Climate change cooks up Japanese 'cabbage shock'

Time to get off fossil fuels.

Cabbages sold at supermarkets are now mind-blowingly expensive," he added. "Half-sized ones used to be around 100 yen per head, but they are now like 400 yen.

It's not only cabbage, but the rest of vegetables and fruits too. The prices are 3x, 4x times compared to 3,4 years ago, it's ridiculous.

Meanwhile the salaries are the same for the past 20, 30 years and taxes are raised year after year.

It's not only cabbage, but the rest of vegetables and fruits too. The prices are 3x, 4x times compared to 3,4 years ago, it's ridiculous.

JGovt can lowered tariffs for food such as rice, fruits etc, however they just don't do that.

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/04/24fd4210f1f4-ustr-report-cites-japans-high-tariffs-on-rice-dairy-products.html

Who will pay for that, just ordinary Japanese people.

Let them eat lettuce.

Switch to a vegetable that's in season.

On X you can see that the "shock" was gone days ago. Prices have already dropped.

So eat something else then.

Tora yes I agree and eat more pickles. It is a proven health benefit which should be more utilised in our diets. Its was utilised by past Japanese generation and longer healthier life of these generation is proof.

Switch to a vegetable that's in season.

My grandparents did so all of their life and yes-they did not missed a fresh cabbage in middle of winter.

Be less spoilt and more reasonable.Eat lettuce for example.

Or pay a market price and stop moaning around.

Tora yes I agree and eat more pickles. It is a proven health benefit which should be more utilised in our diets.

As long as they are consumed in moderation, when they are eaten in excess they do increase risks for the health, like Gastric Cancer.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11159166/

 The results of this meta‐analysis provide evidence that a high intake of pickled vegetables may increase GC risk and suggest that a high consumption of fresh vegetables, rather than a large total amount of vegetables including pickled vegetables, is important to reduce GC risk. 

Plenty of cabbages grown in Hokkaido-what’s the shock?

> dobre vam zajebavaToday  08:53 am JST

Switch to a vegetable that's in season.

My grandparents did so all of their life and yes-they did not missed a fresh cabbage in middle of winter.

Be less spoilt and more reasonable.Eat lettuce for example.

Or pay a market price and stop moaning around.

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I was going to say this, let's not forget that some foods are seasonal. Yes, climate change plays a part but, a lot can be also said by how insanely consumeristic we have become. Aren't there any alternatives to cabbage? there's lots of good veggies out there, why not just pick a substitute?

I find tonkotsu bland and quite unpleasant. Similarity with the cabbage drowned in the sickly sweet sauce / dressing.

I will be hapoy if the dish disappears all together.

Leave cabbage off kebabs too.

A great injustice is being served here.

Used to be able to buy a whole cabbage for about 88-128 yen where I live in 2023. I don't quite remember when prices rose, but I checked yesterday and it's roughly 333 yen now after prices have stabled. Still, don't see many people buying them as often as before. This used to be a staple food for families looking to get some filling vegetables on a budget. The alternative now is hakusai which thankfully isn't crazy expensive. Didn't know hakusai was edible without cooking until I recently tried it and it's surprisingly good.

The first step to help the ordinary folks - the main consumers - is for govt to remove the consumption tax on all fresh food, incl fruit, vegetables, seafood etc.

A 10% price reduction is not so large but it is a help to struggling families and others trying to eat healthily more cheaply.

And to those suggesting eat seasonal vegetables - well cabbage is well and truly in season now, in my area anyway.

But there also needs to be a broader agricultural reform including changing some crops, management of land, new techniques and technologies and dare I say importing more in times of need.

Funny how potatoes and cabbages, the mainstay of many poor people the world over, now suddenly are luxury items.

The local fields where I live are full of unharvested cabbages because the heads are too small.

On X you can see that the "shock" was gone days ago. Prices have already dropped.

On X you can find anything you want to find for conclusion shopping, because it's all lies.

If something is in short supply, the price of it will go up. Unreliable weather will hammer harvests. El Nino impact years will be the toughest.

We used to spend more of our income on food, but agricultural technologies, hybridisation and increases in disposable income saw the amount decline throughout much of the 20th century.

