Summary and
Impressions
of the Macrobiotic Community:Chico is home of the
George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation, and nearby Oroville is the site of the Vega
Study Center and French Meadows Summer Camp. Oroville is the location of
the Vega Study Center, a principal school in the past for studying
macrobiotics during the course of Herman Aihara's life. The Vega Study Center has
fallen on hard times since the passing of Herman Aihara, but Cornelia and
her son continue a macrobiotic presence. Aside from these major macrobiotic institutions, there
are few community
functions in the area. Counseling and cooking services are available,
however, from resident teachers. Chico, the home of the George Ohsawa
Macrobiotic Foundation (GOMF), is operated by Carl Ferre. The foundation
publishes books and a bi-monthly magazine entitled "Macrobiotics
Today". Julia Ferre and Bob Carr of Cleveland, also operate the macrobiotic summer
camp near Oroville every July.
David Briscoe and his wife Cynthia maintain an active counseling in
Chico and run online macrobiotic courses.
Paid
or Potluck Dinners:There is a macrobiotic
dinner at the GOMF annual meeting. Otherwise there are no organized
activities in the area.
Education
Centers:Vega Study Center is not
operating at the moment but may be revived in the near future by David
Briscoe.
Seminars:Internet courses given by David Briscoe on
www.macroamerica.com.
Newsletter:None.
Support
Groups:None now but used to be
many.
Visiting
Counselors and Cooking Teachers:Only at the French Meadows
summer camp.
Resident
Counselors:David Briscoe. David is planning to expand into an apprentice
counselor-training program where the counselor shares his diagnosis and
recommendations with David and gets feedback.
Resident
Cooking Teachers:Dr. Robert
Ruggles.
Professional
Cooks or Caterers:None.
Work
Study Programs:Not now; hopefully with the
revival of Vega Study Center.
Other
Counselor Interests: None
Promotional
Activities:Advertising in
Macrobiotics
Today.
Publications,
Books, Cassettes:The GOMF publishes books and
the Macrobiotics Today Magazine bi-monthly.
Mail
Order Buying Clubs:Julia Ferre organizes a
buying group from "Mountain People's Warehouse" from Auburn, CA.
Macrobiotic
Community Assessment: Moderate
Activities: 1 resident counselor and 1 part time cooking teacher. Dormant
Activities: Annual pot luck dinner at Macro Foundation in Chico only; many
practicing macros, but no activities. Vega center started in 1974.
Area
Description: Two small communities about 150 miles north of San
Francisco, but significant to the macrobiotic movement because of the Vega
Study Center and summer camp operated by the George Ohsawa Macrobiotic
Foundation.
Municipalities
with Macrobiotic Services or Community Activities:Chico and Oroville.
Summary and
Impressions
of the Macrobiotic Community:There is a sense in Los Angeles that macrobiotics influence is far
more extensive than we found it to be.There are many practicing macrobiotic people and services, but
community activity leaves a lot of room for improvement.Cecille Levin began counseling in West Hollywood in the 1970's at
an East West Foundation; there was also a macro restaurant at the time.
Her presence was strongly felt for a long time in
the area. Her passing has had a strong influence on the
current community.In 1968, Aveline Kushi
established a study group in Los Angeles and opened a one room shop on
Beverly Boulevard called Erewhon.It
has since become a model store in the industry.One of Aveline's students, Thomas De Silva, began working in the
store in 1969 and in 1980, became its owner.It still operates, but in a larger location.Roy Stevens, Muromoto and Verne Varona were other early teachers in
the area.Mina Dobic brings to the San Diego and Los Angeles area one
of the most dynamic personalities in the macrobiotic world today.
Paid
or Potluck Dinners:
Karen Bryson has a weekday Take-Out service. Pam Buonanotte does paid macro dinners on holidays in
Orange County.Kathy
Manning used to have monthly dinners with speakers and is planning to
resume them.
Education
Centers:None.
Seminars:Health Classics Seminar
annually (alternates with San Diego; each location annually).Pat Murray organizes occasional seminars in the area.
Newsletter:None.
Support
Groups:Weekly at macrobiotic
restaurant; used to be at Jennifer Green's house
Visiting
Counselors and Cooking Teachers:Verne Varona, Mina Dobic regularly.
