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Public recognition of traditional vegetables at the municipal level: Implications for transgenerational knowledge transmission
J Ethn Foods 4 (2017) 94e102
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Ethnic Foods journal homepage: http://journalofethnicfoods.net
Original article
Public recognition of traditional vegetables at the municipal level: Implications for transgenerational knowledge transmission Yuta Uchiyama a, *, Hikaru Matsuoka b, Ryo Kohsaka a a b
Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan Institute of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Received 8 March 2017 Received in revised form 28 April 2017 Accepted 1 May 2017 Available online 6 May 2017
Background: In this paper, recognition of traditional agricultural products by the general public is presented and analyzed to explore the transgenerational aspects of traditional vegetables and their knowledge transfer. It is necessary to understand how the products are recognized by different generations and gender, in terms of retaining and branding the local products. Methods: A questionnaire survey with random sampling was conducted to identify the recognition of traditional vegetables including the Kaga and Noto vegetables in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture. By understanding the degree of recognition, elaborating strategic plans for retention of traditional agricultural products and effective promotion of the products can be implemented. Results: The results from 149 respondents indicate that there are differences of recognition depending on their gender or age. In particular, young people obtain information on traditional vegetables mainly from TV, whereas older people gain information from newspapers. Furthermore, more than half of the Kaga vegetables are better recognized among the older generation. Conclusion: The analysis of this paper serves as the basis to capture the cultural importance, or to develop branding strategy as the results clarify the degree of recognition of residents and tourists from various generations. As the population has been aging, transmitting knowledge about the products to young people who have less knowledge is the urgent issue. © 2017 Korea Food Research Institute. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: brand strategy knowledge transmission media municipality traditional vegetable
1. Introduction Recently, the roles of traditional vegetables have gained salience. Specifically, the multiple roles and values including the role as a symbol of the local brand strategy based on ethnic foods and the value of local identity requiring conservation have been rediscovered [1e4]. The methods to cultivate and gather ethnic vegetal foods including traditional vegetables, herbs, and edible plants are developed and transmitted as traditional local knowledge [5,6]. Simultaneously, the concept of traditional vegetable is somewhat illusive or “ambiguous” [7] and requires careful consideration. Relationships between ethnic foods and related traditional events can be changed depending on the event participants' socioeconomic backgrounds [8]. In this context, producers and consumers
* Corresponding author. Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Aoba, 468-1, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845, Miyagi, Japan. E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Uchiyama).
of ethnic foods and their raw materials including traditional vegetables are changing in history [9]. Food culture has dynamic characteristics [10,11], and it is difficult to fix them. If the conservation activities are not implemented, the food-related traditional knowledge that can enhance the quality of life and reduce environmental impacts will disappear. To transmit the food-related traditional knowledge, education for the younger generation is necessary [12], and assessments of food education have been implemented in terms of health maintenance [13]. As factors to be considered in education, the development of guidelines for school lunches [14] and location and gender of the younger generation [15] are global concerns. In addition to education, proposing new ways to create opportunities to eat ethnic foods for various generations including younger and elder generations is recommended [16]. In recent years, it has been an urgent issue for many countries including Japan to pass on knowledge regarding traditional agricultural products and their ethnic foods to the next generation. Vegetable seeds companies have historically contributed to distribution of seeds of traditional vegetables [17]. In Japan where the
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2017.05.007 2352-6181/© 2017 Korea Food Research Institute. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Y. Uchiyama et al / Public recognition of traditional vegetables
population has been rapidly decreasing and aging, the number of elderly people with food-related knowledge has been decreasing rapidly. To lose agriculture and food-related knowledge cultivated by the people living in an area historically is almost equivalent to losing the multiple values of traditional and ethnic foods including vegetables. According to previous research, the variety of local foods is correlated to periods of residence [18]. This indicates that people construct social networks by living in a certain area for a long time and gain information on local foods from their local networks. However, it may be difficult to pass on knowledge to the next generation in the same way even if they live in the area for a long time because population has been aging and decreasing rapidly. It is necessary to comprehend what particular knowledge younger generations should inherit and how to effectively pass it on to them. Therefore, we investigated their recognition of traditional vegetables and media from which they gain information on traditional vegetables. The research site, Komatsu City, is a cultural city where local kabuki style was established in 1766 and kutani pottery (九谷焼) was established in the early Edo period. Furthermore, Komatsu City's unique vegetables have been historically supplied to Kanazawa City, a major city of the region including Komatsu (Fig. 1). The green onion of Komatsu is called kagashironegi (加賀白ねぎ) and is the one of the main agricultural products in Komatsu. Its green onion can be seen in the pictures from the Edo period (Fig. 2). The green onion is used in Komatsu udon, a Japanese wheat noodle of Komatsu, which was sent to Bashou Matsuo (松尾 芭蕉) in the early Edo period. Bashou Matsuo is a famous poet who created the haiku, a Japanese poem of 15 syllables.
