Where Does Food Come From? Part 1

 It isn't exactly new news, but this article about Lawson convenience store adding an organic range
made me think about the attention paid to food sourcing in Japan versus Australia. In my local Australian supermarket, fresh produce was only labelled with its origin if it came from overseas. My bananas probably required an eight hour aeroplane trip to get to me, but because they were domestic they weren't labelled. Non-supermarket contracted produce was available at independent grocers or at markets. In contrast, all produce and meat here is labelled with the prefecture of origin. Also, all the supermarkets in my neighbourhood here in Kyushu have a "co-op corner" where local, usually cheaper, produce and preserves are sold from plastic crates and without fancy packaging or refrigeration. The local produce often has the name of the individual who grew it. I love that personal touch.

The local farmers are always elderly

Tomatoes are so expensive out of season :(