arnold40844

https://www.foodsentry.org/import-alerts/thailand-peppers-contaminated-with-excessive-carbofuran-and-carbaryl-pesticide-residues/ this was in July 2013, a year later.

As far as i can see it is still being used, no one seems to be monitoring it anyway.

It happens in most countries. few politicians will ever pull the curtain down on these sorts of industries. This is a study from September 2013 from an Indonesian University http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jpbs/papers/Vol7-issue6/A0760104.pdf?id=6970 Its basically very conclusive evidence regarding the effects of Carboforan and how it is responsible for irreversible damage to the male reproductive organs in very low doses, as well as its affects on the hormone system to basically make men very feminine. Obviously the other side to this is that it may be a leading cause of testicular cancer. Its shocking.

“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view.”

As I mentioned before the argument has been going on for a long time, prior to the 1960s UK governments used the word colored, I suppose in your narrow little view point that "descriptive noun" is not racist either.

As a black man born in 1960s London, I didn't - and still don't - regard the word "coloured" as a racist term.

I know more than most on here about what constitutes racism and, in my opinion, no foreigner in this country has experienced anything that warrants the indignant puerility displayed by fully-grown adults on this forum.

If you, personally, are so insulted by the word "farang" then what are you doing about it? Are you insisting that Thais don't use it within earshot?

I never really said i take offence to it, i'm a bit more thick skinned than that. I was just pointing out that it is a label, a description based on ethnicity and that the dreaded "N word" is its ugly cousin.

We obviously have very different opinions on this.

My daughter jumped on the keyboard, did not mean to post that.

You seem to have some preconceived idea of what a racist word is, whilst dishing out other "descriptive nouns" that you consider to be offensive.

Its all about the context as iv'e said repeatedly. Negro's often refer to each other as Nigger but it is not in an offensive way, which kinda destroys your 100% theory.

Arguing over made up words and their meaning love it!

No it doesn't destroy my 100% theory because it ain't racism when two people of the same race use the term between each other.

Why don't you go out and ask 10 black people, 10 whites and 10 Thais if the word "nigger" is a racist slur. I guarantee all 30 will confirm it is.

I'll go out and ask 10 black people if the word "farang" is a racist slur. Then 10 whites, then 10 Thais. I think you know that there'd be any number of opinions on whether the word means Caucasian of French extraction, European extraction, plain old white person or just simple "foreigner" etc and therein lies the undoing of your ridiculous argument.

The absence of universal consensus.

If people can't even agree between themselves if the word is a racist slur, your argument has zero legitimacy so like I said, hop on a plane.

“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view.”

As I mentioned before the argument has been going on for a long time, prior to the 1960s UK governments used the word colored, I suppose in your narrow little view point that "descriptive noun" is not racist either.

There are big differences between Racism, Racist, Racist's, Racialism, Scientific Racism, Pseudo-scientific Racism, Racial Superiority etc. And I think we have covered most of them in this thread

Its banned all over the world because it is and endocrine disruptor, meaning that is plays havoc with the bodies hormone system. it makes me sick

Good food should not only be available to people who can afford it or grow it, if people were more aware of this growers would have no choice but to go organic, but while so many remain ignorant we are all screwed.

Thanks for all the responses.

I have read many articles bringing attention to the chemicals found in organic foods that make it to the shelf. it is very worrying given the price of them.

Unfortunately I do not have the space to grow anything more than i already am, having serious thoughts about moving up North where my wife is from, with my daughter starting school next year it makes it a little difficult. We are going to Tops Supermarket today again, it will have to do for now.

On a separate note i think there may be a link between the high levels of carbofuran in the Thai diet, the fact that when tested on rats in non-lethal doses it results in an 88% decrease in testosterone and the obvious taboo that Thailand is so well known for? Given a bit of studying around the subject it seems entirely possible.

i am certainly not taking any risks with my children.

This is an argument that has been going on for years. Interesting quote below relating to it. i think it sums it up quite well, it depends how you define racism, by a certain definition everyone is racist.

"The exact definition of racism is controversial both because there is little scholarly agreement about the meaning of the concept "race", and because there is also little agreement about what does and does not constitute discrimination. Critics argue that the term is applied differentially, with a focus on such prejudices by whites, and defining mere observations of racial differences as racism.^[3] Some definitions would have it that any assumption that a person's behavior would be influenced by their racial categorization is racist, regardless of whether the action is intentionally harmful or pejorative."

snake24 you keep adding a reply and it keeps getting removed.

