午夜剧场

The SDGs have become the new global rules, and all industries must now conduct business based on the premise of sustainability. Looking at the goals set forth in the SDGs, one notices that the core is ethical consideration for the environment, people, and animals. This ethical consideration is called "ethical." In the West, the ethical consumption movement emerged in the 1980s and has grown into a major wave that continues today. From my perspective, the SDGs appear to be a derivative of that context. This book explains ethical consumption specifically in the context of "food."

Why did I write on this theme? I was a student in the second graduating class of SFC, and I was the one who cleared a field on campus to create "Yaofuji," a club for growing vegetables. Since graduation, I have remained in the world of agricultural and livestock product distribution while also working as a food journalist. My theme since my student days has been to increase the income of producers, but this is quite difficult in Japan because not only consumers but also distributors demand low prices. In the midst of this, 13 years ago, I encountered the wave of ethical consumption in the West and became convinced that if this movement spread, it could increase producers' income. While continuing my work, I enrolled in the Doctoral Programs at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, and conducted field research in the UK, a leader in ethical consumption. What I faced there was a historical and cultural gap between the Western concept of ethical and the Japanese one. To put it bluntly, from the perspective of Western ethical values, the current situation is that many Japanese food products are considered "unethical." To bridge this gap and have Japanese food recognized as ethical by the world, we must establish a Japanese version of ethical while understanding Western perspectives. This book provides hints on what is necessary to achieve that.

There are likely many 午夜剧场 alumni involved in the world of food. In order to promote Japan's valuable food products and dining services to the world, it is necessary to appeal not only to "Japanese-style merits" but also to "Japanese merits based on global trends." To present Japanese food culture to the world with pride, an overall upgrade is necessary. I hope this book will be of some help in that regard.

Kenji Yamamoto

Kadokawa Shinsho

256 pages, 990 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.