Hotels, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons are now actively serving macrobiotic products to their staffs, clients, and the general public. In Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian Institution opened a permanent collection at the National Museum of American History recognizing macrobiotics as the catalyst and spearhead for the natural, organic foods movement and alternative and complementary medicine in the United States.

Edward Esko, the author of this book, has been among the most active contemporary macrobiotic teachers over the last twenty-five years, lecturing and counseling in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and throughout North America and writing and editing numerous books and articles. Building on the teachings of George Ohsawa, Michio Kushi, and other forebears, he has applied yin and yang--the universal principles of change and harmony--to helping solve personal health concerns, as well as problems related to crime and violence in society, the environmental crisis, and other social ills.

Contemporary Macrobiotics recounts the author's adventures, discoveries, and travels. Like a peaceful Jedi Knight, we see him sallying forth through the dark, forbidding nutritional landscape of Europe, upholding the virtues of sea salt against an array of detractors. Like a modern samurai swordsman, we see him plunging into the thicket of biological transmutation, conceiving of new ways to produce steel, tungsten, and other precious metals and defuse the approaching energy crisis. From John Lennon and Yoko Ono to Dr. Spock and T. Colin Campbell, he engages seers and prophets of balance who have foreseen the limits of modern society.

On his journeys, Edward continually offers practical advice to individuals and families, organizations and nations. In these pages, we see him showing parents how to prevent their children from being hyperactive. He helps others reverse schizophrenia, overcome hypoglycemia, or relieve a kidney stone. In macrobiotics, the personal and planetary are inseparable. When one person is nourished, the whole planet benefits. When the world is healed, each person is cleansed and refreshed.

The essays in this book are part of the most exciting adventure in the world today--macrobiotica, the universal life--to preserve our planet and ensure humanity's continued biological and spiritual evolution for future generations. Please enjoy the literary voyage before you, begin to incorporate principles of natural order in your own life, and join in the eternal quest for enduring health and peace.