Harvest Haven Health - HERALD ISSUE 4

We kept the land Sabbath in 2002, our seventh year of farming organically at this location. While our farm was taking that rest, the news media were reporting the year as the worst in agricultural production history in Canada. It was not an easy year for those who grew anything. There were floods, droughts, heavy, early and late frosts, record plagues of grasshoppers, and market problems. It was a timely year for us to sit back and stay out of it, though not pleasant.

The year 2003 followed with more weather challenges, more conflicts with the US in trade, BSE, SARS, travel restrictions, decreased freedoms, and the Iraqi war, wherein Canada suffered the wrath of its big brother for not agreeing to the invasion.

We enter 2004 with our fourth issue of the Harvest Haven Herald, wondering what this year brings. Starting off, the beef industry in Canada is crippled, and dairy farmers too are concerned. Water in southern Alberta is very limited. With all these factors, it will not be easy for farmers here. When it is not easy for farmers, the whole community suffers.

As tough as it sounds, God has given us a farm, a mixed farm with a little of many things, an organic farm for health and pleasure, and a market farm wherein others can share with us our rich bounty. We have been blessed indeed. We should be and are thankful for His abundant provision. We are nothing, and can do nothing without Him. He has done it.

The Spiritual

I would like to address something concerning our past subject matter. In the last issue of this newsletter, I made a small insertion that caused one lady to say, “Why don’t you stick to business, and leave religion out of it?” Oh, how much could be said on that!

First, to me it was not a matter of religion at all. It was a social, political, legal issue as well as a Biblical one. It could have been taken many ways. Second, is there anything in existence that God has not created? If we mention Him, His laws, or His will, some will see us as “religious.” To us, all of life is religion. Shall we be denied the right to live? As true Christians, over millennia, many have been denied that right.

How is it that the Creator cannot be included or mentioned in His creation? How is it that we, His creatures, are disallowed or despised, by fellow creatures (created beings), for mentioning Him or the Scriptures which He inspired, out of love, to be written for our sakes? Is He against speaking of Him anywhere but in church? I believe this lady thought that going to church was religious, that Biblical doctrine was religious, and that those should be separated from our everyday business and social interactions with our fellow creatures.

How strange a perception, when you think about it! If you drive a Ford car, don’t ever talk about Ford Motors. If you are Canadian, don’t ever talk about Canada. If you are a doctor, don’t ever talk about medicine or the College to which you belong. If you are a child, don’t bring your parents into any discussion. Stick to “business!” Let’s buy and sell, trade, make money, marry, build, eat, drink, and be merry…or miserable, but let us leave the One Who created all things for Himself out of the picture. Let’s talk about our jobs, our games, pets, hobbies, shopping sprees, vacations, accomplishments, children, the weather, our sicknesses, anything except our Creator, Who loved us so much that He would give His Son to die a brutal and ignominious death on a Roman cross for our sakes. Why did He do that? Because all we want to do is “keep religion out of it!” Let’s gossip about our neighbors, tell dirty jokes, curse, criticize “those foolish religious people,” plot for the best deals at our neighbor’s expense, dabble in a bit or a lot of illegitimate thinking and doing on many or all fronts, but “keep religion out of it!” Let’s be exclusive, political, diplomatic, enlightened, humorous, and pretentious, but private and silent when it comes to God and His laws. Let us claim to have the right to our convictions, as for example, “leave religion out of it,” while denying and despising the rights of those who choose to talk about God and about the values and principles He informs us of in the Bible.

My remark on homosexuality in the last issue of the HHH drew the criticism of a few who had their opinions which they are more than willing to express openly, but which they deny my right to express. I also find that people can be so insecure, intolerant, and dogmatic in what they believe that they will no longer do business with us because of what I have said. It is sad, but true. Homosexuals can stand up and publicly declare their position and belief, and according to God and the Bible, their sin, while we are not allowed to express that which is Biblical. Speak of discrimination! I prefer to speak of what is morally and spiritually profitable, at the expense of financial prosperity, if necessary. God forbid that I should sell my soul. By His grace, and His grace alone, I will not.

Look, we can be a bunch of jerks even “down on the farm” like anybody else. We are human, full of infirmities as are all who ever walked the earth, saving one. But we are thankful that there is compensation for that state of being, and deliverance from it. We are glad to talk about God, His laws, ways, and will. If you won a Lotto, or had a longed-for child, or were healed of cancer, or were granted a huge unexpected bonus or raise at work, would you not want to talk about it? Most would. We believe we have much greater cause to talk than all of those put together, and that is about the First Cause. One day all, believers and otherwise, will face Him. What will they say? More importantly, what will HE say? Here is what Jesus states in that Book many people find so objectionable:

“Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)

I suppose it is hard to hear these things because they are true, and human nature has a problem with truth. That is what the Bible calls “the sin nature.” There is a solution for that problem.