Resident
Counselors: Katharine
Manning
Resident
Cooking Teachers:Katharine Manning, Laura
Garrett and Karen Bryson (818 766-8804) , Nadine Barner (used to), Gerry McMillen, Ann Gentry
(occasionally).
Professional
Cooks or Caterers:Ann Gentry, Kim Cohen,
Laura Garrett (805) 530-1500
Work
Study Programs:None.
Other
Counselor Interests: None
Promotional
Activities:Only for Health
Classics Seminar
Publications,
Books, Cassettes:At local health food
stores
Macrobiotic
Restaurants:Real Foods Daily (2
macrobiotic restaurants) operated by Ann Gentry; there are 35 restaurants
with vegan options on their menus in addition of Whole Foods, Wild Oats
and other health food stores with salad bars.
Natural
Food Chain Stores:Whole Foods, Wild Oats
Independent
Natural Food Stores:
Payless Foods, Papa John's
Health Center, Nutri Doc, Follow Your Heart, Health Emporium, Mother's
Market and Kitchen, Kay's Natural Choice, Erewhon Natural Foods, Rainbow
Acres
Natural
Food Co-Ops:Venice Ocean Park Food
Co-Op, Co-Opportunity Consumer's Cooperative
Mail
Order Buying Clubs:None
Macrobiotic
Community Assessment: Healthy Services:1 resident counselor & 4 cooking teachers; 2 visiting
counselors.Moderate
Activities: Weekly Support group; 2 macro restaurants; dinners planned for
future; Pat Murray seminars.Macro
Center ofSouthern CA created
many activities until it recently closed.Macrobiotics started in 1968 with the opening of Erewhon, the first
natural foods store in the west, and an East West Foundation in the
1970’s.
Area
Description: Los Angeles
ranks as the second largest city in the United States.It is the industrial, financial and trade centers of the west.It is also the largest manufacturing center in the country.It is among the nation's leaders in the production of aircraft and
equipment for space exploration.Its
metropolitan area population is 8,863,200.
Municipalities
with Macrobiotic Services or Community Activities:Alhambra, Beverly Hills, Buena Park, Burbank, Canoga Park, Carson,
Costa Mesa, Culver City, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Hermosa Beach,
Hollywood, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Miguel, Long
Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Marina del Rey, Mission
Viejo, Newport Beach, N Hollywood, Norwalk, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Santa
Monica, Sherman Oaks, S Pasadena, Studio City, Sylmar, Thousand Oaks,
Topango, Torrance, Tustin, Venice, Whittier, Woodland Hills.
Summary and
Impressions
of the Macrobiotic Community:Macrobiotics in Marin County
has a life of its own thanks to the counselors and cooking teachers living
there, but its community life blood is in the San Francisco-Peninsula-East
Bay areas on the other side of San Francisco Bay.Taken as a whole, the Bay Area has one of the most dynamic
macrobiotic centers of activity in the country.
Patricia Murray started
macrobiotic counseling in 1990. Chuck
Collison and Meredith McCarty provide macrobiotic services in Marin
county.
Paid
or Potluck Dinners:
No
dinners or potlucks.Marin
residents must go to the Peninsula (Palo Alto), or East Bay for these
activities.
Cottage
Industries:Wildwood tofu and
tempeh; Donna's Tamales (Donna Eichcorn)
Macrobiotic
Restaurants:There are no
macrobiotic restaurants in Marin County--there used to be one in San
Rafael--Millennium has gourmet vegan food; there are only 3 restaurants in
the area with vegan options on their menu.Much of the dining out of Marin County residents is done in San
Francisco.
Natural
Food Chain Stores:
Whole Foods, Wild Oats
Independent
Natural Food Stores:Roger Wilco Market,
Good Earth, Mollie Stones
Natural
Food Co-Ops:None
Mail
Order Buying Clubs:No need.
Macrobiotic
Community Assessment: Healthy Services:2 counselors & 2 cooking teachers; visiting counselors to East
Bay and San Francisco-Peninsula.Dormant
Activities: No activities in Marin
County; see East Bay and San Francisco-Peninsula.
Area
Description: Marin
County, just north of San Francisco, is separated from the city by the
Golden Gate Bridge.It is the
least populated of the city's suburbs, but certainly the most attractive
with the mountains separating and protecting the built up areas from the
Pacific Ocean.Its population
is 230,100.
