Italian 'sect' that imposed macrobiotic diet broken up – police

A well-known guru of macrobiotic food who met Pope Francis is among the five people under investigation in Italy after police dismantled a bizarre “sect” that allegedly denied its followers contact with the outside world.

Mario Pianesi, the 73-year-old founder of a group in the central Marche and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy, and his wife, Loredana Volpi, are suspected of being the ringleaders of a network that manipulated victims into following a strictly controlled diet known as “Ma-Pi”.

Authorities said Pianesi convinced followers of the diet, modelled on the teachings of the Japanese philosopher George Ohsawa, that it would provide miracle cures for their illnesses and that traditional medicine did not work. It aims to avoid foods containing toxins and is based on whole grains, vegetables and beans.

Carlo Pinto, an Ancona police chief, told the Guardian that the victims were so devoted to the diet and their “teacher” that the sect managed to coerce them into giving donations and working for free in the association’s macrobiotic centres and restaurants. The diet was so destructive that the weight of one follower plunged to 35kg (77lb).

Source: theguardian