Naniwa Traditional Vegetables in Osaka Schools
Osaka, Japan · Operator: 大阪市 / 大阪市教育委員会 / JA大阪中央会
Overview
Osaka certifies 'Naniwa traditional vegetables'—heirlooms nearly lost to urbanization—and uses them in school gardens and lunches as 'living teaching material,' letting pupils taste and learn the food culture and farming nurtured by Osaka's historic 'kitchen of the nation.'
Citizen participation
The city education board uses Naniwa traditional vegetables in school gardens and lunches; pupils taste them and learn about local ingredients, food culture and production.
Operating model
Operated as a food-education policy via the city/education board and cooperative certification and local-produce use.
Impact
Institutionally conserves urban heirlooms and applies them to hometown food education.
Crops
- 天王寺蕪 (Tennoji turnip)
- 田辺大根 (Tanabe daikon)
- 毛馬胡瓜 (Kema cucumber)
- 難波葱 (Naniwa negi)
- 服部越瓜
Scale
Certification covers vegetables grown in Osaka for 100+ years; used as 'living teaching material' in school lunches
Sources(2)
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
Related cases
Edible Schoolyard at Aiwa Elementary, Tama
JPTama, Japan
In 2014 Aiwa Elementary in Tama became Japan's first Edible Schoolyard, modeled on Alice Waters' Berkeley program. The school garden and kitchen serve as 'living classrooms' where children learn through all five senses, from sowing to harvest, cooking and eating, as a formal subject. Pupils experience nutrient cycles, the interconnection of life and ties to their community.
edibleschoolyard-japan.org+2
Edible Schoolyard at Sakamoto Elementary, Chuo
JPChuo, Tokyo, Japan
Following its work at Aiwa Elementary in Tama, Edible Schoolyard Japan extended edible education to central Tokyo, where pupils of Chuo Ward's Sakamoto Elementary School take edible lessons linked to the nearby Edible KAYABAEN rooftop garden. It brings garden-based food education, from seed to table, into an inner-city public elementary school.
ediblekayabaen.jp+1
Edo-Tokyo Vegetables in Community Gardens and Schools
JPTokyo, Japan
A long-running movement reviving Tokyo's near-lost heirloom 'Edo-Tokyo vegetables' in city schools, a horticultural high school and allotments. Over nearly 30 years more than 50 varieties have been registered, linking heritage food culture and farming to the next generation via school lunches and food education.
tokyo-ja.or.jp+1
Kanazawa Kaga Vegetables School Cultivation and Food Education
JPKanazawa, Japan
Kanazawa's 15 certified 'Kaga vegetables' heirlooms are grown, harvested and cooked by schoolchildren in integrated-study programs and featured in food-education booklets and lunches, transmitting the city's heritage food culture and history to the next generation.
www4.city.kanazawa.lg.jp+1