nuclear-news

WAGYU BEEF FARMERS’ ‘NUCLEAR REBELLION’

Inside the Fukushima nuclear power plant, five years after the disaster was triggered by an earthquake and tsunami, news.c om.au, MARCH 10, 2016 [EXCELLENT PHOTOS] “…….Protesters have staged rallies across the world against the restarting of the reactors.

Since the 2011 meltdowns ended their future as prized black “wagyu” beef, a rancher near the Fukushima nuclear power plant has given his cattle a new mission: They’ve become protesters.

Defying both government evacuation and slaughter orders, 62-year-old Masami Yoshizawa returned to his ranch 14 kilometres from the plant to keep his cattle alive as living proof of the disaster.

He and his cattle are no doubt a nuisance for the government as Japan gears up to showcase Fukushima’s recovery ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“An effort to eliminate a negative reputation is nothing but a cover-up,” he said. “This is a farm that chronicles and tells the story of Fukushima’s radiation contamination disaster. We’ll stay here at the Ranch of Hope, and keep sending our message.”…………….

“I said I was not going to let any more cows die on my ranch,” said Yoshizawa.

His mostly lone resistance hasn’t been easy. Authorities tried to block his feed transport, and kept trying to persuade him to kill his cows.

The location of his ranch, on the border between two towns — Namie and neighbouring Minamisoma — may have worked in his favour. Both towns have looked the other way and virtually given up. A prefabricated hut on a driveway to the Ranch of Hope — which Yoshizawa renamed after the accident with the hope of establishing a nuclear-free society — serves as a tiny office for what he calls his “nuclear rebellion.” Skulls of cattle that died early in the crisis decorate the exterior. His cows keep him company, mooing and grazing.

Radiation levels at the ranch measure about 10 times the safe benchmark………http://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/inside-the-fukushima-nuclear-power-plant-five-years-after-the-disaster-was-triggered-by-an-earthquake-and-tsunami/news-story/f80b140e5505709a55ab6ee6cc5a9228

March 11, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima 2016, Japan, opposition to nuclear