UK households spent about a third of their income on food in 1957. That declined to 8% in 2017. It has now gone back up to over 12%. Expect this figure to now rise globally due to climate change and political restrictions on supply chains (your government may not let you buy food cheaply from countries they are not politically friendly with).

Luckily in Japan, even if food prices double, the official inflation rate never seems to go above 2%.

If you have a garden or an allotment, concentrate on reliable varieties of easily and quickly grown, compact crops that you eat or can trade. This can make a real difference, making you self sufficient in things like tomatoes, runner beans, broad beans, strawberries, courgettes, cut-and-come-again salad crops or onions for several months, and fresh/dried herbs all year. Maybe get some fruit trees in too, on dwarfing root stocks. Sadly brassicas take time to grow, require more space and attract pests. Rice is particularly vulnerable to climate change, labour intensive and needs agricultural amounts of space. You can usually save cash by buying direct from farmers and in bulk, so co-ordinate your rice purchases with your friends, family or neighbours. Tired veg purchased cheaply at the end of the day will taste good in soup. Cut waste by buying what you eat and eating what you buy. Buying cooked meat saves on energy costs. Thinly sliced vegetables tend to defy the laws of physics by going further.

In the UK, sales tax (VAT) is not charged on food. Implementing that in Japan would boost Ishiba's ratings.

If only there was a running theme in the increase in prices of things, almost like the world is heating up all at once or something, for reasons.

In Japan, the heat has also made lettuce, green onion and "daikon" radish more expensive at the checkout

Also for those suggesting to eat lettuce instead, this is from the article. I can attest from my own experience that yes, lettuce is expensive so I have to find alternatives. It's not that I can't afford the higher costs all around, it's more or less if I don't skimp on things to meet a certain budget, I won't have much left over to allocate towards other aspects of life.

The local fields where I live are full of unharvested cabbages because the heads are too small.

Wish I could live where you live. I would gladly pay for those cabbages that are B grade.

Almost 700 yen for a cabbage round here. Used to be 100.

A years bad crop is not sufficient to claim "climate change", especially with other inflationary factors to consider.

A years bad crop is not sufficient to claim "climate change"

The claim of climate change is not done just because the year was bad, but because the reason for the bad crop (record high temperatures and extreme changes in rain) have been already correlated with climate change.

Virus...I noted your link re pickles and gastric cancer.

I think Japan has a high rate of gastric cancer in comparison to other nations.

My Father in Law actually died from stomach cancer.

Any thoughts....you often have a good science input here.

We grow a lot of our own food and our cabbages - even the winter ones now - are fine. And the ones we grew over the spring/summer last year were also fine (normal).

But in our local supermarket the cabbages are ¥480.

We are in Tohoku. There is something else driving this price hike in addition to climate.

What I am curious to see is, in the spring, how much the cost of cabbage plants will be. We have always bought them for ¥60 - ¥80 (1 plant = 1 cabbage, for those that don't know).

For commenters saying "eat food in season", cabbage is in season. Its a cold weather crop. Its expensive due to bad growing conditions. Concentration of supply in certain areas amplifies this.

I can't say a big mound of it with typical tonkatsu joint dressing is the best way to eat it, but each to their own.

@DanteKH

It's not only cabbage, but the rest of vegetables and fruits too. The prices are 3x, 4x times compared to 3,4 years ago, it's ridiculous.

Fruit has become a luxury. Three years ago you could get a bag of six fairly large apples for around ¥500 at some green grocers and cheap supermarkets. Nowadays the cheapest ones I see are little ones for ¥200 each.

Farmer often leave their own stock of cabbages out in the field to get covered by snow. It store the cabbage very well also heighten the sweetness.

My inlaws are retired and grow all their own fruit, vedge, rice and green tea. Enough for the whole family with a little to spare. All organic and delicious. It will be quite a shcok to the system and bank balance when they stop growing things.

Tora yes I agree and eat more pickles. It is a proven health benefit which should be more utilised in our diets. Its was utilised by past Japanese generation and longer healthier life of these generation is proof.

Not convinced about that argument.

Past generations of Japanese lived far shorter lives than the present one.

