Effects of Globalization on Japanese Food Culture and Health
IntroductionIn this paper I will attempt to describe the changing Japanese diet as aresult of the effects of globalization. I will discuss several Japanese staples of past and modern times. These include rice, millet,
soba
and
udon
noodles,seafood, cattle, and soybeans. Their origins, past applications, and modernplace in the Japanese diet will be examined. Delving deeper into Japanesecuisine, I will discuss Japanese food aesthetics and the impact of selectedimported and fast foods.Finally, I will end with current diet and health statistics and drawconclusions from these and previous discussed topics to theorize the future of Japanese health based on their Westernizing diet. I hypothesize that due to theadverse consequences of globalization on the changing Japanese diet, Japan’spopulation will experience increased instances of nutrition-related healthproblems.GrainsRice is certainly among the first foods one thinks of within Japanesecuisine. The Japanese word for cooked rice-
gohan
- means “meal”, and indeedrice has long been the main staple of the Japanese diet. In the year 2000, Asiawas responsible for 95 percent of global rice cultivation and consumption, with
East Asia alone consuming 35 of that 95 percent (Cambridge World History of Food 133)