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Fig. 2. Green onion and Tang cai. Source: Minkakenrouzu (民家検勞図; Edo period), Ishikawa prefectural library.
In previous research, recognition of traditional vegetables by tourists was investigated in the Noto region in Ishikawa Prefecture [19]. Kohsaka et al [19] suggested that consulting related shops and media outlets such as TV and newspapers are elements that enhance the recognition of traditional vegetables. Another questionnaire survey to identify tourists' recognition of traditional vegetables was implemented at Kanazawa City, the central city of Ishikawa Prefecture [20]. The survey shows the different degrees of recognition of
Fig. 1. Location of Komatsu City.
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individual vegetables. From the comparison of the results of previous and this research, characteristics of people who live in the production area of traditional vegetables can be identified. The materials and methods of the analysis are provided in the following section. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Questionnaire on recognition of traditional vegetables We asked questions to explore the transgenerational aspects of traditional vegetables and to identify their knowledge transfer channels. The hypothesis of this research is that the degree of recognition of traditional vegetables correlates with the age of respondents. This research obtained responses from a total of 149 persons living in Komatsu, Ishikawa. Ishikawa Prefecture consists of the Noto and Kaga areas. Percentages of participants' gender and age are provided (see Fig. 3). Random samples in Komatsu City were selected. Regarding gender, the number of male and female respondents was nearly the same. Regarding age, the percentages of respondents in their 60s and 70s were a bit greater than the other generations, but a certain number of responses from other generations were also obtained. This is likely because respondents in their 60s and 70s have more time to answer and generally show more interest in agricultural products. 2.2. Questions for analysis The question items (six items in total) that were used for analysis are presented below (cf. Appendix 1 for details). The items on the recognition of traditional vegetables including the Kaga vegetables (or whether they know the names of vegetables) are included. The questionnaire responses were analyzed to discuss how the results are related to gender or age of the respondents to examine the transgenerational character of the traditional vegetables. 3. Results The following sections first explain the overall trend of each question item, then provide the trend of responses from each gender and age group. The overall trend is that the percentage of the recognition of the Kaga vegetable is relatively higher, but that of the Noto vegetable is lower than that of the Kyo vegetable. This indicates that respondents do not necessarily recognize if the vegetables are produced in an area close to where they live, nor do they appear to recognize that they are produced and consumed in limited places
unless they are nationally famous such as in the case of the Kyo vegetable (Fig. 4). The trend by gender is that there is not much difference in the recognition of each traditional vegetable, and that women recognize the Noto vegetable better than men. This indicates that women may be sensitive to information on traditional vegetables including those produced in nearby areas. The Noto vegetable is recognized relatively better among those older than 60 years, with the exception of respondents in their 20s whose responses were limited. This is because they have often talked about various topics regarding Ishikawa Prefecture with their friends and families. In this research, questions were posed to residents of Komatsu City, and the rate of respondents who are familiar with Kaga vegetables or Noto vegetables is relatively high. The rate of tourists who are aware of those vegetables is lower [20] compared with residents of Komatsu. The result shows that most of the residents of the Kaga vegetable production area at least are aware of the name “Kaga vegetable.” Regarding the information sources on Kaga vegetables, TV and newspaper have a relatively greater percentage, and people more often get their information from stores than from newspapers. Therefore, it is relatively important to dispatch information at shops or restaurants that deal with Kaga vegetables. The difference in gender is limited regarding the information sources on Kaga vegetables. Women gain information more from stores or newspapers, whereas men are more likely to get information from their friends (Fig. 5). Regarding the trend of information sources according to age, TV is the main resource among younger generations. By contrast, newspapers work as an information resource on traditional vegetables among older generations. TV and newspapers can enhance the degree of recognition of Kaga vegetables [19]. In addition, it is suggested that stores including grocery stores, supermarkets, and restaurants influence the degree of the recognition. TVs, newspapers, and stores are the main information sources for the respondents in Komatsu City. In this regard, Komatsu residents and tourists share a similarity. Generally, magazines are preferred rather than newspapers for certain tourists [20]. For the Kaga vegetable, recognition differs substantially depending on the vegetables, and even if the word “Kaga vegetable” is known, the understanding of its content may not necessarily be high. Recognition level is considered to be proportional to the amount of production to some extent (Fig. 6). For recognition level of each Kaga vegetable, the level of recognition of the thick Kaga cucumber is particularly high among
Fig. 3. Gender and age of respondents.
