Is organic farming the solution to Thai school lunch crisis?

[webfact]

Image by Freepik

Two problems plaguing Thailand – unhealthy meals for schoolkids and farmers threatened by volatile food prices and climate change – have a simple win-win solution, say experts.

 

By collaborating with local farmers, schools can get fresh and pesticide-free organic food for their students at a reasonable price, ensuring that the farmers earn a stable income.

 

It may sound too good to be true, but a project in the Northeast is proving otherwise and could serve as a national model.

 

Success story in the Northeast

 

Students in Surin’s Chom Phra district are now being served a hearty school lunch made from locally grown organic vegetables every day. This meal provides them with the nutrition they need for healthy physical and mental development.

 

But the Chom Phra students are among the lucky few. Many of their peers across Thailand still have to be satisfied with small servings of relatively poor-quality food that may be stunting their development.

 

Chinda Phromtha, a dentist at the Lamduan Hospital who has overseen the school lunch program in Chom Phra from the start, attributes its success to close collaboration between district schools and local farmers.

 

By Thai PBS World’s General Desk

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2023-11-06

 

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[4MyEgo]

Our kids take a cut lunch, would never allow them to eat the crap they serve at the school (private) and we pay for it, waste of money, but at least we know they eat healthy food provided by us, besides, they wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Mums the best cook.

 

 

[Pouatchee]

really? how many farmers are actually willing to go organic? 

--too expensive

-- way more work

--difficult to control bugs and lord knows there are a lot of those

-- if the farmers do grow organic their crops will be more expensive and unlikely schools will be able to afford.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Pouatchee

[PremiumLane]

Wait till they find out that organic farming uses chemicals as well 

[Jimjim1]

23 minutes ago, Pouatchee said:

really? how many farmers are actually willing to go organic? 

--too expensive

-- way more work

--difficult to control bugs and lord knows there are a lot of those

-- if the farmers do grow organic their crops will be more expensive and unlikely schools will be able to afford.

Utter rubbish.

I grow all of my vegetables 100% organically and the only spray I use is water, organic soft soap, and easily available organic Neem oil which in itself is edible and has many uses, the mixing of all three items is easier than mixing the poison that chemical companies have brainwashed the farmers into using.

The water content is warm enough without further heating up to dissolve the oil and soft soap and spraying it is very easy.

The Neem oil is a product of the Neem tree which is grown in India and I believe Thailand, so in Thailand it is not as expensive as chemicals.

[djayz]

The answer has to be yes.

[Pouatchee]

1 hour ago, Jimjim1 said:

Utter rubbish.

I grow all of my vegetables 100% organically and the only spray I use is water, organic soft soap, and easily available organic Neem oil which in itself is edible and has many uses, the mixing of all three items is easier than mixing the poison that chemical companies have brainwashed the farmers into using.

The water content is warm enough without further heating up to dissolve the oil and soft soap and spraying it is very easy.

The Neem oil is a product of the Neem tree which is grown in India and I believe Thailand, so in Thailand it is not as expensive as chemicals.

 

utter rubbish on you

home garden to feed your family and industrial farming to feed hundreds of mouths are 2 horses of a different color. goes to shoe how little you know

[kickstart]

4 hours ago, Jimjim1 said:

Utter rubbish.

I grow all of my vegetables 100% organically and the only spray I use is water, organic soft soap, and easily available organic Neem oil which in itself is edible and has many uses, the mixing of all three items is easier than mixing the poison that chemical companies have brainwashed the farmers into using.

The water content is warm enough without further heating up to dissolve the oil and soft soap and spraying it is very easy.

The Neem oil is a product of the Neem tree which is grown in India and I believe Thailand, so in Thailand it is not as expensive as chemicals.

That is correct Neem oil is good, it is available in Thailand, known as Nam-Man -Sadow.

You grow vegetable's what scale? it is a bit different from growing veg in a back garden as opposed to growing veg on a commercial scale, here they are feeding 5000 school kids that is a lot of veg, as has been said nowhere the same.

[Chris Daley]

There is no ''crisis'' poverty has been solved.  If you still see it someone is causing it on purpose.

[Jimjim1]

12 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

home garden to feed your family and industrial farming to feed hundreds of mouths are 2 horses of a different color. goes to shoe how little you know

Who said anything about home gardening? or is that just your own ignorance showing because you have been picked up for your ridiculous comment.

 

I have 10 hectares of close grown various crops all grown organically, however IF you had taken the time to read my post you would have seen that my point was NOT how much was grown but the way in which it was grown and the use of organic products to control the pests, and I reiterate again that these products are cheaper to buy and safer than the poison farmers have been brainwashed to use.

 

German research scientists have discovered that land around the world is so depleted of natural nutrients that if the use of these chemicals is continued farmers will not be able to grow wholesome foods or indeed any food plants after 2060 because the land will be saturated with pollutant chemicals

[sirineou]

Quote

Is organic farming the solution to Thai school lunch crisis?

Certainly not, but it would be a start.

