In the early days of Honda's Ohio manufacturing, most parts came from Japan as a way of keeping the assembly lines going while a U.S. supply base was established.

So, what to do with the parts containers? Send them back to Japan empty? That wouldn't be the Honda way. So, the company experimented with shipping local commodities back to Japan. The plans didn't work out all that well until an agricultural idea surfaced: Why not ship U.S. soybeans back to tofu-loving Japan? And, while doing so, why not make them organic soybeans to minimize the impact on the earth and surrounding streams?

The result made everyone very HAPI. Harmony Agricultural Products Inc. (HAPI) today is the largest producer of organic soybeans in Ohio and one of the largest in the nation. Its beans are gathered locally, and from organic fields in neighboring states, and sold for tofu and other food products overseas.