A few pickles here abd there are fine. Not too much, as they are very sodium heavy.

My local supermarket had cabbage at 250 yen, and Hakusai at 320.

Sold directly by the producer in the local producer corner. This is not Tokyo.

Selling at 400 for just a half size does mean a lot of money goes to the transporters and all intermediaries of the food supply chain

Yes of course, those are the four enemies of whatever industry, agriculture, economy in general: spring, summer, autumn and winter. An old common joke already for decades in communist countries behind the former Iron curtain. And now these little copycats here come up with the same pattern, slightly changed to cabbage and other vegetables and with an added climate change or let's say a four-season long enemy. Better bring some newer and more innovative complaints. lol

The real shocking part is how Japanese think cabbage = salad.

Better bring some newer and more innovative complaints. lol

Why? do you think people can control the weather and avoid damage because of it? because it not being possible it would mean there is no need to find new "complains" since the actual problems that cause crops to be lost are still there and cause problems.

The high price of cabbage is mainly in Tokyo and neighboring areas. Most ( not all ) farmers haven’t raised the price of cabbage that they sell but it’s the supermarket and all the mid handlers who have increased the prices. If you go to country side and buy directly from road side farmers you can still get a full big sized cabbage in under 150¥! Just bought 2 big cabbages from a road side farmer ( each costing 120¥ ) while driving back from Yamagata to Tokyo yesterday!

I think Japan has a high rate of gastric cancer in comparison to other nations.

Is not completely understood yet but in general is thought to be a triple punch of genetics, salty foods and high rates of infection with H. pylori

This also happens in South Korea and people that eat a lot of cabbage prepared as Kimchi also have higher rates of Gastric cancer in a similar situation with tsukemono in Japan. Eating the Cabbage (or other vegetables) fresh does not increase the risk.

And was just at the supermarket and saw a massive stack cabbages for 299 yen. The article title is disingenuous. More climate change nonsense.

Browny1 nails it with his comment on zero tax for fresh foods as in other G7 countries. Still, that doesn’t address the wider issue of price rises this article is about. How much is due to profiteering, as with rice and mikan, I wonder? And for those moaning about the price of fruit (off-topic?) try eating something else as your fellow commenters suggest.

Agree with several opinions here that doubt the reasoning for those extraordinary cabbage prices!

Producers complain of lower crops but confess they are 30% lower ! This shouldn't translate into 3-4 times (300%) higher prices!!!

Like all vegetables and fruits, the JA has size and shape restrictions. They won't take small-headed cabbages. The local farmers grow daikon, but the JA won't take them if they are too long, and they end up being thrown back into the fields. Those restrictions need to stop.

The real shocking part is how Japanese think cabbage = salad.

Cabbage is a good substitute for lettuce. Then there are the salad cabbages excellent for salads. If too hard for you to eat a light steam will improve that.

Cabbage salad.... never has something been more overrated. Now, I like cabbage -- it's a champion when it comes to vegetables you bought and then forgot in the fridge, and outlasts its leafy brethren. But up to ¥400 for a cabbage? Why? I would MUCH rather have a REAL salad at a restaurant than some thinly sliced cabbage with mayonnaise on top.

I was never a big fan of the mound of plain cabbage strips, tbh.

The Japanese government went against the general trend and now has to pay the price. When the world exploded with inflation because of COVID-19, and the war of interest rate increases... Japan tried to control it. When the world experienced inflation, Japan now had to face it.

They tried to separate each item in the price increase package to blame it on objective factors. Rice increased in price because of overtourism, because of the weather. Cabbage increased in price because of climate change... So why did other items also increase? Why did interest rates increase? Why did taxes increase?

Shortly, Japan will also have to face pressure from Trump, prices may not stop increasing!

Some weather phenomenon stated in the article may be due to climate change (higher summer temperature), and others may just be bad luck ("Days of intense localized rain, then a prolonged dry period with little sunshine have made things worse.").

I think it's not a good idea to blame climate change for expensive cabbages quite yet, because if prices go back down next year, this claim will look a bit silly. Let's wait a few more years to call this one.

I think it's not a good idea to blame climate change for expensive cabbages quite yet, because if prices go back down next year, this claim will look a bit silly.

