Michio Kushi

• Name — Michio Kushi • Born — 17 May 1926 • Birthplace — Kokawa, Wakayama, Japan • Died — 28 December 2014 • Place of death — Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. • Known for — Introducing macrobiotics to the West & establishing wholefood industry • Education — Political Science • Alma Mater — University of Tokyo • Occupation — Author, Lecturer • Children — 5

After World War II, Kushi studied in Japan with macrobiotic educator George Ohsawa. After going to America in 1949, Michio Kushi and Aveline Kushi, his wife, founded Erewhon Natural Foods, the East West Journal, the East West Foundation, the Kushi Foundation, One Peaceful World, and the Kushi Institute. They wrote over 70 books. Kushi studied law and international relations at the University of Tokyo, and after going to America, he continued his studies at Columbia University in New York City. Aveline preceded him in death (2001), as did their daughter (1995). Michio Kushi lived in Brookline, Massachusetts. He died of pancreatic cancer on December 28, 2014, at the age of 88.

• Illustration — Former Kushi Institute building at 17 Station Street in Brookline Village, in background, adjacent to Brookline, MA MBTA D-Train stop • Illustration — Kushi Institute, Becket, Massachusetts, 1996 • Illustration — Kushi Institute, Becket, Massachusetts, 1996 • 1994 Kushi received the Award of Excellence from the United Nations Society of Writers. • 1999 Mentioned in the Congressional record in recognition of the dedication and hard work to educate the world about the benefits of a macrobiotic diet. • 1999 The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History opened a permanent collection on macrobiotics and alternative health care in his name. The title of the collection is the "Michio and Aveline Kushi Macrobiotics Collection". It is located in the Archives Center. Michio and his first wife Aveline were founders of The Kushi Institute, located in Becket, Massachusetts through 2016, but formerly in a converted factory building in Brookline Village, Massachusetts, adjacent to Mission Hill, Boston. He and his first wife were awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for their "extraordinary contribution to diet, health, and world peace, and for serving as powerful examples of conscious living", on October 14, 2000.

Kushi argued that conventional cancer treatments are "violent and artificial" and promoted his macrobiotic diet to treat cancer. There is no clinical evidence that the macrobiotic diet is effective to treat cancer. The American Cancer Society asked Kushi for documentation of his cancer claims. The reply contained no clinical data. Two American nutritionists who have criticized Kushi's claim that a macrobiotic diet can cure cancer, Elizabeth Whelan and Frederick J. Stare, noted that: Kushi's claim that cancer is largely due to his own versions of improper diet, thinking, and lifestyle is entirely without foundation. In his books, Kushi has recounted numerous case histories of persons whose cancer allegedly disappeared after following a macrobiotic diet. There are no available statistics on the outcome for all of these patients, but it is documented that at least some of them succumbed to their disease within a relatively short period. Reported testimonials of remission often uncovered the fact that the patients were also receiving conventional medical treatment at the same time.