In 1980, when Japanese horticulture professor Dr Teruo Higa threw away a series of common microorganisms, he was stunned to notice several days later that the grass had grown greener and denser. For more than a decade, Dr Higa had been exploring the regenerative power of microorganisms for use in agriculture. Deeply concerned about the earth’s environmental crisis and world hunger, he had been searching for a solution to revitalise soil and increase crop yields. His honed beneficial brew, called EM, contained 80 safe microorganisms including common food fermenters such as yeast, fermenting fungi, actinomycetes and photosynthetic and lactic acid bacteria.

To everyone’s surprise, EM not only regenerated soil and boosted crops in record time, it also emerged as an amazing water purifier, chemical-free cleaner, quick composter, deodoriser, preservative, health-boosting antioxidant and probiotic. The brown liquid blend, which is free from genetically modified material, is now used to nurture healthy homoeostasis within our internal and external environments.

EM excitement escalated in Japan with schools, farms, government bodies and households adopting it as an affordable, effective alternative to chemicals. Dr Higa patented the process and set up the EM Research Organization (EMRO), a non-profit organisation that researches and promotes EM technology throughout the world, with profits going to developing countries. Today, EM is employed in more than 120 countries as a low-cost, sustainable agricultural aid, water and sewage purifier, deodoriser, cleanser and health tonic.

EM power

How can a mix of everyday microorganisms have such magical effects? Though the merits of cultures such as acidophilus and kombucha are well documented, it’s now believed that a synergistic solution of microorganisms gives longer, stronger benefits than a single one. The genius of Dr Higa’s EM discovery is the happy marriage of both aerobic and anaerobic microbes, previously thought to be incompatible.

EM’s unique formula inhibits malevolent molecules and promotes beneficial bugs, enzymes, nutrients and proteins. This enhances regeneration and reduces degeneration to the degree that it was used in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (US, August 2005) to halt the spread of disease and odours.

EM’s phototrophic bacteria degrade harmful substances and release healthy organic complexes such as antioxidants. The same lactic acid used in yoghurt sterilises pathogens and decomposes organic matter. Fermenting fungi and yeasts secrete B vitamins, nourishing plant growth with phytonutrients that suppress odours and putrefaction. EM’s actinomycetes produce antimicrobial substances that suppress harmful microbes. These groups of microorganisms synergistically form a foundation on which beneficial life thrives.

EM intelligently enhances ecological harmony, adapting to each circumstance rather than being an indiscriminate antibiotic, antifungal, herbicide or insecticide. It trigger’s nature’s innate balancing mechanism to re-establish equilibrium in a sustainable way.

Dr Higa also attributes EM’s efficacy to the positive wave resonance it releases, evident from the superior colour and form of food and flowers cultivated with EM. Take, for example, the award-winning orchids, herbs and fruits of the Tropical Plant Resources Research Institute of Okinawa, Japan. Company President Toichiro Nago says, “As EM prevents oxidation and produces antioxidants it also cultivates produce that lasts longer and has higher nutritional value.”

Similarly, the International Nature Farming Research Center has found that crops grown with EM have less nitrate ions, decreasing the plant’s susceptibility to pests and pathogens, and higher vitamin C and carbohydrate levels.

Water purification and recycling

With around 1000 million people lacking access to safe drinking water in developing countries, it’s estimated that 80 per cent of deaths are due to contaminated water — at least 10 million a year.