Newsletter - April 25, 2023

My dear brothers and sisters,

It seems that it’s not only the atmosphere that is getting more unstable and less predictable. The same can be said of ourselves. There is no question but that there is an increase of violence both locally and internationally. When we couple this with the increase  in suicides and the fentanyl crisis we cannot but conclude that the social fabric is badly torn.

Then there are the epidemics - the epidemic of obesity with 42% of US adults being obese; even more tragically 1/5 of children are obese. Closely linked to this is the epidemic of diabetes and then cancer and cardiovascular.Then there is the epidemic of autism and the epidemic of  attention deficit disorder, AHDH.

As if that  were not enough, there is the financial crisis with the massive job layoffs in the tech center just the beginning. Even more ominous is the doomsday clock of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists- its 90 seconds to midnight, indicating unprecedented danger.

All this is being played out against a background of profound loneliness, isolation and estrangement.
What then is there to do but to plant a Victory Garden?! In this we are but emulating our forebears, the Greatest Generation.

We invite you then to follow along as we sow seeds for a spring garden.

We begin with lettuce, heirloom of course, with most of the seeds contributed by the Seed Savers Exchange, a  grassroots organization dedicated to preserving your genetic heritage. Then we go on to  kale, Swiss chard and parsley and follow with tomatoes and summer squash.

Then  Jenna guides us  in sewing seeds for April both indoors and out. She sows lettuce, Swiss chard and collards directly in the ground, but starts her tomatoes indoors.

There is a delightful almond flour, oatmeal cookie recipe.

Next, we present our Victory Garden Sale for April featuring Innovation Butter, Turmeric and Honey Butter and Khadrawy dates.

The next  video takes us to northeast Oklahoma where we view a wonderful project devoted to restoring and preserving the tall grass prairie. The film shows how bison are  essential and integral  in the restoration and maintenance.

In conclusion, Professor Michael Behe with Lehigh University describes a stumbling block in Darwin’s evolution.  The piecemeal  approach of random variation and natural selection cannot explain  complex mechanisms such as the living cell whose intricate parts  must work together. Indeed, all of nature is based upon the cooperation and integration of complex systems;  this cannot be explained by the Darwinian mechanism.

My dear brothers, if all this sets you thinking we feel we have accomplished our purpose; we welcome your comments and suggestions.

Please accept our best wishes to you and family for a vibrantly healthy and alive spring time.

Jesse Schwartz PhD
President
Living Tree Community Foods