As a recent consumer trend for food, people are becoming more particular about the origin of the products. While the globalization has brought us the accessibility to a variety of food products from around the world, our concerns about how they are produced and/or processed are also increasing. Rising interest in food safety should be welcomed, but it is also arguable that there has been a distorted, excessive belief in certain products’ origins. Professionals at the wholesale market warn us consumers that we need to trust our own eyes and sense of taste in choosing what to eat, rather than depending on "Product from XX’s" labels. A young intermediary wholesaler for an eel shop says that he hopes "more people would actually see, buy, and eat food for themselves before they decide which products are good to eat, regardless of where they are from.
Many of them also insist on the importance of talking with the shop owner when shopping. "For seafood, it is essential to talk to the shop before you pick what to buy," says the eel shop owner. "They will tell you which one is the freshest and which one is in the best season. Ask the shop for their recommendation and confirm it with your own eyes before making a final decision to buy."
This is not a tip limited to buying seafood, of course. Today, many people shop at supermarkets, where such traditional communications between the shop and the customer rarely occur. Although changes in our lifestyles have been somewhat inevitable, we need to pay more attention to what we have lost in exchange for modern convenience. We may have lost more than we think we have gained.

Basically, we eat what nature provides us. It is natural that nature's products vary in taste and nutrients, depending on the conditions of weather, soil, or water current. However, to keep the products' quality at a certain desired level, the producers have introduced various machines and data technologies. We may appreciate today's constant supply of almost any food products throughout the year. However, we cannot immediately conclude that our diet has been enriched because of this convenience. Some people have pointed out that our food has actually become less nutritious. We may have forgotten how to live on food in a way which nature has intended.
While globalization continues to progress, new and diverse ideas about our food and lives, such as "chisan-chisho (locally produced, locally consumed)," have emerged. The Honjo Market is known for its unlimited selection of products, as it is often described as "there is nothing that is not sold (at Honjo)." At the Tobu Market (Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka), on the other hand, traditional Naniwa vegetables and other local specialties are traded and have become a symbol of the market. Senshu mizunasu (eggplant), Kema kyuri (cucumber), and other vegetable varieties that have been long grown in the area are expected to become a new "brand" to promote the recognition of Osaka City.
 Food is essential for our lives and developed food culture enriches our living. Osaka has established a unique tradition that involves food, but how can it be saved and be inherited by the generations to come? People today do not have much time to spend on choosing ingredients and cooking them in an authentic manner. It has also become so easy to buy prepared food. It is often hard for us to imagine realistically how those ingredients are produced and how much labor has gone into their production before they eventually arrive to us consumers. We may be facing the unprecedented time when we are surrounded by excessively abundant food and at the same time are allowing our cherished food culture to disappear. Our tour of the market made us determined to preserve Osaka's invaluable tradition as a gastronomic city.