Y. Uchiyama et al / Public recognition of traditional vegetables
Fig. 4. Percentage of recognition of each traditional vegetable (by gender, age; n ¼ 145; Q1: the recognition of traditional vegetables). N/A, not available.
Fig. 5. The percentages of the information sources on Kaga vegetables (Q2: The sources of information on Kaga vegetables).
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Fig. 6. Percentages of recognized Kaga vegetables (n ¼ 142; Q3: the recognition level of each Kaga vegetable). N/A, not available.
Fig. 7. Percentage of recognition of each vegetable (n ¼ 139; Q4: recognition level of traditional vegetables around Komatsu City).
Y. Uchiyama et al / Public recognition of traditional vegetables
women. It is necessary to check whether the information of the thick Kaga cucumber is spread among women, but as a result it is an appealing product for women. As for age related tendency, it was generally observed that as the age group became older, the level of recognition was higher. The gorojima kintoki (Ipomoea batatas L.) was the exception. For example, the recognition level regarding red aroid has a difference of 10% or more for the percentage of respondents between the generations below and those in the age range above their 30s. The rate of respondents who know gensuke daikon (Raphanus sativus) and kinjiso (Gynura bicolor) is relatively high. However, tourists who lived in other prefectures do not have the opportunity to see and eat these types of vegetables in their daily life. Therefore, the degree of recognition among tourists regarding those vegetables is low [20]. The Kaga vegetables include vegetables that residents know very well, but ones with which tourists are not familiar. Regarding traditional vegetables produced around Komatsu City, by confirming the level of recognition for sengoku mame (Lablab purpureus), round potatoes, and white scallions, the recognition level for round potatoes is found to be relatively high. It is anticipated that the high level of recognition is related to product distribution amount and the versatility in cooking, among other factors (Fig. 7).
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The recognition level of products around Komatsu City tends to be slightly higher among women. This seems to reflect a possibility that women have more opportunities to make contact with products in places such as shops on a daily basis. The age-specific tendency of recognition level of products around Komatsu City is similar to that of individual Kaga vegetables. This suggests that elderly people have more knowledge about traditional vegetables. Kagamaruimo potatoes is registered as a product with Geographic Indication. It may be possible that Kagamaruimo will attract more attention from residents not only in the Komatsu and Kaga regions, but in other regions and large cities in Japan as well by using Geographic Indication effectively. As a general image of traditional vegetables, the ratio of answering being reassured and safe, delicious, local cuisine, and so on has been high, and answers such as “good for health” were also recorded at a relatively high rate. There is no negative impression regarding prices such as high or luxury prices (Fig. 8). For gender tendencies, women have an image that prices of products are high, but the differences in percentages among answers are not very clear. As an image for traditional vegetables, there exists an item such as “local cuisine” that clearly shows the difference between ages. Among the elderly, it is considered that there is a tendency in which traditional vegetables and local cuisine
Fig. 8. Percentages of answers related to each image (n ¼ 144; Q5: the image of traditional vegetables).
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are slightly separated. For younger groups, local cuisine and traditional vegetables are regarded as one entity of local food. They do not distinguish individual vegetables. Regarding the food products in which Ishikawa Prefecture is under brand promotion, Ruby Roman grapes, Noto beef, dried persimmon, gensuke daikon (Raphanus sativus), and others show relatively high levels of recognition. Rather than a large distribution amount, recognition has been increased by raising awareness using information and media and by presenting them as differentiable products (Fig. 9). Regarding the tendency by gender, kinjiso (Gynura bicolor) is more familiar to women, whereas gensuke daikon (Raphanus sativus) is more familiar to men, which shows a small tendency for either gender to recognize specific vegetables better. The degree of recognition of Ruby Roman grapes is relatively high, whereas that of dainagonazuki (Vigna angularis) is low. This trend is reversed in the survey result of tourists [20]. The amounts of supply of both products are not large compared with other major products, such as kagarenkon (Nelumbo nucifera). In this context, this result suggests that not only the amount of supply, but also the method of advertising and location of production area, can be considered factors that undeniably influence the degree of recognition of brand products. 4. Discussion We have conducted a survey with the hypothesis that the degree of recognition of traditional vegetables correlates with the age of respondents. As a result, it became clear that the recognition of
local products is not necessarily high in general, and the degree of recognition of several traditional vegetables correlates with the age of respondents. Locally, it is necessary to implement measures to raise awareness and popularity of these products, and then pass on this knowledge for transgenerational transmission. As a future task at the methodological level, it is considered necessary to glean more detailed background information about the answers in this survey. For this purpose, it is necessary to conduct an intensive interview survey for individual respondents. At the individual municipality level, it is frequently a policy priority to discover new products (e.g., many of Ishikawa Prefecture's branded agricultural products are not recognized as a daily basis product, and are often promoted as luxury categories for outsiders); yet, this study's results indicate that improving recognition of existing products is also a challenging task. This is a challenge for policymakers at the local level, including governors and mayors, to appreciate and maintain what is already existing, even if this may not be appealing as a policy priority at first glance. It is necessary to perform brand promotion for each product, not only from the standpoint of tourism and agriculture, but also from the perspective of education and cultural policy, with the efforts of local production and consumption. As stated earlier, the concept of traditional vegetables is an ambiguous one. On the positive side, the ambiguity allowed different stakeholders (producers, retailers, service providers, consumers from different generations) to interpret the product in a flexible manner. However, the data we obtained indicate an urgent need to enhance the recognition levels, particularly among the younger generations. It is recommended to select and deploy
Fig. 9. Percentage of recognition of each vegetable (n ¼ 142; Q6: Recognition of food ingredients that Ishikawa Prefecture is under brand promotion).