Why? Climate change do not mean an homogeneous and predictable general change in the conditions that will happen "a little more" with every year, it means a drastic difference with what would be expected of the climate which will include extreme variability that can make specific crops completely lost one year but relatively unaffected the next. Unpredictable rains for example is a well described consequence, meaning that they can come as usual, sooner, later, in greater quantity or not at all according to the specific situation.

So yes, climate change can make specific crops to be scarce but not every year, nothing silly about it. Specially when people adapt to the changes.

Ok, well I'm not so sure there's evidence that climate change causes more instances of "Days of intense localized rain, then prolonged dry periods with little sunshine" in cabbage growing areas of Japan. I'd be happy to see some paper on it though.

Why? Climate change do not mean an homogeneous and predictable general change in the conditions that will happen "a little more" with every year, it means a drastic difference with what would be expected of the climate which will include extreme variability that can make specific crops completely lost one year but relatively unaffected the next. Unpredictable rains for example is a well described consequence, meaning that they can come as usual, sooner, later, in greater quantity or not at all according to the specific situation.

So yes, climate change can make specific crops to be scarce but not every year, nothing silly about it. Specially when people adapt to the changes.

Sorry VR, this is a load of climate cabbages, or supply chain profit profit, big rains only affect cabbage if they get root rot. whoever above has the home garden parents, true not true? Wallace, very true in all national supply chains. Have you ever heard of pick'ur own, your lady wife could introduce it to the farmer, I only ever buy small heads.. greater concentration of the minerals in them. is big beautiful? now climate change maybe changing that.

Ok, well I'm not so sure there's evidence that climate change causes more instances of "Days of intense localized rain, then prolonged dry periods with little sunshine" in cabbage growing areas of Japan.

https://www.env.go.jp/content/900449807.pdf

The number of days with heavy rain (100mm/day) has increased. Additionally, the number of occurrences of events with extreme precipitation (50mm/hour or more according to AMeDAS (Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System) data) is also increasing.* On the other hand, the annual number of days with precipitation of 1.0 mm/day or more has decreased, and the overall number of days with precipitation has decreased. The projection under the RCP8.5

I mean, this is something well described in many places, why would Japan not be included?

Sorry VR, this is a load of climate cabbages, or supply chain profit profit, big rains only affect cabbage if they get root rot. 

According to many sources this is not the case, for example

https://revistacultivar.com/news/Excessive-rain-causes-losses-in-vegetable-crops-in-RS

talks about different pests, delayed growth, loss of crops just sown, etc.

Ok, but we don't know that these specific thresholds are significant for Japanese cabbages. The website also gives the disclaimer that more data is needed to accurately determine these trends (because only 40 years of records were available for the interpolation). If you look, you can see the changes are much greater in Okinawa than elsewhere. There are lots of uncertainties, is my point.

The number of days with heavy rain (100mm/day) has increased. Additionally, the number of occurrences of events with extreme precipitation (50mm/hour or more according to AMeDAS (Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System) data) is also increasing. On the other hand, the annual number of days with precipitation of 1.0 mm/day or more has decreased, and the overall number of days with precipitation has decreased*

Much ado about nothing. People in rich countries are spoiled rotten . I don't like the price increases but if you are walking around wearing a Rolex or driving a Benz...

The price rises will be a mix of poorer harvests in some locations (particularly those that suffered from El Nino), higher costs for fuel to process and transport crops, and scarcity/cost of labour. Migrant labour may be blocked and wages are increasing. Border fees are now higher, especially with extra 'biosecurity' checks. Each of these things impacts the supply chain. It's not just one thing, it is a perfect storm, some beyond our control, some the result of government policies.

cabbages are usually left in fields as storage, as they do get sweeter with a bit of frost. But they are vulnerable there.

And the point on JA size/'quality' restrictions is important. Vegetables and fruit are not manufactured. Minor issues are normal. Stop wasting them and allow stuff to market that isn't perfect (sold in the UK as 'wonky').

For most of us, all this will mean paying a higher percentage of our income on food. It will be much harder on those who are genuinely short of cash. One coin cafes and food banks are needed to support those who are struggling.

