SHIN DO FU JI

This old Japanese phrase, quoted by George Ohsawa, might almost be the motto of this blog. Shindo fuji. Macrobiotics is rooted in this non-dual metaphysic. But other than its advocacy of organic agriculture - which was revolutionary in its time - macrobiotics has been disconnected from the land: I want to connect it again with the practicalities of working the soil.

It is impossible to divorce matters of health from matters of soil. Human health begins in the soil. The ultimate exponent of a viable soil ecology is Alan Chadwick, the master gardener, and the methods he called the 'Biodynamic/French Intensive' system. This system makes the perfect complement to macrobiotic cuisine. The two things go together: macrobiotic cookery and Chadwick gardening. The body and the earth are not two.

I have to say, though, that my experience of macrobiotic people too often reveals a wide ignorance regarding systems of soil cultivation. Their sentiment is correct: they want natural and 'organic' systems. But they are not aware of the great differences between various purportedly 'organic' systems. Many of them are advocates of so-called 'permaculture', for example. But they are unaware that permaculture - by definition - lends itself to a fruit-based diet and - again by definition - is opposed, in principle and in practice, to the growing of cereal grains as a human staple. Permaculture proposes an agriculture based upon perennial plants (fruit trees mainly) and so is entirely incompatible with a macrobiotic diet.

Similarly, health-conscious people use the word "organic" as a blanket term in the simplistic belief that all things organic are good. Actually, many "organic" products are quite poor in quality and have not been grown in a way that produces quality human food. Many 'organic' systems are sloppy and primitive. I have spent 30+ years investigating the various methods that full under the blanket term 'organic'. The best systems, in my opinion, are Rudolf Steiner's "biodynamics" (although, again, there is a lot of variation in that category - some BD produce is rubbish) and Alan Chadwick's modified BD system (often called "biotintensive").

When it is properly done, and all factors are taken into account, Chadwick horticulture is optimum and goes best with macrobiotics. Like macrobiotics, it is an intelligent reconstruction of the very best aspects of preindustrial methods.  I hope to explore these issues in later posts.