*Subtitles: Choose “Subtitles/CC” in the “Settings” (gear icon) at the bottom right of the YouTube video.*Subtitles may not show with multiple languages or overlapping audio.

<Programme Overview>
The Programme titled “Preserving & Advancing Food Culture” was held on June 16, 2025, as part of the “Necessities of Life: Food, Clothing and Shelter Week” during the Osaka-Kansai Expo Theme Weeks. This session brought together experts to discuss Japan’s traditional food culture and its transmission to future generations, as well as the role and value of food in contemporary society from diverse perspectives. Topics included the formation of communities through food, sustainability, health, and education, highlighting the multifaceted significance of food culture. The session served as an opportunity to reconsider the future of food as a form of culture in modern society.

<Speaker Summary – Hitoshi Hokamura>
Hokamura, an expert in food tech, offered a broad perspective on the current challenges and future outlook of food culture. He began by stating, “Food is culture—it is an interface connecting society and individuals.” He emphasized that technological innovation influences more than just convenience; it also transforms values and lifestyles. In the face of global challenges like climate change and food crises, ensuring the sustainability of food systems has become a key issue. He argued for a move away from mass production and consumption and promoted efforts to reconstruct food systems rooted in natural cycles such as fermentation and plant-based ingredients—not merely as technologies but as cultural transformations.
Hokamura also advocated for the reevaluation of local gastronomy based on regional ingredients, techniques, and wisdom within a global context. Japan’s fermentation culture and local cuisine, he said, should be rediscovered for their inherent value. He emphasized the importance of co-creating new food culture models through dialogue with food practitioners worldwide. Highlighting the role of younger generations, he called for education and technology to help pass down values. Hokamura concluded by expressing hope that this session would serve as a platform to rediscover the diversity and strength of food culture and inspire collaborative innovation.

<Speaker Summary – Inez Cook>
Indigenous entrepreneur Inez Cook, based in Vancouver, Canada, shared her personal experiences and deep connection to her cultural roots through cuisine. She recounted the past when she had to hide her Indigenous background and said, “Through Food , I was able to reconnect to my culture.” Her dishes go beyond mere replication of traditions—they are a contemporary translation of almost-lost heritage, passed on to future generations.
Cook creates new forms of Indigenous cuisine by blending traditional ingredients and methods with modern sensibilities and technology. Her restaurant uses local ingredients like venison, salmon, and berries, incorporating storytelling to convey the cultural and historical context behind the food. She values collaboration with Indigenous communities in gathering and preparing ingredients and sees food as both healing and educational.
She noted that her work influences both younger generations and non-Indigenous communities, insisting that food has the potential to “break down walls and build bridges.” For Cook, Food is a cultural aspect that heals wounds, restores dignity, and fosters hope for the future. She concluded by stating, “Chefs are storytellers of culture,” and emphasized that a spirit of coexistence and mutual respect through food is essential to building a sustainable and diverse society.

<Speaker Summary – Ana Lobato Font>
Ana Lobato Font, who engages in food research and education at San Francisco de Quito University, spoke about sustainable food culture practices and their educational value in the Andean region of South America. She explained that in Indigenous communities, food is not just about nutrition—it’s a spiritual activity rooted in coexistence with nature and community connections.
At her university, Font works with local farmers to revive traditional ingredients and pass down low-impact farming and cooking methods. She expressed concern that while food globalization is progressing, local knowledge and food culture are being lost. “Local gastronomy is the key to protecting the future,” she declared.
She highlighted how food reflects a region’s climate, history, and ethnicity, and how rediscovering this can boost both sustainability and cultural diversity. Font’s Programme encourages students to learn with their bodies through farming and market research, realizing that food culture acts as a “dialogue device” between people and nature. She also shed light on women’s roles in preserving food culture, noting that everyday cooking traditions have been handed down through generations by women and form a body of female knowledge. Font concluded by urging that rebuilding a sustainable relationship between culture and nature through food can contribute to solving global challenges.

<Speaker Summary – Ryohei Hayashi>
Chef Ryohei Hayashi, owner of the Japanese restaurant TENOSHIMA, reflected on his culinary journey and spoke on balancing preservation and innovation in food culture. After training at the prestigious Kyoto restaurant Kikunoi, he opened his own place, inheriting the Japanese culinary spirit of “reflecting the seasons” and deep respect for ingredients.
Hayashi stressed the need for flexibility in responding to changing food environments and values, stating that preserving tradition also requires “the courage to question it.” At TENOSHIMA, he uses seasonal ingredients from Setouchi islands to express the region’s climate and history on the plate. His approach is more than just local production for local consumption; it’s about reconnecting people, land, and food.
He emphasized dialogue with producers and delivering the stories behind the ingredients to diners as crucial to preserving food culture. Hayashi is also dedicated to training young chefs and believes that “conveying philosophy, not just technique, is a chef’s duty.” Modern chefs, he said, must reflect on their social and environmental responsibilities, always asking what their dishes communicate to society. He concluded by stating that the delicacy and depth of Japanese cuisine, along with the spirit of passing it on, can offer valuable insights to global food culture and that the preservation of food culture lies in daily practice.

<Speaker Summary – Lina Sakai>
Lina Sakai, fouder and CEO of Fermenstation Co., Ltd, spoke about her efforts to build a circular economy through fermentation. Formerly engaged in M&A work, developed an interest in utilizing unused resources and began studying fermentation and microorganisms. In the course of her studies, she started in Ōshū City, Iwate Prefecture, by focusing on the use of fallow rice fields as an underutilized resource. Today, her activities have expanded beyond fallow fields to encompass a wide range of unused resources, such as food residues.
At Fermenstation, the company she leads, fermentation technologies have been developed to convert raw materials—such as residues from manufacturing processes at food and beverage factories, including coffee grounds, rice bran, and non-standard food products—into fermented seasonings, flavored alcohols, and more. She explained that this initiative not only addresses the utilization of underused resources but also contributes to the local economy, employment, and community building.
She stressed fermentation’s “power to connect” people, microbes, and communities, framing it as a way to reexamine human coexistence with nature. She advocated a perspective of “learning from microbes.” Through partnerships with businesses, governments, and farmers, her company is building a regional circular model. Sakai expressed a desire to pass on fermentation’s value not only as a technology but as a cultural heritage. Even on a small scale, she believes fermentation has the power to drive social change and reaffirmed her commitment to co-creating new food culture and society with microbes.

<Summary of the second half of the session>
The second half of the session centered around the shared theme of “How can we preserve and advance food culture for future generations?” Moderator Hokamura emphasized a recurring theme among the speakers: reconnecting with society and nature through food, a movement unfolding globally.
Sakai highlighted how fermentation appeals to both the emotional and rational senses, providing an intuitive entry point to understanding coexistence with nature, and advocated for experiential education. Hayashi expressed concern about the growing gap between food producers and consumers and proposed storytelling to enhance sensitivity to food.
Cook reiterated the importance of cultural regeneration through food and emphasized the need to create environments where younger generations can embrace their roots. Font spoke of education rooted in local food cultures as a way to build “relationships,” not just knowledge, with cooking as a conduit between people and the land.
The discussion also touched on themes such as the transition away from mass production and consumption, the reevaluation of local knowledge, and rediscovering the wisdom upheld by women and Indigenous communities. Hokamura concluded, “Talking about food is talking about how we live,” emphasizing that technological advancement and cultural enrichment must go hand in hand. Each speaker’s unique practices converged into a shared vision of food culture’s inclusiveness, circularity, and creativity—pointing the way to new societal values for the future.