My argument with this is as follows. You agree that the "N Word" is an offensive term, but ask yourself what makes it offensive? it is just a "noun" in the English language that is used to describe the color of someones skin, the word is not in itself racist, its merely the context in which it is used. I think it came from the Spanish word Negro or something.

It is exactly the same with Farang, I don't see why there is a debate about whether or not the word is racist? it is a "noun" that refers to the color of someones skin. This argument is basically as ridiculous as "is the word white or black racist"?...

I think the real question here is, are there people in Thailand who have racist views towards Caucasians and sometimes express those views verbally in combination with the word Farang? Answer: Yes

I don't think you can compare the "N" word and "farang".

One is regarded as very offensive by 100% of black people regardless of the tone with which it is used; the other is regarded as offensive by a few wheezers on Thaivisa's forum with nothing better to do than bitch about imagined slights.

I mean, if they were calling you "crackers" or "porkbellies", you'd have a case but they're not.

If "farang" is racist, why stay in a country where you're being called a derogatory name by pretty much every Thai?

Head home, suckas

i think its a very narrow minded way to look at it. But each to their own ability I suppose. If you can not see the relationship between two descriptive nouns then what's the point.

Me and my wife met at university in the UK, we have 2 kids and have been together for 5 years. I moved here so she could be closer to her family and so my children know `

Like I have said in several post's, there are only a couple of occasions that I have taken offence to it and that's when it is used in an offensive way.

My daughter jumped on the keyboard, did not mean to post that.

You seem to have some preconceived idea of what a racist word is, whilst dishing out other "descriptive nouns" that you consider to be offensive.

Its all about the context as iv'e said repeatedly. Negro's often refer to each other as Nigger but it is not in an offensive way, which kinda destroys your 100% theory.

Arguing over made up words and their meaning love it!

snake24 you keep adding a reply and it keeps getting removed.

My argument with this is as follows. You agree that the "N Word" is an offensive term, but ask yourself what makes it offensive? it is just a "noun" in the English language that is used to describe the color of someones skin, the word is not in itself racist, its merely the context in which it is used. I think it came from the Spanish word Negro or something.

It is exactly the same with Farang, I don't see why there is a debate about whether or not the word is racist? it is a "noun" that refers to the color of someones skin. This argument is basically as ridiculous as "is the word white or black racist"?...

I think the real question here is, are there people in Thailand who have racist views towards Caucasians and sometimes express those views verbally in combination with the word Farang? Answer: Yes

I don't think you can compare the "N" word and "farang".

One is regarded as very offensive by 100% of black people regardless of the tone with which it is used; the other is regarded as offensive by a few wheezers on Thaivisa's forum with nothing better to do than bitch about imagined slights.

I mean, if they were calling you "crackers" or "porkbellies", you'd have a case but they're not.

If "farang" is racist, why stay in a country where you're being called a derogatory name by pretty much every Thai?

Head home, suckas

i think its a very narrow minded way to look at it. But each to their own ability I suppose. If you can not see the relationship between two descriptive nouns then what's the point.

Me and my wife met at university in the UK, we have 2 kids and have been together for 5 years. I moved here so she could be closer to her family and so my children know `

Like I have said in several post's, there are only a couple of occasions that I have taken offence to it and that's when it is used in an offensive way.

snake24 you keep adding a reply and it keeps getting removed.

My argument with this is as follows. You agree that the "N Word" is an offensive term, but ask yourself what makes it offensive? it is just a "noun" in the English language that is used to describe the color of someones skin, the word is not in itself racist, its merely the context in which it is used. I think it came from the Spanish word Negro or something.

It is exactly the same with Farang, I don't see why there is a debate about whether or not the word is racist? it is a "noun" that refers to the color of someones skin. This argument is basically as ridiculous as "is the word white or black racist"?...

I think the real question here is, are there people in Thailand who have racist views towards Caucasians and sometimes express those views verbally in combination with the word Farang? Answer: Yes

Yes they are racist. Farang is a racist term no matter how much Thais try to say it is not. It is plain and simple. Any word like this that is used to identify a certain ethnic group that is not part of "us" is racist. Imagine back in our homeland (whatever country it may be) and you are asian and you overhear the wait staff at restaurant say: "You take the table with the Asian at it."

Imagine walking down the street and people pointing at you and nudging their partner "hey, hey, look! An Asian."

