by John Haberern, President, The Rodale Institute

This article originally appeared in The Rodale Institute Partner Report, Spring, 1999 and is reprinted here with the kind permission of Mr. John Haberern.

A global partnership that has the potential to help create lasting peace and health on this planet! Now that's certainly a tall order. But that's the mission we've embarked on with our newest partner, a profoundly visionary Japanese spiritual organization known as Shinji Shumeikai. Since its founding more than fifty years ago by the Japanese businessman Mokichi Okada, Shinji Shumeikai has focused singularly on world peace by showing people how to respect and practically use the power of nature. Although this 300,000-member organization, led by President Hiroko Koyama, has concentrated on the enhancement of art and beauty, its focus today is increasingly on "nature farming", building soil and growing unsprayed, chemical-free food at the lowest cost. "The principal of the natural agriculture method is an overriding respect and concern for nature," Mokichi Okada wrote in 1952. "Nature can teach us everything." Eugene Imai, Director of Shinji Shumeikai of America, explains it this way, "Natural Agriculture is not just about growing healthy crops and making our bodies healthy. The core of Natural Agriculture is to connect ourselves with nature and through natural agriculture we can bring ourselves back to nature."

That concept of respect and love for nature is really at the heart of The Rodale Institute's Regenerative Agriculture message. And that's why we feel The Rodale Institute and Shinji Shumeikai make a great team. In fact, we actually have a link to Mokichi Okada's work through our Institute's founder J. I. Rodale who corresponded with him during those early days when both leaders were striving to plant a consciousness of nature and the organic way in their own countries.

Not much happened in the way of contact in the ensuing years. However, two years ago a small group of Shinji Shumeikai members led by Executive Board Member, Mr. Satoshi Togo visited The Rodale Institute. What I call a spiritual link was made immediately. Last year we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Shumei to study and expand Natural Agriculture as an alternative to modern agriculture in Japan and throughout the world. Our collaboration is growing in understanding and strength and we have also agreed to work together on global education programs for children, helping them understand and use in their lives the connection between Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People ®.

Our own fifty-plus years of global experience and success in regenerative agriculture will provide the blueprint for this collaborative work.

But a true, viable partnership is not a one-way street. We are learning much from our Japanese friends, especially the concept of spirituality and how I think it can help us unravel and make practical the mysteries of regeneration. Bob Rodale once wrote: "Regeneration is a mystery. We can see the effects of regeneration and can enhance regeneration. We can use regeneration in our lives. But when we ask why the earth heals and why the land regenerates, we are left with a mystery for the spirit."

But for many people, that concept is hard to accept, especially when it comes to the regenerating and healing powers of nature in gardens and farms. They ignore the ability of the land to renew itself from within and thus from keeping food production up at a very low cost by using the right ways. Instead, by relying purely on science and technological advances, people try to dominate nature and the land. That is a no-win situation. Nature is too wild, too full of wisdom we have yet to know. The end result is degeneration of the rural culture, unhealthy people and a polluted environment. We need to restrain the dominance approach and chart a course that leads to positive changes in human attitude, a change from a battle against nature into the art of appreciation and partnership with nature. Our partnership with Shinji Shumeikai, I'm convinced, will help us do exactly that - putting us on a path toward renewal and rebirth for this planet.

FROM SHUMEI MAGAZINE, VOL. 220, MARCH/APRIL, 1999