The One-Straw Revolution - Multiworld India

pollution. Would it not be better to talk straightforwardly aboutdiscontinuing the use of the chemicals which are causing the pollution?Rice, for example can be grown very well without chemicals, as cancitrus, and it is not difficult to grow vegetables that way either. I said thatit could be done, and that I had been doing it on my farm for years, butthat as long as the government continued to endorse the use of chemicals,no one else would give clean farming a try.Members of the Fisheries Bureau were present at the meeting, aswere people from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and theAgricultural Co-op. If they and the chairman of the conference, Mr.Ichiraku, had really wanted to get things going and had suggested thatfarmers throughout the country should try growing rice withoutchemicals, sweeping changes could have been made.There was one great problem, however. If crops were to be grownwithout agricultural chemicals, fertilizer, or machinery, the giantchemical companies would become unnecessary and the government'sAgricultural Co-op Agency would collapse. To put the matter right outfront, I said that the Co-ops and the modern agricultural policymakersdepend on large capital investment in fertilizer and agriculturalmachinery for their base of power. To do away with machinery andchemicals would bring about a complete change in the economic andsocial structures. Therefore, I could see no way that Mr. Ichiraku, theCo-ops or the government officials could speak out in favor of measuresto clean up pollution.When I spoke out in this way, the chairman said, "Mr. Fukuoka, youare upsetting the conference with your remarks," shutting my mouth forme. Well, that's what happened.81