Y. Uchiyama et al / Public recognition of traditional vegetables
strategic outreach information through the media to reach targeted consumers reflecting the type of products being promoted (i.e., daily use, luxury, or ritualistic). For those products with higher recognition levels among older generations, this type of knowledge is projected to be lost if measures are not taken. Therefore, there is an urgent challenge to transmit the knowledge in a transgenerational manner, from the older to the younger generations. This is an urgent task because more than half of the Kaga vegetables are better recognized by older people. Those Kaga vegetables include gensuke daikon (Raphanus sativus) and akazuiki (Colocasia esculenta), whose amounts of supply are decreasing compared with the early Showa period, and current numbers of farmers are relatively limited. There are broader policy implications in the directions of raising awareness for these products. Regarding the impression of traditional vegetables, the percentage of responses that have a positive impression such as “healthy” is high, and the percentage of responses that have negative impressions such as “high price” is low. From these results, it is suggested that the consumption of traditional and local products are possible by improving the distribution and recognition of products. The increased recognition of and demand for traditional vegetables have the potential to lead to sustainable production. The results of this paper serve as basic information to grasp where we currently stand and the future tasks involved.
Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgments This work was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP26360062; JP16KK0053; JP17K02105; JP17K13305; Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (S-15-2(3) Predicting and Assessing Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services (PANCES)) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan; Research Institute for Humanity and Nature [No. 14200126]; HokkaidoeTohoku Regional Economic Research Institute [2017]; Heiwa Nakajima Foundation [2016]; Asahi Group Foundation [A17B-031]; Kurita Water and Environment Foundation [16C003]; and Komatsu City. Thanks are extended to Dr. Mitsuyuki Tomiyoshi at the Kurume University for his valuable comments.
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References [1] Dalar A, Uzun Y, Turker M, Mukemre M and Konczak I. Health attributes of ethnic vegetables consumed in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey: Antioxidant and enzyme-inhibitory properties. J Ethnic Foods 2016;3:142e9. [2] Hovsepyan R, Stepanyan-Gandilyan N, Melkumyan H and Harutyunyan L. Food as a marker for economy and part of identity: traditional vegetal food of Yezidis and Kurds in Armenia. J Ethnic Foods 2016;3:32e41. [3] Kohsaka R and Tomiyoshi M. Japanese vegetables in globalization era: national icons or transplanted traditions? Asahi-eco Books. Tokyo: Shimizukobundo; 2015 [in Japanese]. [4] Nakamura Y, Matsuo T, Okamoto S, Nishikawa A, Imai T, Park EY and Sato K. Antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties of Kyo-yasai, heirloom vegetables in Kyoto. Genes Environ 2008;30:41e7. [5] Chen B and Qiu Z. Consumers' attitudes towards edible wild plants: a case study of Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. Int J For Res 2012;2012: 1e16. s J. Wild food [6] Rigat M, Gras A, D’Ambrosio U, Garnatje T, Parada M and Valle s district (Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula): plants and minor crops in the Ripolle potentialities for developing a local production, consumption and exchange program. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2016;12:49. [7] Kohsaka R and Tomiyoshi M. Traditional vegetables in nowadays. Tokyo (Japan): Shimizu Kobundo; 2015 [in Japanese]. [8] Wada JY, Pogosian B, Sato Y and Grivetti LE. Japanese festival foods. Ecol Food Nutr 1999;38:307e50. [9] Rath EC. New meanings for old vegetables in Kyoto. Food Cult Soc 2014;17: 203e23. [10] Ishige N. Food culture. In: Sugimoto Y, editor. The Cambridge companion to modern Japanese culture. