J.I. Rodale, who believed that modern agricultural techniques and American eating habits left quite a bit to be desired, founded Rodale Inc. in 1930. He knew that there was a direct relationship between the declining health of America's soil and the health of America's people -- a revolutionary view in those days. In 1942, he started Organic Farming and Gardening magazine, which taught people how to grow better food by cultivating a healthier soil using natural techniques. J.I. put his theories into practice on a 60-acre farm near Emmaus, Pennsylvania, which is now the site of the Working Tree Center. J.I.'s ideas slowly took root and spread and he is widely recognized as the father of the natural food and natural living movements in America. Today, Organic Gardening is the most widely read gardening publication in the world, providing its readers with the tools, ideas, sources, and information they need to successfully grow anything they choose without chemicals. In 1950, J.I. introduced Prevention, a magazine that presented systematic ways people could try to prevent illness and disease, rather than wait for the need to cure it, another idea that bucked the established thinking of the day. Prevention is now the 11th largest magazine in the country and reaches nearly 11 million readers each month, encouraging them to take an active role in achieving and maintaining good health and fitness for themselves and their families.