Today I listened to the February podcast of the Food Programme, from BBC radio 4. It transported me instantly from self-pittying sniffling to Japan - pre tsunami, earth quake and nuclear emergency - where the future of Japanese food culture was being investigated. Questions such as these were posed by food writer Simon Parkes.... on an island where the bulk of the rice farmers are over the age of 70, how long will Japan be able to sustain itself? On an island where foreign ingredients are celebrated, (then improved - think kobe beef, green tea ice cream, tempura batter...) will rice always be an essential part of the diet? Can there be Japanese cuisine without rice? Will the younger generation embrace the traditions of the past? Will farmers be young again?
Then we're left with Japan today. What happened to those rice fields 10 days ago? Are the elderly farmers safe? What are they eating? What will they eat?
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