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press; 2009. p. 300e16. [11] Yuize Y. Japan's changing diet and agricultural conflicts. Food Policy 1979;4: 219e21. [12] Kimura A, Wada Y, Ohshima K, Yamaguchi Y, Tsuzuki D, Oka T and Dan I. Eating habits in childhood relate to preference for traditional diets among young Japanese. Food Qual Preference 2010;21:843e8. [13] Mori M, Mori H and Yamori Y. Assessment of food education by urinalysis. Procedia-Soc Behav Sci 2011;15:3784e91. [14] Lee Y, Kim M, Chung HK, Kim HR, Shim JE, Cho H and Yoon J. Evaluation of traditional aspects of school lunch menus in Korea by analyzing dish group composition. Korean J Community Nutr 2013;18:386e401. [15] Muhammad NH, Ab Karim MS and Hamzah H. Intention to eat traditional food among boys and girls in Malaysia. Int J Soc Sci Hum 2015;5:450e3. [16] Muramatsu K and Mitsuboshi S. Development of a new itohiki-natto manufactured for elderly Japanese. J Jpn Soc Food Sci Technol [Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kaishi] 2013;60:381e6. [17] Abe N. People who created traditional vegetables: modern history of vegetable seeds company. Tokyo (Japan): Rural Culture Association Japan; 2015 [In Japanese]. [18] Kohsaka R, Matsuoka H and Uchiyama Y. Capturing the relationships between local foods and residents: a case in the Noto region, Japan. J Ethnic Foods 2016;3:86e92. [19] Kohsaka R, Tomiyoshi M and Matuoka H. Tourist perceptions of traditional Japanese vegetable brands: a quantitative approach to Kaga vegetable brands and an information channel for tourists at the Noto GIAHS site. Aquat Biodivers Conserv Ecosyst Serv 2016:109e21. [20] Kanazawa University Kohsaka laboratory (Kohsaka lab.) and Hokuriku branch of Development Bank of Japan (DBJ). 2014 Survey of Kaga vegetable for regional brands. 2014. http://www.dbj.jp/pdf/investigate/area/hokuriku/pdf_ all/hokuriku_1403_01.pdf.
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Appendix 1
J Ethn Foods 2017; 4: 94e102
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Ethnic Foods journal homepage: http://journalofethnicfoods.net
Original article
Public recognition of traditional vegetables at the municipal level: Implications for transgenerational knowledge transmission Yuta Uchiyama a, *, Hikaru Matsuoka b, Ryo Kohsaka a a b
Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan Institute of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Received 8 March 2017 Received in revised form 28 April 2017 Accepted 1 May 2017 Available online 6 May 2017
Background: In this paper, recognition of traditional agricultural products by the general public is presented and analyzed to explore the transgenerational aspects of traditional vegetables and their knowledge transfer. It is necessary to understand how the products are recognized by different generations and gender, in terms of retaining and branding the local products. Methods: A questionnaire survey with random sampling was conducted to identify the recognition of traditional vegetables including the Kaga and Noto vegetables in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture. By understanding the degree of recognition, elaborating strategic plans for retention of traditional agricultural products and effective promotion of the products can be implemented. Results: The results from 149 respondents indicate that there are differences of recognition depending on their gender or age. In particular, young people obtain information on traditional vegetables mainly from TV, whereas older people gain information from newspapers. Furthermore, more than half of the Kaga vegetables are better recognized among the older generation. Conclusion: The analysis of this paper serves as the basis to capture the cultural importance, or to develop branding strategy as the results clarify the degree of recognition of residents and tourists from various generations. As the population has been aging, transmitting knowledge about the products to young people who have less knowledge is the urgent issue. © 2017 Korea Food Research Institute. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: brand strategy knowledge transmission media municipality traditional vegetable
1. Introduction Recently, the roles of traditional vegetables have gained salience. Specifically, the multiple roles and values including the role as a symbol of the local brand strategy based on ethnic foods and the value of local identity requiring conservation have been rediscovered [1e4]. The methods to cultivate and gather ethnic vegetal foods including traditional vegetables, herbs, and edible plants are developed and transmitted as traditional local knowledge [5,6]. Simultaneously, the concept of traditional vegetable is somewhat illusive or “ambiguous” [7] and requires careful consideration. Relationships between ethnic foods and related traditional events can be changed depending on the event participants' socioeconomic backgrounds [8]. In this context, producers and consumers
* Corresponding author. Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Aoba, 468-1, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845, Miyagi, Japan. E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Uchiyama).
