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Mar 21, 2011

Today's harvest

 Today's harvest is shown below. A bunch of spinaches.

 Today I thinned them out and brought them to my parents. 

 Spinaches remind me of Fukushima, where is not only devastated by the earthquake and nuclear crisis but a major production area of spinaches in Japan. The Japanese government announced that radioactivity has been detected from spinaches and milk produced in the area. All distribution of spinaches and milk have been limited with the nation's emergency policy.
 I feel it very sad that the farmers in the are will suffer not only from less profit but from harmful rumors saying the goods would be radioactive-contaminated.
 The detected radioactive is actually higher than the standard set by the Japanese government but it's still so weak that it's not harmful for human beings yet.
 I understand consumers could be sensitive to the rumor but we have to act on accurate information for avoiding unsubstantiated panics. 
 

-- from iPad

10 comments:

Robin said...

Your spinach looks lovely. It's a shame that the media has to make things worse by scaring people about the food.

I thoughts and prayers are with you and your country men on a daily basis

p3chandan said...

Yes its sad that those farmers have to suffer more misfortunes besides the double disaster. I will be harvesting my first spinach and pak choys tomorrow too.

~TastyTravels~ said...

Pretty spinach. I hope the farmers in NE Japan will be able to recover. What a devastating disaster that seems to keep coming.

takaeko said...

>Robin
Thank you for your warm words. I agree with you. The media might exaggerate the situation with its too sensational way. It's should be blamed to some extent.
The problem is how we should get accurate information. Do you really think all information coming out from your country's government is reliable and credible?

takaeko said...

>p3chandan
My pak choys also have grown well and can be harvested in a few days!
I'm very curious about how you cook them.

takaeko said...

>Holly
Thank you for your prayers. I know you also keep posting the earthquake in your blog. Do you have any friends and relatives in the devastated area? If you have, I strongly hope they are safe!

Bom said...

My wife keeps telling that radiation levels that are "higher than normal" is really a very vague term. How much higher is higher? Is 2x higher than normal already dangerous? Or is 2x higher than normal still relatively safe?

One particular news agency has a tendency to phrase their headline in a more sensationalized way than the other news agencies. It gets more attention but they twist it in such a way that it doesn't really bend the truth.

takaeko said...

>Bom
The radiation levels which detected from vegetables, milk are about 2 or 3x higher than the standard set up by the Japanese government. The standard decides the vegetables or milk can be distributed and sold to consumers or not.
The government says the level is much lower than the harmful level which can actually cause problems.
Eventually, they can be eaten but not sold!
It's so ironic that many people can panic for those "edible" products, isn't it?

Ali said...

Your spinach looks lovely Takaeko, and what a nice gift for your parents. I have heard on the radio here that Australia is limiting imported goods from Japan because of fears of radiation levels, it really does seem like a bit of a knee jerk reaction, but I guess that people are afraid. It's very sad.

takaeko said...

>Ali
The limitation on those vegetables is a sad news not only for farmers in the contaminated areas but for consumers in your country.