Study of Organic Livestock Agri-food System Comparison between Japan and EU

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The situation surrounding organic foods has been undergoing a significant change since the beginning of 1990's. While organic agriculture has been practiced as a grass root movement, as many consumers seek safe products and agriculture harmonizing with environment, the global organic market is being formulated. In particular the outbreak of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalophathy) has accelerated the expansion of organic market.As a result of such an expansion of the organic market, the food industry, which had not shown an interest in organic foods, now defines the organic sector as. the strategically important one in its management, and is engaging in a severe international competition.Regarding the organic livestock farming, while the formulation of standards has progressed at the global level, discussions have not been intense in Japan. In respect of the formulation of the CODEX guidelines of organic livestock farming, in spite that its contents have important implications to change … More s in the entire standards of organic agriculture, responses in Japan has so far been limited to a partial amendments of the Japan Agricultural Standards (JAS) in the framework of the Japan Agricultural Standard Act. It has failed to nurture the exhaustive discussions at citizens level as carried out in EU. In the current situation in Japan where the self-sufficiency ratio of livestock feeds remains very low, it is difficult to realize the organic livestock farming that promotes a recycling system within an area, and due to the fact that a large part of imported feeds are genetically modified organisms (GMO), the formulation of organic livestock farming standards itself has been put into question. These factors altogether have resulted in a limited interest in the organic livestock farming. However since the outbreak of BSE, in relation to investigation of the causes, the establishment of safety management system of livestock products has become an urgent issue, and the interest in organic livestock farming has been rapidly increasing Less