Auntie Beeb wrote:Is Japan playing hunger games with climate change?
The impact of rising temperatures on the world's food supplies is a key issue for climate experts meeting in Japan. But food security is not just about developing countries. As environment correspondent Matt McGrath reports, a changing climate is one of a number of issues pushing Japan towards a food crisis.
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"The whole food system (in Japan) is not secure at all, "said Dr Raquel Moreno Penaranda, from the United Nations University in Yokohama.
Japan imports more than 60% of the calories it consumes, she says.
Affluence allows Japan to buy from world markets without concern, but climate change could alter that very quickly.
"We don't know how long these countries are willing to export cheap food to Japan. If that situation changes, you will need to find new suppliers, fast," she explains.
Consumers have also lost trust in the authorities since the Fukushima disaster and several Chinese food scares. Japanese farmers are getting older and their numbers are declining.
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