About Us
Unearthing the Benefits of Hemp Seed:
The Story of Living Harvest Conscious Nutrition, Inc.
The birth of Living Harvest is the story of a father and son in
British Columbia, Canada, and how their quest for healthful living
through whole foods led them to discover the nutritional benefits of
nature's miracle plant - hemp. By launching Living Harvest, this
entrepreneurial team has created not only a product, but a platform
for educating people about the complete, balanced nutritional profile
found in hemp seed.
Search for a Foundation Food™
In 1999, as a vegetarian working to improve his health with whole food
nutrition, Charles Holmes sought the help of nutritional mentor and
biochemist Dr. Michael O'Brien. O'Brien's tests revealed that,
although Charles was relatively healthy, his body was still
nutritionally imbalanced, protein deficient and lacking essential
enzymes and amino acids that the body doesn't naturally produce.
Charles added rice protein to his diet in an effort to balance his
body's systems, but it was not a nutritionally ideal solution.
He was looking for a complete food that could supply the essential
fatty acids and protein many vegetarians lack.
In 2001, Charles' father, Ken, was harvesting wild rice with a group
of Native Americans near Flin Flon, Manitoba. Knowing Charles'
interest in finding a foundational protein source, he became
intrigued with the possibilities wild rice offered. Teaming up with
Charles, Ken obtained a grant from the University of Saskatchewan
Food Science Center to study improvements to the hulling processes
for wild rice.
They Discovered Hemp Seed Protein
The Center's scientists encouraged Charles and Ken to also consider
hemp as a possible high protein food source. At the time, no other
company was using hemp seed protein for consumer products. It was
considered a waste product and was used only as animal feed.
Ken and Charles learned that the hemp seed's balanced composition of
essential fatty acids, essential amino acids and high protein gave
them the ideal foundation food source they were seeking. The problem
was, how to mill it. Hemp seeds were difficult to process without
damaging their sensitive essential fatty acids. "We knew the protein
could be made into a viable food product, we just had to figure out
how", says Ken.
Ken, working with a fellow millwright from Saskatchewan, Canada,
dedicated the next 18 months to engineering a specialized, proprietary
milling machine. Their new vacuum friction mill processed the hemp
seed at the low temperatures necessary to produce a whole, live food
with enzymes and protein intact.
Establishing a Company
In 2002, Ken and Charles established Living Harvest Conscious Nutrition,
Inc., with the goal of creating hemp seed products that maintain the
seed's essential nutrients. With the application of their new
technology, Living Harvest yielded the world's first organic, live,
protein powder made from 100% Certified Organic Hemp Seed. The result
was a protein powder with an unusually high protein concentration,
over 46%. This proprietary process is still considered unique in the
industry.
Today, we employ technologies such as Ken's proprietary vacuum friction
mill, vacuum food dryers, and cold mechanical presses in the creation
of a full line of organic hemp food products. We work in close
partnership with the most respected organic farmers and farmer coops
across Canada. Living Harvest has been committed to organic hemp
foods from day one, offering a full organic food line since 2002.
We are, and will continue to be, committed to the Holmes family
founding mission - to be purveyors of the finest quality,
highest-nutritive, best-tasting organic hemp seed foods available.
