"A farm includes the passion of the farmer's heart, the interest of the farm's customers, the biological activity in the soil, the pleasantness of the air about the farm -- it's everything touching, emanating from, and supplying that piece of landscape. A farm is virtually a living organism."

- Joel Salatin, Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front

We received an email from a friend asking for our thoughts about Crohn's disease and natural ways to help alleviate the suffering.

Martin sent the following information to him having read Pat Coleby's article in Acres U.S.A. This is not a diagnosis, prescription or replacement for treatment that Crohn's sufferers are taking.

The following is a good read about why organic is so important for everyone.

Good morning!

I just thought I would share a few thoughts that came to mind.

One of the leading causes of Crohn's Disease is a copper deficiency/imbalance.

Most people who shop organic put a lot of focus on pesticide and herbicide use and feel that fertilizers aren't quite as harmful. This is understandable because synthetic fertilizers aren't nearly as bio-toxic as the "cides." However, the synthetic fertilizers have a back door approach to poisoning people that is truly sinister. The use of super-phosphate fertilizers blocks almost all bio-available copper uptake by plant roots. The plants will still take up zinc and iron which only makes matters worse, because the copper to zinc and iron balance is very sensitive and critical for proper intestinal health. To make a long story short, plants grown with the use of synthetic nutrients will be incapable of nourishing the body, and will actually trigger chronic intestinal inflammation (i.e. Crohn's disease), particularly in sensitive individuals.

The rates of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and Crohn's disease have been steadily increasing side by side with the increased usage of super phosphate fertilizers. In fact, one of the first noticeable cluster of Crohn's diagnoses took place in Britain during WW2 when the government there implemented heavy use of these fertilizers in a vain effort to produce more food for the war effort. Incidentally, the livestock simultaneously suffered an epidemic of Johne's disease which is the herbivore equivalent of Crohn's. Johne's is thought to be very contagious and so most affected animals are immediately culled. However, it's known in some circles of animal health that Johne's disease is an extreme copper and vitamin deficiency caused by fertilized forage that is easily remedied with supplementation.

The remedy is no different for people. I have a friend who suffered with debilitating Crohn's until her life turned around when she started eating organic. She only has relapses when she compromises and eats the garbage.

When the body is not being nourished, it becomes a breeding ground for all kinds of ailments, cancer included. Crohn's and cancer are just names given to the symptoms of a poorly nourished overly poisoned body.

Martin

Here's a study that documented the connection between phosphate fertilizer and copper nutrition."Jarvis (1981) suggested that an increasing supply of phosphate from the soil may restrict transport of copper from roots to shoots."

Join us at the Downtown Farmers' Market located in Festival Square, 3rd Avenue and 6th Street South Wednesdays from 10:00 AM till 3:00 PM. Only four markets left, so don't miss out.

The raspberries continue to ripen. If you would like to pick some or have us pick them for you, please call 403-329-9157 or reply to this newsletter.

Ground Beef – Sale $6.99 /lb for 3 lbs or more Reg. $7.49/lb

Chicken Drumsticks – Sale $4.79/lb for 3 or more packages Reg. $6.99/lb

Fresh Garlic or Onion Beef Sausage – Sale: 3 pkgs for $8.29/lb Reg. $10.99/lb

Turkey Wings – Sale $3.49/lb Reg. $4.79/lb (See Recipe Box)

Garlic Scapes – Sale 10 for $3.00 Reg. 5 for $2.00

Harvest Haven Apples and Crabapples – Sale $7.50 for 4 lb bag Reg. $2.50/lb (See Recipe Box)

Crabapple Pie

5 cups Harvest Haven crabapples, cored and sliced
¾ cup honey or ¾ to 1 cup raw cane sugar
¼ cup flour
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ to 1 tsp cinnamon
Dash salt
2 Tbsp butter
Pastry for 2-crust 9 or 10-inch pie (Recipe follows)

Prepare crabapples.

Combine honey, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt; mix with crabapples.

Line pie plate with pastry. Spread some soft butter over crust. Fill with apple mixture. Dot with butter.

Adjust top crust; make vents.

Bake in 450° F oven, 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350° F and bake until bubbly and the apples are done, 45 minutes or more.

Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream.

Pie Dough

5 cups unbleached flour
½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
Sift these into a large mixing bowl.

Cream together well:
1 cup butter
1 cup coconut butter

Cut into flour mixture using a pastry blender until the pieces of dough are about the size of peas.

In a measuring cup beat 1 egg with 3 Tbsp lemon juice. Add enough cold water to make one cup of liquid. Mix well.

Pour liquid over flour mixture. Stir with fork JUST UNTIL moistened. (It is very important not to over mix pie dough because it will be tough if you do.) Gather dough into ball and chill in fridge or freeze if not using right away.

Makes enough dough for five 9 – 10-inch pie crusts.

It was a beautifully fresh morning after a light shower overnight with everything glittering brightly from the reflected sunlight on the raindrops.

The phone rings. I see that it's Martin, so being in a teasing mood, I answer extra cheerfully knowing he's usually grumpy first thing in the morning.

"Oh, Marilyn, I'm going to shoot those…." In my mind I'm finishing his sentence with "sheep" because I know he's ready to shoot them pretty much everyday for some antic or another as they frolic through the fields. But, he said "cows"!

"Cows"? Not those gentle creatures that just eat grass and lay around in the pasture contentedly chewing their cuds? Well, sometimes they do cause some grief and pain, like the time Blackberry wasn't keen on Martin holding her new calf and took a run at him with her head lowered giving him a good whack in the shoulder. Ouch!

"What happened, Martin?" Sigh.

"I went out to check on them this morning and some 'turkey' had popped a clip off the electric fence, grounding it, so they all just took off for the dugout pasture. They were romping around in the dirt, or rather mud, by the dugout, making a mess and getting mud all over their heads and legs.

"I tell you, I'm going to shoot them."

"On the other hand, they did go back into their pasture nicely and I guess, they get to live another day."

"Now, the weatherman! That's a different story. The forecast was for sunny warm weather. So, I cut the hay. Now, it keeps raining on it. I'm going to shoot the weatherman…right after I shoot myself for believing him."

"Don't bother, Martin. It's a nice day and you have work to do."

As it turned out, the cows were happily back in their pasture without any casualties and the hay dried out enough to be baled before we got this last downpour. And Martin, well, he's still grumpy in the morning, but most days he's cheery and thankful to be a farmer…like pigs fly. Just kidding. He does like being a farmer.