HOUYHNHNM's SDGs Vol.1 Food Loss Issues: A Look at the Excellent Ice Cream from Mikoto-ya, a Fruit and Vegetable Producer. | feature

HOUYHNHNM's SDGs Vol.1
The food loss issue from the excellent ice cream from Mikoto-ya, a fruit and vegetable shop.

The SDGs, which we hear a lot about these days, are a set of 19 social issues, including poverty, education, and the gender gap, as well as environmental issues. The SDGs are not just a loose list of issues that need to be addressed; they have reached the point where they have become an imperative. However, the problem is so big that it is hard to know where to start. We want to start from a place that is within our reach, as in "Think Global, Act Local. This time, we visited Mr. Suzuki, the representative of "Mikotoya," a traveling greengrocer who has been dealing with food loss and the environment in the food world, and went to his newly opened store, "micotoya house. We interviewed him over a cup of ice cream, which comes in a variety of bizarre flavors and is too good to resist.

Photo_Mina Soma

Text_Shinri Kobayashi

Edit_Ryo Komuta

Not overpriced, but priced right.

Do you often incorporate information from advanced organic countries such as Germany and the U.S. in terms of SDGs?

Suzuki: I used to study. Compared to people from those countries, I think Japanese people are very selfish about the environment. Also, when we hear about environmental issues, we tend to talk about the ozone layer or carbon dioxide, but my European friends are more realistic, talking about the river near where they live. In Japan, many people choose organic food for their health, but I feel that many Westerners are more altruistic and want to do things for the environment or for the nearby rivers. I don't think it's a bad thing, but I think Japanese people seem to do it for fashion or lifestyle reasons. However, it may be different these days.

Newspapers are set up for customers to wrap vegetables purchased at the store themselves.

The SDGs have only been gaining attention in the last few years. In a mean-spirited way, many companies are now suddenly claiming to be working on the SDGs in a loud voice.

Suzuki: Nevertheless, I am sure there will be a positive impact. Because big companies can do in a flash what it would take us 100 years to do. But there are also a lot of things that are fake. In other words, it is relatively good, but you have to have an eye to judge properly. But it is a good thing in total to get attention and interest.

After that, I understand that people sometimes have a hard time buying vegetables that are grown with a lot of care because of their high price.

Suzuki: We also have a farm near this store where we grow vegetables. We grow vegetables for our own consumption. But the more we do it, the more respect we have for the farmers. It is important for us to feel that they are doing such hard work. In terms of what I mentioned earlier, people say that organic and organically grown vegetables are expensive, but we don't think they are. We don't think they are expensive, but that they are a fair price. We want people to think about why supermarket vegetables are so cheap. There are corporate efforts, so not everything is "cheap = bad," but there is a burden or unreasonableness somewhere. I want people to keep that in mind.