That one American farmer can now feed himself and fifty-six other people may be, within the narrow view of the specialist, a triumph of technology; by no stretch of reason can it be considered a triumph of agriculture or of culture. It has been made possible by the substitution of energy for knowledge, of methodology for care, of technology for morality. ~ Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture

In the previous Harvest Haven Happenings, we shared with you Kimbal Musk's view that "Food is the New Internet." Now, you see it happening with Amazon purchasing Whole Foods.

This comment in an article by Project NOSH, In-Depth: Why Amazon Scooped Up Whole Foods, sums up what is happening: "To me, the most important aspect of this deal is that this continues to validate that organic and free-from foods are the most important food industry trends," Errol Schweizer, the former global grocery buyer for Whole Foods, said. "Amazon is really betting on that these trends are the future. Organic is growing at close to double digits, it's a $47 billion market. Free-from and additive free and non-GMO are huge market trends as well. So what Amazon is saying here is 'we're taking a bet on the future of food and Whole Foods really represents that.'"

When the purchase of Whole Foods by Amazon was announced on Friday, the stock price of major grocery stores fell. There's a new player in the food industry and change is inevitable.

If Kimbal Musk is right, we'll see serious growth in "real food that nourishes your body, nourishes the farmer, and nourishes the planet."

Here's just one example of the changes made from poisonous conventional farming to organic being done on a big scale.

Poisoned By Pesticides: How One Farmer Changed Trial Into Triumph With Organic Crops

"After being poisoned by his own pesticides, strawberry farmer Jim Cochran went against the grain, earning him the title of owning the first large-scale organic strawberry farm. In recent years, the extent of which 'conventional' agricultural methods cause serious harm has been brought to light, with countless examples of the detriment chemical usage on crops creates.

"Jim Cochran, a strawberry farmer based in Santa Cruz, California, is a perfect case in point. Back in 1981, Cochran followed his fellow farmers in growing conventional strawberries, complete with harmful pesticides. However, he soon found that the chemicals had an adverse effect on his body and his mind. 'My eyes started to water, and I started to get all jittery,' he states. 'I said "Oh boy, this is not good stuff…We have to get away from this stuff."'

YES!!! What you've been waiting for! Harvest Haven strawberries are turning red and you can start picking.

To schedule a picking time, call 403-329-9157 or email: solutions@harvesthaven.com.

The Downtown Farmers' Market starts Wednesday, July 5 at 10:00 A.M.
We'll have fresh from the field Harvest Haven strawberries!

Mans' Organics are back, too…beefsteak and cherry tomatoes, colored peppers, and the ever favorite, mini cukes.

Lettuces and herbs for a lovely salad.

See you there!

Because we'll be at the Downtown Farmers' Market every Wednesday from July 5 to September 6, the store will be closed those days. Catch us at the Market on Wednesdays.

We have a new product – Wing Things!

Wing Things are the drumettes and wingettes after cutting the chicken wings into their parts. These parts are bagged separately for your preference and convenience.

Introductory Special Price $5.99/lb Reg. $6.79/lb (See Recipe Box)

T-Bone Steak - Sale $16.49/lb Reg. $18.99/lb

Beef Wieners - Sale $9.99/lb Reg. $10.99/lb

Lamb Loin Chops - Sale $14.99/lb Reg $16.89/lb

Chicken Wings- Sale $5.99/lb Reg. $6.79/lb (See Recipe Box)

Cooking Onions, 3 lb bag- Sale $6.49/bag Reg. $7.49/bag

Montreal Steak Spice, 100 g- Sale $8.49 each Reg. $9.49 each

Smoked Paprika, 56 g- Sale $5.99 each Reg. $6.49 each

Linzer Potatoes- Sale $5.99/ 3 lb bag Reg. $7.99/ 3 lb bag (See Recipe Box)

Frozen Strawberries - Sale $7.39/lb for 3 or more packages Reg. $8.49/lb (See Recipe Box)

Please note, all ingredients in our recipes are organic.

Farming is a Hazardous Occupation

The first sentence from Health Hazards in Agriculture states, "Perhaps more than any other occupational group, agricultural workers are exposed to a tremendous variety of environmental hazards that are potentially harmful to their health and well-being."

Just ask James.

With each batch of chickens, we have a few hundred cut into parts at a local abattoir. The day after, a crew of us goes in to package and box the parts, which are then frozen in the large walk-in freezer. A couple of days later, James goes to pick up these boxes of frozen parts.

Usually, when James arrives at the abattoir, staff help him load the thirty or forty 50-pound boxes onto our van. This time, some staff were on holidays and others were helping customers, so James had to go into the freezer and get the boxes himself.

No problem loading the first few boxes using the dolly. Then, a young man who works at the abattoir came to help.

"This is great," thought James. "I can get things loaded and be on my way."

But, James gets impatient to get everything loaded and get back to work at the farm. He piles the dolly up with six boxes, the stack towering over his head. As he tips the load back to get it moving, the mountain of boxes topples and buries him. As you know, James is not a big guy, 140 pounds max (maybe even smaller, now). Boxes, 6 times 50, 300 pounds. Splat!

There's James; underneath 300 pounds of frozen chicken; totally unable to move…in the freezer, on a cement floor.

"Now what do I do? No point in trying move anything. The kid'll be back…eventually. Hmm, this is a freezer and it's cold in here… Stay calm."

The freezer door opens and the young man stares in shock. "What happened? Is the old guy dead? Injured? Yikes!"