Call it “Zen and the Art of Farming” or a “Little Green Book,” Masanobu
Fukuoka’s manifesto about farming, eating, and the limits of human knowledge
presents a radical challenge to the global systems we rely on for our food. At
the same time, it is a spiritual memoir of a man whose innovative system of
cultivating the earth reflects a deep faith in the wholeness and balance of the
natural world. As Wendell Berry writes in his preface, the book “is valuable to
us because it is at once practical and philosophical. It is an inspiring,
necessary book about agriculture because it is not just about
agriculture.”
Trained as a scientist, Fukuoka rejected both modern
agribusiness and centuries of agricultural practice, deciding instead that the
best forms of cultivation mirror nature’s own laws. Over the next three decades
he perfected his so-called “do-nothing” technique: commonsense, sustainable
practices that all but eliminate the use of pesticides, fertilizer, tillage, and
perhaps most significantly, wasteful effort.
Whether you’re a guerrilla
gardener or a kitchen gardener, dedicated to slow food or simply looking to live
a healthier life, you will find something here—you may even be moved to start a
revolution of your own.
No comments:
Post a Comment