EM Technology™ was developed over 35 years ago by Professor Dr. Teruo Higa from the University of Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan. As an agriculturist, Dr. Teruo Higa was testing a variety of microorganisms, where he accidentally fell upon a blend of microscopic organisms that had formed a symbiotic alliance which is capable of positively influencing decomposing organic matter and turn it into a "life promoting" process, i.e. The wastes from one become the food for the other. Dr. Higa then decided to name his discovery “Effective Microorganisms”, which is now popularly referred to as EM. EM was originally considered as an alternative for agricultural chemicals. Today, EM is produced in more than 50 countrie and distributed to more than 130 countries around the world. EM is not only applied to enhance sustainable agriculture, but also for environmental, industrial and human health.

Nature’s Little Recyclers

Due to the regenerative capability of these microbes to consume toxins and produce beneficial by-products such as vitamins, enzymes, organic acids, bioactive minerals, and antioxidants, they are sometimes referred to as “nature’s little recyclers”.

 Dr. Higa background and His Philosophy



Dr. Higa’s Background

Dr. Teruo Higa was born in 1941 in the Okinawa prefecture. He graduated from the Department of Agriculture, College of Agriculture from the University of the Ryukyus, where he then pursued his Doctorate study at the Agriculture Research Department at Kyushu University. Dr. Higa later joined University of the Ryukyus as a Professor in 1982 and he is also the director at the International EM Technology Center of Meio University in Okinawa, Japan. Known internationally for developing " EM Technology™", Dr. Higa has been actively involved in its instruction in various countries.
 
Philosophy

The industrialization in our world now is creating more competitions than ever for the scarce resources, which has resulted in an outbreak of serious global problems such as air pollution and food shortages. In contrast, the fundamental belief in Dr. Higa’s philosophy is 'creating a society based on co-existence and co-prosperity' to solve these global issues.

Dr. Higa believes that the positive traits that exists in EM plays a key role to tackle problems regarding to food supply, environmental preservation, medical care and energy supply for the establishment of world peace. For example, the application of EM in agriculture eliminates pollution to the environment while providing a supply of high quality food at low cost. The use of EM to recycle kitchen and animal wastes helps reduces environmental pollution and safeguarding human health.

Concept of Technology

Dr. Higa invokes a "dominance principle" to explain the effects of EM. He claims that three groups of microorganisms exist: "positive microorganisms" (regeneration – microbes that heal, restore and enliven), "negative microorganisms" (decomposition, degeneration – microbes that break down, decompose and putrefy), and "opportunist microorganisms". In every medium (soil, water, air, the human intestine), the ratio of "positive" and "negative" microorganisms is critical, since the opportunist microorganisms tend to follow the lead of whichever alliance that establishes dominance. Therefore, Dr. Higa believes that it is possible to positively influence the given media by increasing the ratio of the "positive" microorganisms.