A documentary about the food industry

Here is the FOOD INC. web site.

So... this is just the trailer. I saw the movie FOOD INC. this weekend and am really curious as to what you all have to say. Some of you are a little more connected to the agriculture industry than I am... And I don't know if big money farming really affects Idaho as much as it may in the south or mid-west. In the documentary they featured TYSON chicken farms in the south, corn farms in the mid-west and soybean farmers in Iowa.

They also shed some light on a heart breaking story about a seed cleaner... I think that is what it's called. Supposedly the company Monsanto almost has a monopoly on the soy bean because of a patent. Because of the patent it is illegal for farmers to keep their seeds. If it is suspected that a farmer has kept his own seeds Monsanto will ruin them for breaking the patent. There are only a few farmers who didn’t switch over to the Monsanto bean and continued to farm as they had in the past. However, the company can even hold these farmers liable for keeping their own seed if their seed has mixed from the seed of neighboring farms that use the Monsanto bean.

The story about Tyson chicken made me equally sick. In a struggling Southern rural community farmers contract with Tyson chicken to raise and sale chickens. At first it seems profitable to the farmer. They follow the contract and they are guaranteed payment for the product. All the farmer has to do is build a Tyson specific structure to house and raise the chickens. These chicken houses cause the average farmer to go into debt at $500,000 a building. Is the debt worth it? According to a woman who actually was willing to talk to the film makers the company is always requiring farmers to upgrade their chicken houses or else risk losing the contract. So the farmer has to pour more and more money into their business. She speculates that is how they keep the farmers from speaking out or leaving Tyson. The average farmer yields only $18,000 a year. The woman interviewed lost her contract with Tyson because she refused to upgrade her coup to meet their new regulations...

Needless to say after watching this film I was pretty horrified and depressed. Despite that you all should watch it if you can... and I really want to know if any of the propaganda rings true for you.

When my friend and I were talking about it afterwards she mentioned that it seems like this is what the scriptures are talking about when they say there will be secret combinations in the last days... This was something I found interesting... The documentary mentioned over and over again... that we should eat food in season and plant a garden... sound familiar? For real… every part of the Word of Wisdom is inspired.

Okay, I will get off of this soap box. Even if you don't comment go to the website and I don't know... Eat good food in the season it was intended... and be happy and healthy.

lost and found at the reunion

Hey, did anyone lose anything and leave them at the reunion? We found a denim jumper, it won't fit me or any one that lives here. It's about a size 4. There was a black hoodie sweatshirt about the same size. One tupperware bowl and another bowl similiar to tupperware, both with blue lids. There was sunscreens and bug repelant too. If any one wants to claim these items let me know. Chalice, we found Lily's pink sandal. Kevin lost a lawnchair that was blue. Lacey lost a Nikon Coolpics S50 10 megapixel camera.

FINALLY...

I finally updated our family blog. If you still need an invite, email me and let me know or leave a comment here with your email address. Love to all!!!

update on Chase

Well, since it has been a month since Chase's hospital stay, we figured it was time for an update.

Things are looking really good right now. A couple of weeks ago, Chase's platelet count dropped to 23,000 (remember it should be around 130,000+). The doctor had Chase increase his meds, and over the weekend his count doubled to 45,000. After a week of taking pills 3 times a day, his count went up to 78,000. We were told that as long as his platelet count stays around 80,000 Chase will be able to do pretty much whatever he wants to. We think Chase's count dropped so low because he was fighting an illness (he had a sore throat and was a little congested) and we moved that week - so his body had the extra stress of hauling heavy things around (we did have great help from the Elder's Quorum, Chase just couldn't sit around and do nothing).

Anyway... The doctor has a very positive outlook and thinks that Chase will do fine. We are going to try and have Chase off all meds in 3 weeks. He has to slowly decrease the dosage from 2 pills a day, to 1, then a half, then hopefully he will be finished. Let's hope and pray that his body will be able to do its job without the medicine. Chase is wanting to do a triathalon in August, and he got the go ahead from the doctor. Between lowering his meds and getting permission to participate in the triathalon, we feel very hopeful and encouraged. Chase is feeling great and we really appreciate all of your prayers and support. We have truly been strengthened by each of you. Thanks for all of your love. We were sad that we couldn't make it to the reunion this year but thought of each of you over the weekend.

Enjoy some random photos from the past month. Love you all!

the bruise that made us decide we should go to the doctor...

at the beach in Boston

"hiking" in Indiana
(more like a nature walk compared to the hikes
we've been on in Utah and Idaho!)

our sweet girl Genevieve

Ellis Family UNITES!!!

This should hopefully be the FIRST of many many pictures shared from the Ellis Reunion! Wes sent this one to me...but thought it should be the first one posted. Thanks to the Waters clan for planning a great reunion!