of ethnic foods and their raw materials including traditional vegetables are changing in history [9]. Food culture has dynamic characteristics [10,11], and it is difficult to fix them. If the conservation activities are not implemented, the food-related traditional knowledge that can enhance the quality of life and reduce environmental impacts will disappear. To transmit the food-related traditional knowledge, education for the younger generation is necessary [12], and assessments of food education have been implemented in terms of health maintenance [13]. As factors to be considered in education, the development of guidelines for school lunches [14] and location and gender of the younger generation [15] are global concerns. In addition to education, proposing new ways to create opportunities to eat ethnic foods for various generations including younger and elder generations is recommended [16]. In recent years, it has been an urgent issue for many countries including Japan to pass on knowledge regarding traditional agricultural products and their ethnic foods to the next generation. Vegetable seeds companies have historically contributed to distribution of seeds of traditional vegetables [17]. In Japan where the
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2017.05.007 2352-6181/© 2017 Korea Food Research Institute. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Y. Uchiyama et al / Public recognition of traditional vegetables
population has been rapidly decreasing and aging, the number of elderly people with food-related knowledge has been decreasing rapidly. To lose agriculture and food-related knowledge cultivated by the people living in an area historically is almost equivalent to losing the multiple values of traditional and ethnic foods including vegetables. According to previous research, the variety of local foods is correlated to periods of residence [18]. This indicates that people construct social networks by living in a certain area for a long time and gain information on local foods from their local networks. However, it may be difficult to pass on knowledge to the next generation in the same way even if they live in the area for a long time because population has been aging and decreasing rapidly. It is necessary to comprehend what particular knowledge younger generations should inherit and how to effectively pass it on to them. Therefore, we investigated their recognition of traditional vegetables and media from which they gain information on traditional vegetables. The research site, Komatsu City, is a cultural city where local kabuki style was established in 1766 and kutani pottery (九谷焼) was established in the early Edo period. Furthermore, Komatsu City's unique vegetables have been historically supplied to Kanazawa City, a major city of the region including Komatsu (Fig. 1). The green onion of Komatsu is called kagashironegi (加賀白ねぎ) and is the one of the main agricultural products in Komatsu. Its green onion can be seen in the pictures from the Edo period (Fig. 2). The green onion is used in Komatsu udon, a Japanese wheat noodle of Komatsu, which was sent to Bashou Matsuo (松尾 芭蕉) in the early Edo period. Bashou Matsuo is a famous poet who created the haiku, a Japanese poem of 15 syllables.
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Fig. 2. Green onion and Tang cai. Source: Minkakenrouzu (民家検勞図; Edo period), Ishikawa prefectural library.
In previous research, recognition of traditional vegetables by tourists was investigated in the Noto region in Ishikawa Prefecture [19]. Kohsaka et al [19] suggested that consulting related shops and media outlets such as TV and newspapers are elements that enhance the recognition of traditional vegetables. Another questionnaire survey to identify tourists' recognition of traditional vegetables was implemented at Kanazawa City, the central city of Ishikawa Prefecture [20]. The survey shows the different degrees of recognition of
Fig. 1. Location of Komatsu City.
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individual vegetables. From the comparison of the results of previous and this research, characteristics of people who live in the production area of traditional vegetables can be identified. The materials and methods of the analysis are provided in the following section. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Questionnaire on recognition of traditional vegetables We asked questions to explore the transgenerational aspects of traditional vegetables and to identify their knowledge transfer channels. The hypothesis of this research is that the degree of recognition of traditional vegetables correlates with the age of respondents. This research obtained responses from a total of 149 persons living in Komatsu, Ishikawa. Ishikawa Prefecture consists of the Noto and Kaga areas. Percentages of participants' gender and age are provided (see Fig. 3). Random samples in Komatsu City were selected. Regarding gender, the number of male and female respondents was nearly the same. Regarding age, the percentages of respondents in their 60s and 70s were a bit greater than the other generations, but a certain number of responses from other generations were also obtained. This is likely because respondents in their 60s and 70s have more time to answer and generally show more interest in agricultural products. 2.2. Questions for analysis The question items (six items in total) that were used for analysis are presented below (cf. Appendix 1 for details). The items on the recognition of traditional vegetables including the Kaga vegetables (or whether they know the names of vegetables) are included. The questionnaire responses were analyzed to discuss how the results are related to gender or age of the respondents to examine the transgenerational character of the traditional vegetables. 3. Results The following sections first explain the overall trend of each question item, then provide the trend of responses from each gender and age group. The overall trend is that the percentage of the recognition of the Kaga vegetable is relatively higher, but that of the Noto vegetable is lower than that of the Kyo vegetable. This indicates that respondents do not necessarily recognize if the vegetables are produced in an area close to where they live, nor do they appear to recognize that they are produced and consumed in limited places
