My dear brothers and sisters,

For our Victory Garden this April we start shallots and garlic. We plant them in trays. They will grow vibrantly; when they are big enough we’ll transfer them to a garden bed. Think of it. Simply buy some organic shallots and garlic in your local farmer’s market or natural food store and get growing! All it takes are some trays and potting soil. A patio or porch will do fine.

Please watch the video. Your comments are most welcome!

Special
Our Special this week is $6 off our Sliced Almonds - Organic! Regularly $20.99/16oz. Yours for $14.99.

Your Garden in April
Niall Gardens opens by exclaiming,”April is a brilliant month for growing”  and rejoices as he plants purple sprouting broccoli, some marvelous and easy to grow lettuces- black seeded Simpson lettuce and Marvel of Four Seasons,  Cosmos,a delightful flower, and peas for eating out of hand, steaming and baking. Please get inspired and plant your Victory Garden now!

Video: Walnut Butter
We rejoice with our walnut butter created from walnuts grown by California family farmers. Please watch the video.

Newest Offerings
Pistachios (In Shell) – Alive & Organic
Dark Chocolate Covered Ginger – Organic
Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans – Organic
Medjool Date Pieces - Organic

The tragedy of weight loss drugs
As if the tragedy of obesity were not bad enough with nearly half our fellow American afflicted, it is compounded by the resort to drugs some of which have deleterious side effects. Also once they stop taking the drugs, in all too many cases, the excess weight comes right back. There are surely other approaches, more organic and wholistic.

A Highly Toxic Weedkiller
It is sad to hear that paraquat,a highly toxic weed killer is still being used on foods crops.It is banned on golf course, by the way.

Video:  How to Walk
Most of us do every possible variation of what we should be doing when walk. Here Bob and Brad, our favorite physical therapists, guide us in healthful, vibrant walking- a big step in reconnecting with ourselves and with the living earth.

May we wish you and family a delightful springtime of good health, prosperity and success

Jesse Schwartz PhD
President
Living Tree Community Foods

Newsweek Reported:

Since weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro first hit the market, patients have shared horror story symptoms and even complained of how the pounds pile back on when they stop taking the medication.

Nausea, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain and other gastrointestinal issues are just some of the common side effects listed. However, even if you make it through these, some patients say the weight loss goes into reverse once you’re off the drug again.

In one 2022 study, patients who stopped taking semaglutide (generic name for common brand names such as Ozempic) regained two-thirds of the weight they initially lost one year out.

Prices for pharmaceuticals have also been soaring, with the price of Novo Nordisk‘s Ozempic climbing by 3.5% in January to $984 for a monthly supply. Eli Lilly‘s Mounjaro also grew significantly, by 4.5%, to $1,000 a month, according to 46Brooklyn Research.

Despite this, demand for the drugs has never been higher.

Read more

By Julia Conley

Concerns about the safety of paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide, pushed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2021 to ban its use on golf courses — but the weedkiller is still permitted for agricultural use, and a new first-of-its-kind analysis shows how the EPA’s continued approval of the substance has put low-income Latino communities at disproportionate risk for health impacts.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found in the study released on March 27 that 5.3 million pounds of paraquat were sprayed over a five-year period in California, the only state with readily available figures on the herbicide.

Most of the weedkiller’s use was concentrated in central counties where farms produce almonds, walnuts, alfalfa and other crops — and where Latino people make up about 75% of the population and nearly the entire farm labor force.

Ninety-six percent of farmworkers in the state are Latino, and 90% of people in the agricultural workforce were born outside of the U.S., making immigrants who often work for low wages among the people who are most affected by continued use of paraquat on farms.

Read more