The One-Straw Revolution - Multiworld India

One Farmer Speaks OutThere is a great deal of concern in Japan these days, and justifiablyso, about the deteriorating quality of the environment and the resultingcontamination of food. Citizens have organized boycotts and largedemonstrations to protest the indifference of political and industrialleaders. But all of this activity, if carried out in the present spirit, onlyresults in wasted effort. To talk about cleaning up specific cases ofpollution is like treating symptoms of a disease while the root cause ofthe malady continues to fester.Two years ago, for instance, a conference for the purpose ofdiscussing pollution was organized by the Agricultural ManagementResearch Center, together with the Organic Agricultural Council and theNada Co-op. The chairman of the conference was Mr. Teruo Ichiraku,who is head of the Japanese Organic Farmers Association, and is alsoone of the most powerful figures in the government's Agricultural Co-op.The recommendations of this agency as to which crops and seed varietiesshould be grown, how much fertilizer should be used and whichchemicals should be applied are followed by nearly every village farmerin Japan.Because such a diversity of influential people were taking part, Iattended with hopes that far79