Civil Eats

“Humanity knows nothing at all. There is no intrinsic value in anything, and every action is a futile, meaningless effort.” Bleak, maybe. But these are the sentiments behind a book as inspired as it is sad. As Masanobu Fukuoka explains in The One-Straw Revolution, after three years working too hard as a produce inspector for a government customs office (along with some bad luck in love), he began to suffer fainting spells, then pneumonia, hospitalization, depression, a vision—and ultimately shaken confidence in the ability of intellect to explain the world. Humbled, he moved back to his father’s farm, where he began to experiment with natural methods of farming, planting rice, grains, and citrus. First published in 1978, his account of these experiences became an inspiration for the alternative food movement and was re-released this year as part of the New York Review of Books Classics series. Diet for A Small Planet author Frances Moore Lappé comments in the new introduction on its continuing importance as a rejection of fear “that has fueled the drive for control over nature” and as a source of hope for those who would follow in Fukuoka’s footsteps. Read More