The Hsin Ten Enterprises Products (Chi News)

It has been another wonderful year in the “Chi World.” We have met many new people, in many places, having traveled to the Caribbean and to Hawaii. We have made some friends and learned many things. The Chi Machine, HotHouse and Energizer continue to be the most wonderful healing devices for the money, convenience, and safety, that we know of. Very few people are sorry they bought any of these “life-saving” devices. Those of you who have them have many good stories to tell.

Sale on Chi and HotHouse Carrying Cases!

We have a great sale on Chi and HotHouse carrying cases. Till now Hsin Ten Enterprises has never offered a sale price on these cases, and they are not doing so now. We at Harvest Haven are. We have a few available on a first come, first served basis.

Chi cases are regularly $45.00 Can. now $35.00. HotHouse cases are regularly $90.00 Can., now $70.00. If you buy 4 or more bags of any kind (mix if you will), the price comes down to $30.00 for a Chi case, and $60.00 for a HotHouse case. They are handsome, convenient, and well made. And they sure beat boxes! With a Chi case, you can take your Chi on a plane as carry-on. “Don’t leave home without it!” Since when did an American Express Card oxygenate your whole body and prevent travel constipation?

We also have a good stock of machines, so if you want a machine immediately, we have it. If you wish to try one here, come and see us. If you wish to rent a machine, we can help you. If you buy, the rent will be applied to the purchase price so that you will not have to pay anymore than you would if you were only buying. That is an option many have exercised and appreciated.

Grander Living Water

In December, Victor and I, Paul Cohen, went to the Uniting Technologies Symposium to present Grander Water Revitalization as a health tool for alternative practitioners. Not to diminish anything we saw at the show, there is still nothing more important than water. And there is nothing that has been documented to have the beneficial and healthful effects of Grander Water Revitalization, except, well, Grander.

As energy medicine practitioners, our audience understood that drinking and bathing with water that has vitality and structure will improve overall health and receptiveness to other modalities of treatment. An example of this happened once at the farm with a woman who took a Chi Machine treatment. She subsequently bought a Chi Machine and took it home to Calgary. Once there she phoned back saying that something was different about her treatment with the Chi Machine at home. It wasn’t up to the same level of experience she had at the farm. She then asked if we had given her Granderized water to drink with her Chi session at the store. She knew of Grander and the vitality of the water made a perceptible difference for her.

Not everyone feels everything so readily. Nevertheless, when the body is given water with life affirming information, everything else that is health-giving is more readily received. Water is the communications and transport system of the body.

Another demonstration of the enhancement of water by Grander: One of the doctors at the show bought a small portable Grander unit (Penergizer). He reported to us that after drinking 6 glasses of Granderized water, his hydration level went up over 20%, as measured by one of the energy devices at the show. Another fellow told us he could feel his skin getting smoother after a few glasses of Granderized water. Wonderful!

During our seminar presentation a lady stood up in the back of the room to share something with the audience. (She wasn’t a “plant”!) She said that she had a Grander unit in her house. Her friends would drive 100 miles out of their way to stop at her place for a shower. Now that is some special water! If you are not Granderizing your water you really do need to check this out. Look for our next report, Lord willing, after we visit Grander himself and company headquarters in Austria this March.

Organic Food

Mad Cow Disease - Fruits of a System Gone Mad

I don't know how many of you read the article in the Lethbridge Herald on Thursday, January 8th, pg. A5, but in the midst of all of the devastation of the Mad Cow crisis, with the US case having been traced back to Canada, federal officials announced that the feeding of animal byproducts to cattle will still be allowed. This includes feeding the remains of horses, pigs, chickens and fish as well as cattle blood and fat!! Many calves are weaned on cattle blood. This was all in spite of the recommendations of four Health Canada scientists, and common sense. A cow is a ruminant, an herbivore. It is meant to eat grass and other vegetation.

Folks, if you buy meat from the supermarket, do you have any idea what you are buying? In some management systems, it starts with the calf being torn from its mother before it even gets its life-giving colostrum. A calf does not have an immune system when it is born. Its entire immune system comes from the natural antibodies that are passed on from its mother.

One atrocity follows another. If newborn calves are sold off-farm, they are often subjected to lengthy transport in cold, drafty trailers, without water, feed, or maternal care. This can cause many illnesses in the animals, treated with antibiotics. Calves may also have "implants" put in them to stimulate abnormal hunger and faster growth, accompanied by more antibiotics and vaccinations. The antibiotics can range from "therapeutic" to constant dosages added to the feed. Milk substitutes are fed them, manufactured from many different ingredients including cattle blood and processed fats.

