CNN's 'Eco Solutions' meets the Japanese innovators tackling the problem of food waste

HONG KONG,Dec. 17,2020 -- On this month's 'Eco Solutions',CNN international correspondent Selina Wangexplores how many people in Japan are now looking to tackle the problem of food waste head on – rethinking how we eat and conserving precious resources. In this 30-minute special,CNN meets the scientists and pioneers racing to find smart ways to make more and waste less.

CNN’s ‘Eco Solutions’ meets the Japanese innovators tackling the problem of food waste

As diners increasingly weigh up the environmental costs associated with consuming livestock,many are looking to unique meat alternatives. In his Tokyo restaurant Antcicada,entrepreneur Yuta Shinohara is looking to promote a sustainable and high-protein alternative to meat: insects. Shinohara is changing perceptions of insect food,serving up everything from gourmet cricket-based ramen to silkworm sausages.

Iconic Japanese company Nissin,famous for the Cup Noodle,is betting on the rise of eco-friendly comfort food. CNN learns about the company's latest project: a new steak-flavored ramen featuring meat grown in a lab. Nissin is collaborating with Tokyo University professor Shoji Takeuchi to develop this meat,which is grown from animal stem cells. In his lab,Takeuchi explains how this invention could cut emissions and feed a growing population.

Each year,Japan throws away millions of tons of still edible food. This problem of food waste has led some to find creative ways to champion the spirit of mottainai – a centuries old concept rooted in the philosophy of respecting the value in all things. Uchiyama Masahiro's new mottainai project restaurant serves up misshapen but perfectly edible dishes made from seafood which would otherwise have been discarded. Meanwhile,Kazuma Kawagoe's app 'Tabete' matches users with eateries offering discounted food before it's thrown away.

Food scraps are also revitalizing the Japanese paper tradition. CNN travels to Echizen,birthplace of the craft of making traditional Japanese paper,or washi. Here,artisans still make washi by hand – including Masami Igarashi,who is giving the 1500-year-old craft an eco-friendly update. She uses vegetable peels and other food waste as the basis of her paper products. This year,she even launched a line of biodegradable stationary products made up of her 'food paper'.

Japan uses billions of disposable wooden chopsticks,or waribashi,every year – but most of these are imported from unmanaged forests,claiming millions of trees annually. CNN hears from Yoshihiro Takeuchi,a craftsman from a new generation of waribashi designers working to produce upcycled chopsticks by only using scraps of trees from sustainably managed forests. CNN also meets Tokyo-based designer Eko Hayashi,who co-created a waribashi-making kit,including tools and upcycled cypress,in the hopes of attracting a new audience to the work of waribashi craftsmen.

Eco Solutions Japan trailer: https://bit.ly/381YM0c

Eco Solutions Japan images: https://bit.ly/2LrShwh

Eco Solutions microsite: https://cnn.it/3gAR7tQ

Airtimes for 30-minute special:

Saturday,December 26 at 2:00pm HKT

Sunday,December 27 at 11:00am and 7:00pm HKT

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