How about clearing up a traffic ticket at the local cop shop and when you bring the ticket in to retrieve your driver's license, the cop looks at you and shakes is head and says "Oh you asian."

But I don't get mad at the Thais. They don't understand it is racist. I try to educate them in a joking manner. "Duu Duu Duu farang!! " I stop and point back and say "Du du du,,, Khon Thai."

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

I had the honour of placing a wreath on Remembrance Day ceremony in respect for those westerners and others who fell in battle. The wreath was provided by our town. Do you know what was written in bold letters across the wreath ..........................

" FARANGS OF UBON RATCHATHANI"

What do you think of that ?

So why no replies from the ''high horse'' farangs to my above post ?

The word refers to the color of my skin, like the word nigger, white, black etc. Its not about where i'm from it is purely to do with the color of my skin. I don't think its on the same page as "Asian", European, American etc. That being said, its like the Brits having monument in Trafalgar Square saying "To all the blacks who lost their lives in Afghanistan". We would say To all the Nigerians, or to all the Burmese, not all the Yellow or Black guys.

I agree that is taken out of context and its not generally meant in an offensive way, these are cultural differences, not everyone in the world conforms to the customary codes of what Westerners consider polite behavior. In Liberia they still eat people, which i consider awfully rude and impolite.

Yes poisons are an issue here when you consider the watchdogs...that don't exist...and the ethics...that don't exist and the poorly farmer that wants his crop to survive and sell so he can have some money and feed his own family....but not from the stuff they have grown to sell.

God knows what is in the stuff here.

Wish there was a cheap and effective way to test stuff every now and again.

We are lucky the farm near us does sell it all for good and reasonable prices, supply is the issue.

As an example, a large bunch of asparagus is 30b. Butternut pumpkin 100b a kilo. A large bag of mixed lettuce 50b etc.

That sounds very reasonable, i have seen prices higher here than you would expect in Waitrose in the UK, which just seems absurd. I suppose its ultimately supply and demand, its very sad that if you cannot afford the premium you have no choice.

All my wife's family (mostly farmers) are totally oblivious and think i'm a complete and utter moron, they laugh at me for not wanting MSG in my food and trying to source veg responsibly. From what i understand they seem to think most of these chemicals are magic powders from the food angels...... "deep sigh"

Unfortunately, the organic produce seems to be few and far between and supply is eratic.

We have 2 farms near us, went to one last week and only had lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and sprouts.

Rather poor selection, ok if you want salads every meal I guess.

Found a shop that has more selection, but still not a lot of the leafy vegetables or things like pumpkin and spinach and stuff.

Similar sought of findings from my side. Most of the organic farms seem to only produce a few products making it difficult to find it all in one place.

There is another one on Sukumvit 31 that I am going to try out. Most of these places seem a bit ostentatious, over-priced and over-marketed, all i really want is food that does not contain unsafe levels of poison. Don't really care for the fancy packaging.

Who trusts anything organic in this country ???

I agree. But i also think its got to be better than the no chemicals barred s**t. If you can reduce your intake in any way its got to be worth it. A lot of the bad ones like carbofuran (banned in the EU & US) are absorbed through the roots so the plant becomes poisonous to pest's. You can't wash that s**t off.

Same issue right now!

My son is turning 6monthd old tmrw

We gonna check lemon farm on ekkamai this evening. I heard they have organic vegies

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Thanks for that though. I did not know there was one in Ekkamai, Its only 4 stops from me! Will check it out at the weekend!

Found organic rice at Tops also (esplanad branch) but very few vegies!

Golden place used to have some but apparently theyve stopped!! Thats suprising knowing that its sponsored by the king. Maybe they were to costly

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I heard he was behind Organic farming. Rice is an important one that I need to source, i read that the EU prescribes a safe level of Carbofuran as not exceeding 0.02mg per kg, they have tested rice that had more than 0.80mg sourced from Thailand. Carbofuran is basically banned everywhere, even Vietnam.

I get the feeling that the only one stop shop is going to be one of the preeminent supermarkets.

Same issue right now!

My son is turning 6monthd old tmrw

We gonna check lemon farm on ekkamai this evening. I heard they have organic vegies

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I have checked them out and they seem to have a very good selection. Its http://www.adams-organic.com/ who are the growers i believe. They also supply Tops Supermarket, Home Fresh Mart and Foodland. I don't mind shopping in those places, they just feel a bit pretentious like Waitrose in the UK. "Everything is better because its 3 times the price" Mentality. Hoping to find a nice little farmers market somewhere.

