By gibic on Skatehive
I just finished reading The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka and it left me with a lot to think about. This little book has been translated into over 20 languages and sold more than a million copies since it was published in 1975. It’s one of the founding documents of the alternative food movement. But what makes it so special? Masanobu Fukuoka was born in 1913 on the island of Shikoku in Japan. He studied plant diseases and worked as a customs inspector examining imported plants for fungi and pests. At 25, he got really sick with pneumonia, and during his recovery, he had what he called a spiritual awakening. He suddenly saw that all human achievements were meaningless compared to the wholeness of nature. He quit his promising science career and went back to his family's farm. For the next 65 years, he developed what he called "natural farming" or "do-nothing farming." The book was written with help from Larry Korn, an American who lived and worked on Fukuoka's farm in the ear