1 percent soy milk. The amount in 1,000 metric tons of soybeans used for each category of soy product and the percentage supplied domestically is as follows: soybean oil, 3,616 (0 percent); tofu, 495 (15.2 percent); miso, 188 (5.9 percent ); natto, 128 (10.9 percent); boiled specialty soybeans, 33 (84.8 percent); other, 174 (14.4 percent); feed, 105 (0 percent); and seed, 5 (100 percent) (Hisano 1999; Kiyomizu 2000). Each soy food category is expressed in regional differences within Japan . For instance, natto is favored by people living in the Tohoku region (the northern six prefectures on Honshu Island). People in Sendai, the regional capital of Tohoku, also enjoy eating zunda mochi every Obon, the season when the spirits of dead ancestors come back to visit the living . Zunda mochi is made from crushed green soybeans mixed with glutinous rice. Sendai also is known for Sendai miso, a salty dark reddish miso fermented for one to three years that has subtly sweet undertones and a deep fragrance. Sendai miso has a high percentage of koji rice, the mold created by inoculating rice with Aspergillus oryzae, and is lower in carbohydrates. In the case of Sendai miso, the production lineage can be traced back to the individual merchants manufacturing it for the feudal lord in 1601. Shinshu miso is named after another feudal domain in what is now the area around Nagano Prefecture; it has a radiant light yellowbrown color, less rice koji, and a shorter fermentation time and is a bit more tart with a smoother texture. Consumption of soy products in Japan has gradually decreased during the last half of the 20th century. In 178 Agency and Reterritorialization 179 Table 8.1. Soybean categories in the Japanese diet Soy Food Name Preparation Role in Diet Miso...