Food Consciousness Workshop at Glasgow University (24th February 2023)

On Friday the 24th of February, an environmental-focused seminar was held at the University of Glasgow. This event was co-hosted with the university on the theme of Japanese food culture and the concept of "mottainai" from the perspective of health and sustainability. This was particularly relevant to the COP26 summit, which was held in Glasgow the year before last. Consul General Tadashi Fujiwara gave an opening speech, followed by a lecture by Dr. Yazaki, a lecturer at the University of Glasgow's Department of Religious Studies, on everyday food awareness, using food miles and food loss as examples. This was followed by an explanation by Ms. Yokoyama, a Japanese cooking expert living in London, of the cultural background of Japanese food, represented by traditional Buddhist cuisine as a cuisine that uses even the skin of vegetables as part of the dishes. Following this, there was a chance to taste pickled vegetables as well as watch a demonstration of the making of sushi rolls from vegetable trimmings. There was then an explanation about crackers made from rice flour produced by grinding sake. At the reception following the lecture, pickled vegetables, sushi rolls, sake, and rice crackers were served.

Participants were able to learn how Japanese food is prepared with the key word "mottainai" in mind, and many said it was a good opportunity for them to pay attention to environmental considerations in their daily meals.