Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2011 July 20 - 26 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

We are victims: livestock farmer in Fukushima

The government on July 19 banned the shipment of beef from Fukushima Prefecture after many local cows were found to have been fed straw contaminated with radioactive cesium. Many cattle farmers in Miyagi Prefecture are also being forced to refrain from shipping their products.

On the same day, members of the National Federation of Farmers Movement (Nomiren) in six prefectures in the Tohoku region visited the Regional Agricultural Administration Office, urging the government to conduct radiation contamination inspections on all cattle.

Nominren member Sasaki Kenzo, a livestock farmer in Fukushima City, said that the situation threatens food safety and poses very serious problems to both producers and consumers. The following is his comment:

Although some argue that farmers are to be blamed, we are actually victims of the radiation contamination caused by TEPCO’s nuclear accident.

I buy hay and straw from Hokkaido to feed my 30 dairy cows. However, without immediately receiving compensation payment from TEPCO, I cannot continue with purchases. The national government, which promoted nuclear energy as state policy, is responsible to force the utility to provide compensation for added expenses.

Cattle farmers will not be able to earn money until the ban on shipment is lifted. Even during the ban on shipments, they have to buy uncontaminated feed for their cows.

The national and prefectural governments have failed to provide necessary information to livestock farmers. We demand full-fledged measures to deal with the critical situation.