Japanese Food, Seasons, Greetings
Japanese Food

■What types of food does your family usually eat at home? (housewives nationwide)

Japanese food 71.2%
I can't really say 18.2%
Western-style food  8.5%
Chinese food 1.0%
Ethnic food 0.2%

(「和食は好きですか」ベターホーム協会2001年度)
http://www.betterhome.jp/anq/13anq/13anq.php

■ When compared to the annual consumption of meat and fish, Japan consumes markedly more fish than the rest of the world, 9 times more than the United States. The amount of meat consumed is relatively smaller than that for most countries.

■ Japan's food self-sufficiency is rapidly declining; in 1960, it produced 79% of consumed food, and in 1998, only 40%. Compared with 178 other advanced countries, Japan stands at 130th place in food production, the lowest among developed countries.

■What are the advantages of Japanese food? (housewives nationwide)

It is healthy 77.6%
It is light and not greasy  58.8%
Plenty of vegetables 53.8%
Seasonal variety 51.6%
Tastes are familiar 39.8%
Plenty of fish 30.0%
Easy to cook 6.6%

(「和食は好きですか」ベターホーム協会2001年度)
http://www.betterhome.jp/anq/13anq/13anq.php

■What are the disadvantages of Japanese food? (housewives nationwide)

Meal menus are difficult to plan  29.4%
Troublesome to cook 22.8%
Salt content is high 20.9%
Does not make you feel full 19.9%
Difficult to cook 15.3%
 

(「和食は好きですか」ベターホーム協会2001年度)
http://www.betterhome.jp/anq/13anq/13anq.php

Rice

■Images of rice

Rice is the staple food best suited to Japanese 93.9%
Rice is healthy 81.6%
Rice is rich in nutrients 72.7%
When compared to a bread-centered diet, it takes more time to cook  48.1%

(総理府『食生活・農村の役割に関する世論調査』1996年9月)

■What you want to see continue in the future? (high school students)

A diet where rice is the staple food  75.8%

(「モノグラフ高校VOL.59」チャイルド・リサーチ・ネット、ベネッセコーポレーション2000) http://www.crn.or.jp/LIBRARY/KOU/VOL590/VOL59_07.HTM

■Annual consumption of rice in Japan

The annual consumption of rice per person
1962:  118.3 kg
1998:  65.2 kg

  (食糧庁『データにみる日本の食料』1997年版)

■The staple foods in the Japanese diet Tend to eat most frequently:

Breakfast:
  rice 67%
  bread 32%
Lunch:
  rice 75%
  bread 7%
  noodles 17%
Supper:
  rice 99%

(総理府『食生活・農村の役割に関する世論調査』1996年9月)

■A Day in the Life: Rice
http://www.tjf.or.jp/eng/content/japaneseculture/01rice.htm

Seasons

■Variations in the nutritional content of foods by season

  Vitamin C from spinach (fresh leaves)  Bonito (raw and as fat content)
Spring:   0.5 g per 100g
Summer:  20 mg per 100g  
Autumn:   6 g per 100g
Winter: 60 mg per 100g  

(科学技術庁資源調査会「五訂日本食品標準成分表」(2000年11月)

■ Fruit and Vegetable Distribution: Report of Seasonal Fluctuations
Tokyo Wholesale Market Supply Trends (increases for seasonal products)
Tokyo Wholesale Market Price Trends (decreases for seasonal products)
Consumption Trends (increases for products in season)

■Calendar of seasonal products:
http://www.bob-an.com/kids/mini/Html/apl.asp

■Information about fish:
http://www.bob-an.com/kids/mini/Html/sakana.asp

■Seasonal cycle of fish:
http://www.bob-an.com/kids/mini/Html/sakana_2.asp

■A Day in the Life「Seasonal foods」
http://www.tjf.or.jp/eng/content/japaneseculture/09shun.htm

Greetings

■When you eat, do you say "itadakimasu" and "gochisosama?"(elementary, junior high, and senior high school students)

Usually I say it 82.3%
I don't say it often  17.3%

(「今どきの子どもたちの生活習慣・態度」からざレポート'99 Vol. 2 くもん子ども研究所)