unless they are nationally famous such as in the case of the Kyo vegetable (Fig. 4). The trend by gender is that there is not much difference in the recognition of each traditional vegetable, and that women recognize the Noto vegetable better than men. This indicates that women may be sensitive to information on traditional vegetables including those produced in nearby areas. The Noto vegetable is recognized relatively better among those older than 60 years, with the exception of respondents in their 20s whose responses were limited. This is because they have often talked about various topics regarding Ishikawa Prefecture with their friends and families. In this research, questions were posed to residents of Komatsu City, and the rate of respondents who are familiar with Kaga vegetables or Noto vegetables is relatively high. The rate of tourists who are aware of those vegetables is lower [20] compared with residents of Komatsu. The result shows that most of the residents of the Kaga vegetable production area at least are aware of the name “Kaga vegetable.” Regarding the information sources on Kaga vegetables, TV and newspaper have a relatively greater percentage, and people more often get their information from stores than from newspapers. Therefore, it is relatively important to dispatch information at shops or restaurants that deal with Kaga vegetables. The difference in gender is limited regarding the information sources on Kaga vegetables. Women gain information more from stores or newspapers, whereas men are more likely to get information from their friends (Fig. 5). Regarding the trend of information sources according to age, TV is the main resource among younger generations. By contrast, newspapers work as an information resource on traditional vegetables among older generations. TV and newspapers can enhance the degree of recognition of Kaga vegetables [19]. In addition, it is suggested that stores including grocery stores, supermarkets, and restaurants influence the degree of the recognition. TVs, newspapers, and stores are the main information sources for the respondents in Komatsu City. In this regard, Komatsu residents and tourists share a similarity. Generally, magazines are preferred rather than newspapers for certain tourists [20]. For the Kaga vegetable, recognition differs substantially depending on the vegetables, and even if the word “Kaga vegetable” is known, the understanding of its content may not necessarily be high. Recognition level is considered to be proportional to the amount of production to some extent (Fig. 6). For recognition level of each Kaga vegetable, the level of recognition of the thick Kaga cucumber is particularly high among
Fig. 3. Gender and age of respondents.
Y. Uchiyama et al / Public recognition of traditional vegetables
Fig. 4. Percentage of recognition of each traditional vegetable (by gender, age; n ¼ 145; Q1: the recognition of traditional vegetables). N/A, not available.
Fig. 5. The percentages of the information sources on Kaga vegetables (Q2: The sources of information on Kaga vegetables).
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Fig. 6. Percentages of recognized Kaga vegetables (n ¼ 142; Q3: the recognition level of each Kaga vegetable). N/A, not available.
Fig. 7. Percentage of recognition of each vegetable (n ¼ 139; Q4: recognition level of traditional vegetables around Komatsu City).
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women. It is necessary to check whether the information of the thick Kaga cucumber is spread among women, but as a result it is an appealing product for women. As for age related tendency, it was generally observed that as the age group became older, the level of recognition was higher. The gorojima kintoki (Ipomoea batatas L.) was the exception. For example, the recognition level regarding red aroid has a difference of 10% or more for the percentage of respondents between the generations below and those in the age range above their 30s. The rate of respondents who know gensuke daikon (Raphanus sativus) and kinjiso (Gynura bicolor) is relatively high. However, tourists who lived in other prefectures do not have the opportunity to see and eat these types of vegetables in their daily life. Therefore, the degree of recognition among tourists regarding those vegetables is low [20]. The Kaga vegetables include vegetables that residents know very well, but ones with which tourists are not familiar. Regarding traditional vegetables produced around Komatsu City, by confirming the level of recognition for sengoku mame (Lablab purpureus), round potatoes, and white scallions, the recognition level for round potatoes is found to be relatively high. It is anticipated that the high level of recognition is related to product distribution amount and the versatility in cooking, among other factors (Fig. 7).
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The recognition level of products around Komatsu City tends to be slightly higher among women. This seems to reflect a possibility that women have more opportunities to make contact with products in places such as shops on a daily basis. The age-specific tendency of recognition level of products around Komatsu City is similar to that of individual Kaga vegetables. This suggests that elderly people have more knowledge about traditional vegetables. Kagamaruimo potatoes is registered as a product with Geographic Indication. It may be possible that Kagamaruimo will attract more attention from residents not only in the Komatsu and Kaga regions, but in other regions and large cities in Japan as well by using Geographic Indication effectively. As a general image of traditional vegetables, the ratio of answering being reassured and safe, delicious, local cuisine, and so on has been high, and answers such as “good for health” were also recorded at a relatively high rate. There is no negative impression regarding prices such as high or luxury prices (Fig. 8). For gender tendencies, women have an image that prices of products are high, but the differences in percentages among answers are not very clear. As an image for traditional vegetables, there exists an item such as “local cuisine” that clearly shows the difference between ages. Among the elderly, it is considered that there is a tendency in which traditional vegetables and local cuisine
Fig. 8. Percentages of answers related to each image (n ¼ 144; Q5: the image of traditional vegetables).
