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    Italian 'Sect' That Imposed Macrobiotic Diet Broken Up - Police - World News - The Guardian

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    Italian 'sect' that imposed macrobiotic diet broken up – police | World news | The Guardian

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    Italian 'Sect' That Imposed Macrobiotic Diet Broken Up - Police - World News - The Guardian

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    Everaldo Skrock
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    Italian 'sect' that imposed macrobiotic diet broken up – police | World news | The Guardian

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    Italian 'sect' that imposed macrobiotic diet broken up – police | World news | The Guardian

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    Italian 'sect' that imposed macrobiotic diet broken up – police | World news | The Guardian

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    10 views3 pages

    Italian 'Sect' That Imposed Macrobiotic Diet Broken Up - Police - World News - The Guardian

    Uploaded by

    Everaldo Skrock
    Italian 'sect' that imposed macrobiotic diet broken up – police | World news | The Guardian

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    Italian 'sect' that imposed macrobiotic diet broken up – police | Wo... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/italian-police-tar...

    Italian 'sect' that imposed


    macrobiotic diet broken up 5 police
    Followers, whose weight fell as low as 35kg, said to have been
    manipulated into following eating regime

    Police say the group was based in the central Marche and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy. Photograph:
    Jam World Images/Alamy

    Angela Giuffrida in Rome


    Wed 14 Mar 2018 17.45 GMT

    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

    1 de 3 21/03/18 12:57
    Italian 'sect' that imposed macrobiotic diet broken up – police | Wo... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/italian-police-tar...

    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).

    “I’ve never come across a case like it in my life,” Pinto said. “These were
    people suffering from physical or mental illnesses. They were convinced
    that the diet did them good and in return they offered to help the
    macrobiotic food chain, working for free and effectively sacrificing their
    own life.”

    Pianesi, Volpi and three others are being investigated for alleged
    maltreatment, tax evasion and criminal organisation with the aim of
    reducing people to slavery.

    The inquiry began in 2013 after a young woman told police Pianesi
    promised her that the diet would cure her illness. Pinto said there were
    eight victims, whose illnesses instead worsened, but he expected more to
    come forward.

    “Pianesi would say that doctors were assassins, traditional medicine


    didn’t work and that only he could help,” said Pinto.

    Pianesi, who along with his wife attended a mass with Pope Francis in
    2016 followed by a private meeting with the pontiff, was “well respected”
    in Italy and “dominated” the macrobiotic industry, Pinto added.

    Originally from Albania, Pianesi started his empire in Marche in 1980 and
    went on to cultivate a business that claimed to help cure illnesses
    including diabetes.

    He once claimed that 26 scientific journals had endorsed the Ma-Pi diet as
    a tool for the prevention and treatment of chronic illnesses. He also

    2 de 3 21/03/18 12:57
    Italian 'sect' that imposed macrobiotic diet broken up – police | Wo... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/italian-police-tar...

    boasted of having collaborated with UN agencies including the Rome-


    based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). His popularity is such
    that he is an honorary citizen of 12 towns in Italy and across the world.

    Topics
    Italy 7

    3 de 3 21/03/18 12:57

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