Municipalities
with Macrobiotic Services or Community Activities: Bolinas, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Greenbrae, Lagunitas, Larkspur,
Mill Valley, Novato, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito.
Summary and
Impressions
of the Macrobiotic Community:Mina Dobic brings to the San Diego and nearby Los Angeles area one
of the most dynamic personalities in the macrobiotic world today.Her dedication to macrobiotics and the many people in her care
keeps Mina and her loyal assistant Tiffany Gates, busy around the clock.Community activity in the area was very active until the
Macrobiotic Center closed in 2000; there is a sense among those people we
interviewed that at least some of this activity will be resumed in the
near future.David Jackson ran a
small macrobiotic center in 1983; Cecille Levin counseled for many years
in the Los Angeles and San Diego area. Macrobiotic Association of
Southern California operated from 1993 to 2000, but has disbanded.
Paid
or Potluck Dinners:
Used
to be quarterly potlucks at the Macro Association of Southern California.Miriam Goldstein just started up a women's Saturday potluck.
Education
Centers:None.
Seminars:Annual Health Classics
Seminar in San Diego (a second seminar each year in Malibu; Los Angeles
County). Dr Gordon Saxe lectures occasionally.
Newsletter:None. There
used to be one.
Support
Groups:None.There seems to be a strong sense of community among San Diego
macrobiotic people, from the long period of the Macro Association's
activity.
Visiting
Counselors and Cooking Teachers:
Verne Varona
Cottage
Industries:Pacific Bakery, Nana's
Cookie Company
Macrobiotic
Restaurants:Jyoti Bihanga and
Oragami Restaurants are macrobiotic or serve macro dishes; another 13
restaurants serve vegan dishes, in addition to whole food supermarkets.
Macrobiotic
Community Assessment: Healthy Services:2
resident counselors, 2 cooking teachers, visiting counselor. Moderate
Activities:Annual Health Classics
seminar; women’s potluck recently started; strong sense of
community—was stronger until Macro Center closed in 2000.Original macro center started in 1983.
Area
Description: San Diego is
the sixth largest city in the United States, and an important base of
operations for the United States Navy.It lies in the southwestern corner of the country and is bordered
by the Pacific Ocean on the west and by Mexico on the south.It has one of the finest natural deepwater harbors in the world,
and is a major tourist center.Its
metropolitan area population is 2,498,000.
Municipalities
with Macrobiotic Services or Community Activities: Carlsbad, Coronado, Encinitas, Escondido, La Mesa, Lemon Grove,
San Diego, San Marcos, Santee, Solano Beach, Valley Center.
Summary and
Impressions
of the Macrobiotic Community:The East Bay, consisting of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, has
many excellent counselors and cooks, and some activities.The main activities for residents in this area, however, are in the
Peninsula south of San Francisco, where people from the East Bay and Marin
County, just north of the City, converge for area wide functions.In 1982, Kaare Bursell
started serving macrobiotic meals in his apartment; by 1983, it developed
into a center.It grew from
25 people twice a week to 75 - 100 people daily for lunch and dinner.There were weekly lectures until it peaked in 1993. Now vitamins have replaced food for many people.
Paid
or Potluck Dinners:
Not
in the East Bay.See San
Francisco & Peninsula for the center of macro activities in the Bay
Area.
Education
Centers:Kaare counsels tutorials.There is space in the Oakland Café for lectures and cooking
lessons.
Seminars:No.
Newsletter:In
the past, Bill Neall self-funded a
newsletter for several years but it is no longer published.
Peninsula has a newsletter.
Support
Groups: Monthly study group free at
Kaare's house.They discuss
world events and macrobiotics.
Macrobiotic
Restaurants:Elmwood Natural Foods
and Organic Café serve macrobiotic food; another 11 restaurants with
vegan options, in addition to Whole Foods and Wild Oats whole food stores.
Natural
Food Chain Stores:Whole Foods, Wild Oats
Independent
Natural Food Stores:Moraga Nutrition, Good
Nature Grocery, Lakeshore Natural Foods, Piedmont Grocery, Berkeley Bowl,
Real Foods, Berkeley Natural Grocery, El Cerrito Natural Grocery, Food
Mill.
Natural
Food Co-Ops:None.
