How it all began...

An encounter
In the 1950s, the paths of two men crossed. One was Belgian, the other Japanese. These two men met while campaigning for a World Parliament destined to guarantee peace.

Lima's roots lie in Saint-Martens-Latem (Belgium)

Edgar Gevaert was an artist, and Georges Ohsawa a philosopher. The latter had laid down the nutritional principles of Japanese philosophy, macrobiotics (from the Greek words for long and life, i.e. the route to longevity), in more than three hundred books.
"We are campaigning for peace", the philosopher told the artist one day, "but inside you… there is a war going on !" He had become aware of the fact that his friend did not pay particular attention to his eating habits or the quality of the food he consumed. The Gevaert family " ate ordinary food ", not leaving much room for cereal products in its diet, and limiting the grains it did consume to bread, pasta and white rice…

The painter and his family decided to follow the advice of their philosopher friend and it was not long before they experienced the benefits. An idea grew: why not share this experience with other people? They started selling a few Japanese products … And a company was born. Back to top

Lima in the early days...

The search for balance

In 1957, good quality foodstuffs became increasingly rare and were even sometimes impossible to find. Pierre, one of the sons of the Gevaert family, decided to set up a company that would attach great importance to the relationship between man and earth, strive for perfect harmony between respect for the environment and the needs of man, and focus on organic food; in other words, the cultivation and preparation of organic foodstuffs. Back to top

George Ohsawa and his wife Lima

Why the name Lima?

The name Lima is Japanese name and it was the first name of Georges Ohsawa's wife. It is a tribute to the master of Yin and Yang dialectics and the father of macrobiotics. It was not easy in the beginning for Lima, which adopted a pioneering role, but the 1970s were characterised by a trend towards natural food on the one hand, and a link between organic food and community spirit on the other hand. The philosophy behind Lima gradually reached a broader public from a wide variety of social and cultural backgrounds. This relationship between Lima and its consumers is based on trust and stems from a common conviction that it is important to promote organic food while continuing to respect specific nutritional principles. Lima not only played a pioneering role in the import of numerous Japanese products which are now essential to the composition of an alternative meal (soya sauces, miso, coffee substitutes, etc.), but also established the first plant for the production of rice cakes in the 1960s. It also introduced the first rice drinks on the European market a few years later.

Lima, wife of George Ohsawa, lived to be 100 years old

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The Lima logo

	1. Lima : first name of Georges Ohsawa's wife. She lived to be over 100.
	2. Square shape: expresses the honesty and stability of the brand
	3. Inspired by a Japanese character: the meaning of which is “to take the East to the West”
	4. Red colour: symbolises Lima’s passion for organic food

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Lima today

• Lima has become a modern company, which no longer advertises itself as a macrobiotic company, but derives its modernity from the main principles of macrobiotics: for instance, in order to be part of the Lima range of products, a soup must combine vegetables with the beneficial properties of soy and cereals.
• Lima is part of the international group Hain Celestial. This alliance allows the company to benefit from a solid, wide-ranging knowledge base and gives it the opportunity to develop its creativity independently, while continuing to respect the main nutritional principles behind its foundation.

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A few figures...

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World Parliament
At the end of the Second World War, when the world was faced the division into two antagonistic factions and fearing a new war that could lead to the destruction of humanity, the philosopher Georges Ohsawa was one of the leading figures of the pacifist movement, along with Albert Einstein, Norman Cousin, Albert Schweitzer, Thomas Mann and Edgard Gevaert. Together, they advocated a world government, which would be responsible for all military power.

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Georges Ohsawa
Nyoiti Sakurasawa, also known as Georges Ohsawa, was born in Kyoto in 1893. Faced with the limitations of modern medicine in his own country, he came to live in Paris, France, between 1929 and 1935, where he enrolled at the Sorbonne and frequently visited the Institut Pasteur and the National Library. It is there that he rediscovered the basic principles of the great philosophies and traditional sciences. After making numerous journeys campaigning for a “World Government”, he had the idea of adapting the precepts of Zen philosophy to food. He developed a diet that included the most balanced foodstuffs, based on the principle of Yin and Yang. In 1957 he returned to France with his book “ Zen Macrobiotics ». It was instantly a huge success, and more than one million copies of the book were sold!
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Macrobiotics
Macrobiotics (macros: long, biotics: art or way of life) was first introduced in oriental countries and is the practical application, in the field of food, of the principle of the forces of Yin and Yang, which oppose yet complement each other and are at the origin of all movement and change. Macrobiotics allows us to “live and eat in an orderly manner” : as everything around us is changing continuously, it is essential not to be tense or on edge in order to live in harmony. Macrobiotics is a way of life, aimed at longevity and based on a diet that is rich in cereals in balanced quantities, and poor in raw fruit, dairy products and sugar, which are highly Yin and therefore harmful. It is recommended to eat only organic, seasonal and regional foodstuffs. According to macrobiotics, meat is not expressly forbidden but it is not advised, as it does not provide the possibility of creating a balance with any other foodstuffs.
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Yin and Yang, the balance

Chinese philosophy explains all relations between living beings and objects, and their relationship with the universe as well as the natural phenomena based on these two concepts.  Yin and Yang are inseparable; they are two sides of a single whole.  There is a good and an equally bad side to everything.  This notion, on which the macrobiotic principle is based, can also be applied to food and the choice and preparation of foodstuffs.  Indeed, all foodstuffs have different properties and a different influence on our physical and psychological condition.  Hence, we can learn to establish or restore the balance by making Yang foodstuffs more Yin, and Yin foodstuffs more Yang.  In food, Yin and Yang are represented by acidity and alkalinity, which must be mixed in the right proportion.  Harmony in food thus becomes harmony in life.

Yin		Yang
oats, cereal sprouts, barley, maize, rye	Cereals	wheat, millet, wholegrain rice, buckwheat
apricots, pineapples, bananas, peanuts, lemons, melons, hazelnuts, oranges, olives, grapefruit, papaya, parsnips, peaches, pears, prunes, grapes	Fruit and dried fruits	chestnuts, strawberries, raspberries, berries, apples
artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, beetroot, celery, mushrooms, red cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, courgette, spinach, beans, lentils, bell peppers, peas, chick peas, potatoes, tomatoes	Vegetables	garlic, carrots, green cabbage, pumpkin, chicory, lettuce, watercress, garden cress, onion, parsley, leek, raddishes
garlic, aniseed, chives, cumin, curry, ginger, cloves, bay leaf, mustard, nutmeg, paprika, chilli peppers, pepper, thyme, vanilla, vinegar	Condiments	basil, cinnamon, chervil, miso, rosemary, saffron, sea salt, tamari
coffee, hot chocolate, water, oils and fats, honey, sugar, flavoured teas, alcoholic drinks	Drinks and other products	ginseng, malt, bancha tea (organic Japanese tea), chicory, yannoh, mu tea

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