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are slightly separated. For younger groups, local cuisine and traditional vegetables are regarded as one entity of local food. They do not distinguish individual vegetables. Regarding the food products in which Ishikawa Prefecture is under brand promotion, Ruby Roman grapes, Noto beef, dried persimmon, gensuke daikon (Raphanus sativus), and others show relatively high levels of recognition. Rather than a large distribution amount, recognition has been increased by raising awareness using information and media and by presenting them as differentiable products (Fig. 9). Regarding the tendency by gender, kinjiso (Gynura bicolor) is more familiar to women, whereas gensuke daikon (Raphanus sativus) is more familiar to men, which shows a small tendency for either gender to recognize specific vegetables better. The degree of recognition of Ruby Roman grapes is relatively high, whereas that of dainagonazuki (Vigna angularis) is low. This trend is reversed in the survey result of tourists [20]. The amounts of supply of both products are not large compared with other major products, such as kagarenkon (Nelumbo nucifera). In this context, this result suggests that not only the amount of supply, but also the method of advertising and location of production area, can be considered factors that undeniably influence the degree of recognition of brand products. 4. Discussion We have conducted a survey with the hypothesis that the degree of recognition of traditional vegetables correlates with the age of respondents. As a result, it became clear that the recognition of
local products is not necessarily high in general, and the degree of recognition of several traditional vegetables correlates with the age of respondents. Locally, it is necessary to implement measures to raise awareness and popularity of these products, and then pass on this knowledge for transgenerational transmission. As a future task at the methodological level, it is considered necessary to glean more detailed background information about the answers in this survey. For this purpose, it is necessary to conduct an intensive interview survey for individual respondents. At the individual municipality level, it is frequently a policy priority to discover new products (e.g., many of Ishikawa Prefecture's branded agricultural products are not recognized as a daily basis product, and are often promoted as luxury categories for outsiders); yet, this study's results indicate that improving recognition of existing products is also a challenging task. This is a challenge for policymakers at the local level, including governors and mayors, to appreciate and maintain what is already existing, even if this may not be appealing as a policy priority at first glance. It is necessary to perform brand promotion for each product, not only from the standpoint of tourism and agriculture, but also from the perspective of education and cultural policy, with the efforts of local production and consumption. As stated earlier, the concept of traditional vegetables is an ambiguous one. On the positive side, the ambiguity allowed different stakeholders (producers, retailers, service providers, consumers from different generations) to interpret the product in a flexible manner. However, the data we obtained indicate an urgent need to enhance the recognition levels, particularly among the younger generations. It is recommended to select and deploy
Fig. 9. Percentage of recognition of each vegetable (n ¼ 142; Q6: Recognition of food ingredients that Ishikawa Prefecture is under brand promotion).
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strategic outreach information through the media to reach targeted consumers reflecting the type of products being promoted (i.e., daily use, luxury, or ritualistic). For those products with higher recognition levels among older generations, this type of knowledge is projected to be lost if measures are not taken. Therefore, there is an urgent challenge to transmit the knowledge in a transgenerational manner, from the older to the younger generations. This is an urgent task because more than half of the Kaga vegetables are better recognized by older people. Those Kaga vegetables include gensuke daikon (Raphanus sativus) and akazuiki (Colocasia esculenta), whose amounts of supply are decreasing compared with the early Showa period, and current numbers of farmers are relatively limited. There are broader policy implications in the directions of raising awareness for these products. Regarding the impression of traditional vegetables, the percentage of responses that have a positive impression such as “healthy” is high, and the percentage of responses that have negative impressions such as “high price” is low. From these results, it is suggested that the consumption of traditional and local products are possible by improving the distribution and recognition of products. The increased recognition of and demand for traditional vegetables have the potential to lead to sustainable production. The results of this paper serve as basic information to grasp where we currently stand and the future tasks involved.
Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgments This work was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP26360062; JP16KK0053; JP17K02105; JP17K13305; Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (S-15-2(3) Predicting and Assessing Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services (PANCES)) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan; Research Institute for Humanity and Nature [No. 14200126]; HokkaidoeTohoku Regional Economic Research Institute [2017]; Heiwa Nakajima Foundation [2016]; Asahi Group Foundation [A17B-031]; Kurita Water and Environment Foundation [16C003]; and Komatsu City. Thanks are extended to Dr. Mitsuyuki Tomiyoshi at the Kurume University for his valuable comments.
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Appendix 1
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