Mail
Order Buying Clubs:None.
Macrobiotic
Community Assessment: Abundant Services:4 Counselors & 2 cooking teachers.Moderate Activities:Monthly
study group; dinners in Peninsula.Macro
center from 1983 to 1993.
Area
Description: Oakland, the
seat of Alameda County lies on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay.It is 3 miles across the bay from San Francisco, and is one of the
busiest shipping centers in California.It is a major transportation center.Its port is one of the world's busiest ports for container ships.The whole East Bay Area, including Alameda and neighboring Contra
Costa Counties has a population of 2,082,900.
Municipalities
with Macrobiotic Services or Community Activities: Albany, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Concord, El Cerrito, Freemont,
Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakland, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, San Ramon,
Union City, Walnut Creek.
Summary and
Impressions
of the Macrobiotic Community:The San Francisco Peninsula enjoys a very active community.Their weekly dinners, monthly speakers and Peninsula newsletter
continue to attract widespread interest month after month, and year after
year.Given the accessibility
between the Peninsula, East Bay and Marin County to the north of San
Francisco, and the experienced counselors and teachers in the whole Bay
Area, the macro community is one of the most blessed in the United States.
A small macrobiotic
center at the home of Paul and Monique Mikis started in San Francisco in
1980 with weekly dinners. Meanwhile a Stanford
professor, Eduardo Navas from Guatemala discovered the San Francisco macro
group and brought it to Stanford, then started pot luck dinners at St
Bedes Church in Menlo Park. When he died, the dinners stopped.
Grace Yamamoto resumed activities with San Francisco chef Gary Alinder in
1987. The first dinner was on May 11, 1987, and is still the
highlight of the macrobiotic community. Meanwhile the center moved
from Menlo Park to Palo Alto where it continues.
Paid
or Potluck Dinners:
Weekly
Monday dinners; 60 - 80 attend; more on holidays.There are also monthly vegan pot luck dinners that rotate
between different people's houses.
Education
Centers:None
Seminars:A speaker is brought every
month to the weekly dinners.
Newsletter:Peninsula
Macrobiotic Community Newsletter on the internet.
Support
Groups:At weekly dinners and
potlucks.
Visiting
Counselors and Cooking Teachers:Verne Varona on March,
2002, Michael Rossoff in April, 2002, Patrick McCarty and Shizuko Yamamoto
in May, 2002.Each month
another speaker is invited to the
weekly dinners.
Resident
Counselors:Anne
Mark (650) 843-0255; Suzanne
Jensen only rarely.
Macrobiotic
Restaurants:Real Good Karma and
Country Sun Natural Foods Deli serve macrobiotic food; 22 other
restaurants with vegan options in addition to Whole Foods, Wild Oats and
other whole food supermarkets.
Independent
Natural Food Stores:Rainbow Grocery, Alpha
4, Green Earth Natural Foods, Other Avenues Food Store, Earthbeam Natural
Foods, Piazzas Fine Foods, Country Sun Natural Foods.
Natural
Food Co-Ops:Consumers Co-Op Society
of Palo Alto.
Mail
Order Buying Clubs:None.No need.
Macrobiotic
Community Assessment: Moderate Services:No
resident counselors (Suzanne Jensen rarely counsels) & 1 resident
cooking teacher.Other
services available from Marin County and East Bay, so the Bay Area
services are abundant.Abundant
Activities:Weekly dinners
and monthly pot lucks.Newsletter
on the internet.Monthly
visiting speakers.Macrobiotic
Center started in the 1980’s in San Francisco then moved to the
Peninsula.
Area
Description: San
Francisco is one of the world's most interesting cities and a leading
center of culture, finance and industry in the United States. Its
scenic beauty and mild climate have helped it win a reputation as
"America's favorite city." Its metropolitan area
population, including the city and Peninsula (San Mateo County) to the
south, is 1,373,600.
Municipalities
with Macrobiotic Services or Community Activities: Burlingame, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Mountain View, Pacifica, Palo
Alto, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Francisco.
This
work was supported by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number U48/CCU409664-09
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are
solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent
the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Macrobiotics
Research Project:
A
2-year grant sponsored by Centers of Disease Control; October 2000 to September
2002
University
of South Carolina, Prevention Research Center-Special Interest Project, School
of Public Health