From President
A message from the President of the Society (June, 2009)
The President of the Japan Society of Nutrition and Food Science (2008-2009) : Kazumi Yagasaki
This society based on the undertakings of presentations, exchanging knowledge, and delivering information on the theories or usage of research of Nutrition and Food Science has the purposes of measuring ways to make lasting improvements to Nutrition and Food Science and making a contribution to the academic development and increase in health of our citizens.
The book that was published to celebrate the 50th anniversary since the foundation of the Japan Society of Nutrition and Food Science titled, "To Enjoy Food and Live Healthy"(Published in 1997) records everything written from since before the start of the association to the formation.
In there, the descriptions appear several times, "Nutrition and food for the first time together can contribute to the improvement of nutrition", and "The Public Administration of Nutrition will have to cooperate with the spread of all aspects of the Public Administration of Food." With the passage of time, we have now come to greet the 63rd annual general meeting in Nagasaki in May of this year, 2009.
During this time, even though there were ups and downs, our country’s economic development was remarkable, and there is a greater abundance of food products than you could imagine around about the end of World War II, the period when there was a lack of food.
The people of our country, which is a super-aging society, are deeply interested in what is called Lifestyle Disorders, and are requesting the development of research and the delivery of information about food products and the components of food products that contribute to protecting against Lifestyle Disorder, and the way of eating properly. On the other hand, they also feel uneasy about the self-sufficiency rate for food and the safety of food products.
Furthermore, conducting studies about such topics as improving health, prevention and recovery of diseases, and also conducting useful studies that resolve these global problems such as food problems and energy problems together with environmental problems that make it possible to improve human development are anticipated.
In these, to make clear and resolve the problems of nutrition and food science, we understand researchers from the academic fields of Medicine, Agriculture, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Life Sciences, Health Sciences, and Engineering have been cooperating largely together, exchanging information, cooperating on research, and that this is the societal responsibility that has been laid upon the society and the members of the society to respond to these problems in either direct or implicit ways.
This society, in order to develop even more in the future, has several measures that it needs to enact in the short to mid-term. One of those is about the international activities of this society. In regards to the proposal to Japan for the Asian Congress of Nutrition in 2015, which was one of the outstanding issues from the previous board, Japan is showing already that it will hold the general meeting with this society at the center.
Also, in the general meeting, they will conduct symposiums in English, and, at the 64th annual general meeting they are thinking they also want to plan this. Through these things, it is anticipated that interaction with other related academic societies around the world, particularly in Asia, will increase.