Excerpts from One Peaceful World by Michio Kushi

.....I examined hundreds of papers and more than sixty drafts of proposed world constitutions published during the twentieth century, in addition to many debates, discussions, and reports related to the formation of the League of Nations, the United Nations, and a world federal government.... I discovered there were many conflicts within the international community: cultural differences, racial differences, religious differences, languages differences, educational level differences, social and economic differences, ideological differences. How was the whole world to be united?.... I started to wonder. We definitely needed world government to prevent nuclear catastrophe. But the arrogance of each race or each country would still remain. People would still become sick. Families could still be unhappy. Crime would continue. I began to doubt whether the structural change of society alone could really realize world peace. It might exert some control over atomic bombs and other destructive measures...Temporarily, agreements might be reached, but eventually they would collapse.

What was the solution?...I went to see Albert Einstein, Harold Urey, Thomas Mann, Upton Sinclair, and other prominent scientists, authors, and statesmen. I wrote letters to Prime Minister Nehru of India and other leading figures devoted to the cause of world peace and world order.

Everyone said: Yes, Michio, we need world government but it is not a lasting solution. We need something to make humanity really peaceful. But we don't know what it is.

My contact with these men-moral and intellectual giants-further convinced me that, although the formation of a world federation was absolutely necessary for avoiding future warfare, it was not the ultimate answer for building a better world and enabling humanity to realize its physical, mental and spiritual potential. It became apparent to me that in order to realize universal peace and happiness, the human race needed to be elevated toward physical health, sound mind, and ever greater spiritual understanding.

.... Peace does not begin with any political party, religious movement, or social platform. It begins in kitchens and pantries, gardens and backyards, where the physical source of our daily life-food, the staff of life, our daily bread-is grown and prepared. From individual hearts and homes, peace radiates out to friends and neighbors, communities and nations. Whoever takes charge of the cooking is our general, our pilot... Brown rice, miso soup, whole grain bread, fresh vegetables- these and other whole, unprocessed foods are our "weapons" to turn around the entire world. The energies of nature and the infinite universe are absorbed through the foods we eat and are transmuted into thoughts and the actions that spring from them. By becoming one with our larger environment and observing the universal laws of change and harmony, we are quite capable of restoring balance and order to our planet.

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