Fukushima fallout hits farmers [View all]
By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO - Life for Yoshihiro Watanabe and his wife Mutsuko, mushroom and rice farmers from Fukushima, has changed drastically since the disastrous meltdowns in the Dai Ichi nuclear plant that was hit by a massive tsunami after a 9.0 strong earthquake struck on March 11, 2011.
"Dangerous levels of radiation from the crippled nuclear reactors have effectively forced us to stop our mushroom cultivation and reduced our farming income almost 80%," Watanabe told IPS.
He added that the family is also taking extreme care to protect
their health by choosing only "safe" food, resulting in "a nerve-wracking lifestyle". Exposure of food to radiation increases cancer risks.
Under limits set by the Japanese government, food products that report contamination exceeding 100 becquerels per kilogram cannot be sold. Becquerels are a measure of food radiation.
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