Ok, but we don't know that these specific thresholds are significant for Japanese cabbages

Therefore is perfectly possible they are, and since they are reported this way there is no special difficulty to believe it so. The point is that the specific problems reported are related to climate change in many regions of the world, including Japan.

 If you look, you can see the changes are much greater in Okinawa than elsewhere.

How much cabbage is produced in Okinawa in the first place? It should be expected that crops on the southern islands to be of varieties that grow without that much difficulty in the weather experienced there.

Of course. For now it's just a hypothesis though. It's easily a PhD thesis.

Therefore is perfectly possible they are, and since they are reported this way there is no special difficulty to believe it so. The point is that the specific problems reported are related to climate change in many regions of the world, including Japan.

Yes, this is my point... You're staying national average stats without context like this. Okinawa has the most precipitation changes but probably little cabbage.

How much cabbage is produced in Okinawa in the first place? It should be expected that crops on the southern islands to be of varieties that grow without that much difficulty in the weather experienced there.

Of course. For now it's just a hypothesis though. It's easily a PhD thesis.

Hardly, factors already known to affect crops are present in Japan, crops are affected. In absence of any other explanation that fit the facts this is a perfectly fine one that requires nothing more than being aware of it.

Yes, this is my point..

But it defeats your point, Okinawa didn't begin to get the most precipitation recently, therefore it is understandable that from a long time ago it produces things that are not so easily affected. Meanwhile those places that usually can produce things like cabbage are finding the climate not so benign anymore, at least some years.

In a way climate change is turning other places similar to Okinawa, so it is expected that crops that usually went well before are no longer guaranteed to be produced anymore.

If you're convinced by this kind of logic, which involves making several assumptions, them who am I to argue with you.

Hardly, factors already known to affect crops are present in Japan, crops are affected. In absence of any other explanation that fit the facts this is a perfectly fine one that requires nothing more than being aware of it.

You're misunderstanding. I'm talking about the issues with the monitoring data due to aggregation, but let's just drop it.

But it defeats your point, Okinawa didn't begin to get the most precipitation recently, therefore it is understandable that from a long time ago it produces things that are not so easily affected. Meanwhile those places that usually can produce things like cabbage are finding the climate not so benign anymore, at least some years.

In a way climate change is turning other places similar to Okinawa, so it is expected that crops that usually went well before are no longer guaranteed to be produced anymore.

If you're convinced by this kind of logic, which involves making several assumptions, them who am I to argue with you.

Valid assumptions that don't stretch any logic, a cause for the loss is identified in Japan, a representative of an agricultural association offers this cause as the explanation for this specific case, the alternative is to assume some kind of conspiracy of which no evidence is presented, that would be irrational.

You're misunderstanding. I'm talking about the issues with the monitoring data due to aggregation

What issues? you said you doubted this could happen in Japan, it was easy to prove climate change had this kind of effects as described in the article, so the explanation is credible and valid. If you want to argue this is not the case then it becomes your job to give arguments that would indicate the agricultural organization is lying when it says the effects of climate change are not to blame even if partially.

Another assumption...

 a representative of an agricultural association offers this cause as the explanation for this specific case, the alternative is to assume some kind of conspiracy of which no evidence is presented, that would be irrational.

Another assumption...

A simple, logical one against which you blindly assume the representative whose declarations are included in the article is lying because some random conspiracy (you offer no alternative explanation).

Your assumption is the one that is unjustified, believing the article since it was proved climatic change affects Japan as the rest of the world don't require any special effort.

Climate change. BLA BLA BLA

Climate change. BLA BLA BLA

Rational people understand the value of information and use it to take better decisions, irrational people prefer to live in denial and pretend nothing they don't want to accept ever happens.

I ate kimchi tonight and I admit it tasted spicier than other times.

falla, VR, pls it's only a cabbage story,

when is a cabbage a vege or a salad or a vege salad , I use small head green cabbage as a salad. lettuce as a soup base. AS for okinawa, red herrings v pilchards. A good drop of rain then dry the soil. many of you readers grow your own!

falla, VR, pls it's only a cabbage story,

That does not make it irrelevant to provide accurate information, if you don't give importance to an article you are free to ignore it, but not to impose that to other people.