When the animals reach a certain age, they are sold to a feedlot. There they are confined in high density pens where manure and muck grow deep quickly, in close proximity to cattle from many different locations, all bringing their potential illnesses with them. They are put on diets with lots of grain (which is very hard for cattle to digest and which causes liver damage), generally laced with protein supplements from a variety of sources, potentially including the above-mentioned slaughterhouse wastes (widely believed to be responsible for the spread of Mad Cow), growth hormones, and more antibiotics.

In many cases, manure is also "recycled" into the food, and plastic roughage is used instead of hay or straw, as it can be taken out of the manure and reused. Genetically modified stomach rumen may also be implanted into the cattle to allow them to eat quantities of grain that would normally kill them. Their backs are sprayed with organophosphate insecticides (the most persistent class of pesticides known - a possible cause of Mad Cow) for pest control. Many of the cattle get sick in this environment; and some die.

Those that survive, propped up on drugs and hormones, make it to a large, commercial slaughter facility. There, after high-stress shipping for hours, they are subjected to merciless conditions, waiting in line to be killed, often hearing or even seeing animals being killed in front of them, causing the animals to be very excited. This can cause the meat to be tough and causes a lot of fear-related hormones to be released, which stay in the meat after slaughter. In this assembly line approach where efficiency is paramount, there have been many reported problems with intestinal tract contents contaminating meat and leading to e-coli risk. (This is why these large-scale plants have pushed for radioactive irradiation of meat, eliminating the need for care and making their lines more efficient.) Eventually this meat makes it to that nice-looking display at a supermarket near you.

Compare that to our farm where a calf is born in warm weather, on pasture, nurtured by its mother on her milk and fresh grass until it is weaned at 6 months. It is then weaned and returned to pasture for the duration of its life, living with the herd, eating grass or hay, supplemented with kelp and natural salt, and drinking Grander Living Water. None of our cattle are given ANY antibiotics, vaccinations or hormones. Finally, when an animal is the right size, giving care to keep the animal as calm as possible, we transport it personally to a small, local facility where it is slaughtered almost immediately. After appropriate aging for tenderness, the meat is cut to our specifications for sale, chemical-free, tender, high in omega-3's, and packed with flavor. We offer that difference.

FYI: Did you know that grass-fed beef has a better Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio than even wild fish? Or that grass-fed, unlike grain-fed beef doesn’t have E-coli problems?

We now have Wild Oil of Oregano, Samento, and Paw Paw!

Three wonderful products for healing and health, at affordable prices. Ask us about them.

“We Bought the Farm”

Farmer à la Mélasse

One morning, Trevor set out to mix feed for the chickens. He uses a mixer mill about 12 feet high powered by tractor. He added the usual ingredients like grains and peas, and finally proceeded to add some molasses and water to make the feed less dusty. However, this time, the usual smaller dispenser was unavailable, so he chose an open 5-gallon bucket instead. He climbed the ladder on the back of the mixer mill to pour the molasses mixture in the hatch at the top. On the way up, he swung the bucket up to set it on the top of the mixer mill. The bucket got just high enough to hook on the top edge of the mill, flipping it upside down, and pouring its contents all over himself.

Eyes gumming, hair matted in molasses, coveralls covered and sticky, our newly baptized specter stumbled (or slid?) down the mill ladder. In shock, he made a zigzag “beeline” to the farm store for help, looking for attention, even sympathy, from Ingrid. Not able to really open his eyes well, Trevor opened the door, adorning the handle, and announced to Ingrid inside, “I had an accident.” Busy at the moment, Ingrid looked at him coolly, and replied, “And what am I supposed to do about it?” Crestfallen, Trevor slowly made his way in search of the closest water hose to try to redeem himself. What I wouldn’t give to have been there with a bag of white chicken feathers at hand!

Lois and Mark got back from town, having entirely missed this exemplary event of farm safety and efficiency. The only evidences of it were a pair of coveralls hanging stiffly on the line, hosed and hung to dry before they could be washed, and a freshly-showered Trevor, who had regained some composure, sweetened with a touch of molasses, and hopefully, a smack of humility.

That was Trevor's version of the story, heard second and third hand. But I have my questions. I have a hard time believing someone could really swing a pail of molasses over his own head, one-handed, while balancing on a ladder. Even Cirque Du Soleil doesn't do that! There were no witnesses. I taste more than molasses here. What you don't know is that Trevor has always been known to have a very sweet tooth. I don't know. I may never know. He won't confess, and he certainly tampered with the evidence, didn't he? I wonder if the chickens ever get any molasses. I think the whole thing smacks.