Home Economics is Something this Generation Needs

Japan is a country that exhibits behavior of a solid running country. The history is long and rich, filled with different cultural time periods. Once looked upon an archenemy, they are now one of America’s closest allies. Japan is a country that takes education into great importance. The Japanese think that a solid education will lead to a successful life in the economic hub. Working is a very serious entity that is integrated within the Japanese mindset, that often times many Japanese people have a very high level of stress, in fact the economy of Japan is ranked third in the world. Yet, the life expectancy is 83 years old, compared to the USA’s 78 years. With so much stress on the some of the Japanese people’s minds, one might think how they live five years longer than the average American. There are many factors in this such as exercise, but there is one aspect that should be dug in deeper. The diet.

The eating habits of the Japanese are heavily revolved around fish, soy, rice, fruits, and vegetables. Processed foods are still around in Japan, but many are conscious of the effects. In fact 70% of foods in the U.S. market today are processed. In the Marketplace podcast “Processed foods make up 70% of the U.S. diet, Kai Ryssdal talks to Melanie Warner the author of Pandora’s Lunchbox. The FDA allows about 5,000 additives that are allowed to go into our food. She states, “The FDA actually doesn’t actually know how many additives are going into our food. This is in part because regulations are not only self-regulatory – so the food industry is doing the testing – but it’s also voluntary”(http://www.marketplace.org/2013/03/12/life/big-book/processed-foods-make-70-percent-us-diet). With these food regulations many chemicals are used to make food and other products last longer to increase productivity for the food companies. In a study composed by Carlos Monteiro at University of Sao Paolo, he discovered that, “Americans get less than 1% of their daily calories from vegetables” (http://time.com/4252515/calories-processed-food/). With this in mind the Japanese have found a solution in which people can avoid these processed foods, and find healthier options. Their answer is simple, instill cooking into their education.

Elementary school in Japan ranges from grades one-six, Junior high school is three years, and high school is another three years. The Japanese school children start taking cooking classes in some schools when they are around nine or ten. Home economics, or in Japanese katei-ka, is taught in the fifth grade of Japan. In these classes children are being slowly acclimated to the endeavors they will face in adulthood. Both boys and girls are required to take these classes, Alice Gordenker of the Japan Times goes on to state, “I had stepped into a lesson… A group of fifth-graders had just completed a sewing project and were giving oral presentations on what they had learned. What surprised me was that half the kids in the classroom were boys” (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2001/11/16/lifestyle/sewing-and-cookery-arent-just-for-the-girls-2/, Alice Gordenker). This exposes a major flaw in the American education system. The children in America are not being exposed to what food are good to eat, or how to make a home cooked meal, so in result many are forced to eat junk food such as soda, chips, and sugary foods. Back in the 60’s and 70’s home economics was a class specifically for women, and the boys would take a course in repairs. After social reform movements both classes were not necessary in the U.S. education system. As a result more and more kids lost the insight they gained from the classes, and have become vulnerable when it deals with preparing a meal, or choosing what to buy from the grocery store. With education reforms changing every so often, home economics was brought back to middle schools and high schools, but are not funded as much as they should be. In Japan it is mandatory to study home economics for eight years. “Home economics in Japanese schools are not simply a practical course of study. The curriculum is carefully designed to get children to value cooperation in the home and examine their own roles as contributing members of a family… encourages them to think about what kind of life, and what kind of household, they should have as adults” (Gordenker). According to the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) only 3.5% of the Japanese population is obese. In the United States 30% of people are considered to be obese. Data produced from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Studies state that, “About one-third of children and adolescents ages 6-19 are considered to be overweight or obese and more than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6-19 are considered to be obese” (https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/Pages/overweight-obesity-statistics.aspx). With this in mind the U.S. Department of Education should realize there might be a correlation between education and dietary health.

What the United States should do in order to help prevent more obesity, diabetes, and heart disease is to help improve home economics and cooking classes in schools starting in a younger age. Maybe with educational reform in that sense, and years worth of home economic and cooking classes will our population be healthier, and be able to cook a variety of dishes for themselves and their loved ones.