Perspectives

The link between soft drinks and genetically modified (GM) foods is just one facet of the wide use of GM crops in food products. It is estimated that about half of the grains imported by Japan are GM foods whose safety has been confirmed. While GM crops are not used in such products as natto (fermented soybeans), tofu and snack foods, GM-derived cooking-oil, as well as beef and eggs from cows and chickens that have been given GM feed are already on the market.

In Japan, many food manufacturers are reluctant to label GM foods for fear of a consumer backlash. Furthermore, as GM labeling is not mandatory for high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) -- a sweetener made using GM corn -- and cooking oil because GM genes do not remain in those products after processing, consumers have no way of knowing if such products were made from GM ingredients.

It is true that the government recognizes the safety of GM corn, and that the major Japanese soft drink manufacturers that were found to use GM-derived HFCS in their beverages are at no institutional fault. But it is also true that consumers are being denied the opportunity to make their own choices. Major supermarket chain Aeon and some consumers' cooperatives voluntarily provide GM information for their products, but they are still a minority.

Some 80 percent of corn grown in the U.S. -- Japan's major source of imports -- is genetically-modified, making it difficult to secure non-GM corn supplies. To share the costs and other elements of the current situation with consumers, it is time for food manufacturers to provide GM information not only for their beverages, but for other products. (By Kazuyuki Endo, Lifestyle News Center)