I wanted to get peoples opinions and advice on where to source responsibly grown vegetable's in this country. I am a real advocate of chemical free growing and have recently been made aware that Thailand still use several pesticides that are banned in Europe and the US due to being highly toxic and carcinogenic. Also the EU froze import of Thai produce last year after finding alarmingly high levels of these chemicals on veg, enough to actually give you a headache and make you nauseous.

Being a parent myself, i just want to make sure none of this stuff gets in to my kids food. Any advise on farmers markets and organic delivery services would be awesome!

Its such a ridiculous argument. I think there a lot of people in this forum who don't really understand the meaning of "racism", they should look it up rather than the meaning of the word "Farang", its about as racist as Black, White or Yellow. Words are not racist, there are no racist or non-racist words and there never will be. Thai people use the word Farang in many different situations, mostly innocently but the it does annoy me when I hear "Oi Falang" or "You Falang, you pay more". i think the point here is that you don't address people by the color of their skin or their ethnic origins. Back home we say "excuse me sir", not "Oi yellow man"

Thailand is not back home. There in lies the problem. If you judge Thais by "your home" you will always get the wrong answer. You are probably right in "your home" but not in Thailand.

Of course, the west has gone racism and sexism crazy over the last decade, so much so that we are conditioned to be over polite in case we offend someone. We can not even say Merry Christmas any more in the media in case we offend a member of another religion. Make a comment in an office like "women can't park" and you have a lawsuit.

Obviously its a completely different culture here, everyone has different mannerisms etc. I love it here, the country and the people. I was merely pointing out that it is clearly racist.

Its such a ridiculous argument. I think there a lot of people in this forum who don't really understand the meaning of "racism", they should look it up rather than the meaning of the word "Farang", its about as racist as Black, White or Yellow. Words are not racist, there are no racist or non-racist words and there never will be. Thai people use the word Farang in many different situations, mostly innocently but the it does annoy me when I hear "Oi Falang" or "You Falang, you pay more". i think the point here is that you don't address people by the color of their skin or their ethnic origins. Back home we say "excuse me sir", not "Oi yellow man"

You are missing the point of context. If you said "I met with a few farang yesterday" its not offensive but if someone shouts "Oi farang, your car is ready" it becomes disrespectful and rude. I was just brought up not to address people by their ethnic origin. I am surprised there are so many people who disagree with that in here.

So you tell them your name ?

Don't think they understand the word ''Sir'' here, thats a farangland thing..

Go back a few posts and give your opinion on my post.

Yeah its kinda funny, nothing to get upset about it. could not find the post...

You are missing the point of context. If you said "I met with a few farang yesterday" its not offensive but if someone shouts "Oi farang, your car is ready" it becomes disrespectful and rude. I was just brought up not to address people by their ethnic origin. I am surprised there are so many people who disagree with that in here.

I don't see the point in everyone referring to how these words were translated from Sanskrit to French in the 1700's and then back in to Yiddish to describe a tropical fruit. These words are defined not by their origins but how they are used today in schools, colleges and offices.

There is no harm in a little bit of racism, but there is no point in dressing it up because that's what it is.

I am from Wales in the UK and have had to put up with sheep shagging jokes my entire life.

another child a "Paki" in a UK school. Please explain as I'm failing to see your view of this.

You serious? There are certain words that are in fact derogatory, I assume "Paki" being one. Same as Jap, Chink, Nigger, wet-back, honky, etc, in the US. However, there are other words used to describe ethnicity that are not derogatory, such as Asian, Hispanic, Arab, Caucasian, native American, African-American, gaijin, and yes, "farang."

So what don't you get about this?

How is it different from a child calling

The only reason that Nigger is considered offensive Berkshire is the context its been used in. All i'm saying is that Nigger is a noun that has been used for centuries to refer to black people, it became offensive when people started using in an offensive way. Farang is a noun used by Thai's to refer to white people and I hear it all the time being used in an offensive way and most often used to imply prejudgment based on race. For all they know i could have grown up here.

In the 21 century there is no "good" context to use the word.

Absolutely agree. Even the thought of saying the word makes most people shudder with how wrong it is, people go to prison for saying it, loose their jobs etc. But it is just a word, the only meaning it has is its the context its used in. There is nothing wrong with the word "Farang", but Thailand along with most of the world does seem to have preconceived prejudices when it comes to outsiders.