[Srikcir]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

have a simple win-win solution

It seems frequently in Thailand that the quality of children's school meals has been affected more by corruption than climate change and agricultural pollution. Healthy entrees are replaced by school administrations with unhealthy selections or ommission of healthy selections to the financial benefit of school administrations.

Provide better accountability of school meal funding and enforcement as necessary to protect children's health. It seems often such corruption is disclosed by insider whistle blowers instead of education officials.

[sirineou]

15 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

really? how many farmers are actually willing to go organic? 

--too expensive

-- way more work

--difficult to control bugs and lord knows there are a lot of those

-- if the farmers do grow organic their crops will be more expensive and unlikely schools will be able to afford.

And how does one certify "Organic" in Thailand?  I can just see it, a poor farmer has his crop eaten buy pests , But would rather starve that spray ! Sure it could happen LOL

[Jimjim1]

2 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Certainly not, but it would be a start.

Why not?

Food does not have to be grown using chemical drenches, too many people believe the rhetoric put out by chemical companies and supermarkets alike.

Yes it is true that to grow organically one has to be a little more diligent to stay on top of the bugs but this does not make the production more expensive,That is false information put out by the said interests one to aid the continuance of chemical use and the other to gain higher profits on any organic products sold in there stores.

 

[herfiehandbag]

Put bluntly, the problems over the selection and supply of foods to school kitchens are caused by the corruption (kickbacks to suppliers and good old fashioned budget skimming) inherent in the system. Exactly as with the supply of teaching materials and text books.

 

A classic example, albeit on a small scale. My daughter is In M6, graduates this semester. She is required to have two passport photos for her graduation book. Had to be arranged by the teacher, who collected B160 to pay for them. There is a collection of cash levied almost weekly for one thing or another. Cynical old bastard as I am I reckon the "skin" is wort what - B3k a month? Go into the "teacher's room" any Monday morning break - they are all counting cash!

 

[herfiehandbag]

10 minutes ago, sirineou said:

And how does one certify "Organic" in Thailand?  I can just see it, a poor farmer has his crop eaten buy pests , But would rather starve that spray ! Sure it could happen LOL

I believe that there is a process for that. It involves a series of visits by officials from the "agricultural authorities"; we looked into it for growing on some land we owned, years ago. There were, invariably, some " lubrication requirements" to aid the process. It was to do with growing cucumbers for the Japanese market. The buying agent was introduced/accompanied by officials, who 'oversaw' the organic certification, which took about 6 months. Then they disappeared from the scene, the buyer offered 50% of the agreed price. Take it or leave it. A lot of small farmers in our village were scammed.

Edited November 7, 2023 by herfiehandbag

[Pouatchee]

1 hour ago, Jimjim1 said:

Who said anything about home gardening? or is that just your own ignorance showing because you have been picked up for your ridiculous comment.

 

I have 10 hectares of close grown various crops all grown organically, however IF you had taken the time to read my post you would have seen that my point was NOT how much was grown but the way in which it was grown and the use of organic products to control the pests, and I reiterate again that these products are cheaper to buy and safer than the poison farmers have been brainwashed to use.

 

German research scientists have discovered that land around the world is so depleted of natural nutrients that if the use of these chemicals is continued farmers will not be able to grow wholesome foods or indeed any food plants after 2060 because the land will be saturated with pollutant chemicals

 

Yawn... fart... young urban professional showing off. Look at me 10 hectares... wow

[brianthainess]

16 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

really? how many farmers are actually willing to go organic? 

--too expensive

-- way more work

--difficult to control bugs and lord knows there are a lot of those

-- if the farmers do grow organic their crops will be more expensive and unlikely schools will be able to afford.

Well exactly organic food is way more expensive to produce,  growing anything outside here in this climate, is almost impossible without insecticide. Those home made remedies just don't work, as with weed killers. What's more harmful to the environment, spraying weed killer around my fence line twice a year or using a 2 stroke petrol strimmer once a month?

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, Jimjim1 said:

have 10 hectares of close grown various crops

 

16 minutes ago, Pouatchee said:

I reiterate again that these products are cheaper to buy

As we are in Thailand I have converted your 10 hectares to RAI 62.5 ! and You farm all that yourself with no chemicals? and please give a link to the cheaper alternatives, do you use a lot BS on your 62.5 Rai?

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, herfiehandbag said:

I believe that there is a process for that. It involves a series of visits by officials from the "agricultural authorities"; we looked into it for growing on some land we owned, years ago. There were, invariably, some " lubrication requirements" to aid the process. It was to do with growing cucumbers for the Japanese market. The buying agent was introduced/accompanied by officials, who 'oversaw' the organic certification, which took about 6 months. Then they disappeared from the scene, the buyer offered 50% of the agreed price. Take it or leave it. A lot of small farmers in our village were scammed.

Sure. if it is intended for export it is subject to destination requirements. But I remember reading somewhere , wait I will google it,

"64% of all vegetables tested in varicose markets in Thailand , contained a high content of pesticides" 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1366435/64-of-veggies-unsafe-due-to-pesticides

[sirineou]

2 hours ago, Jimjim1 said:

Why not?

Food does not have to be grown using chemical drenches, too many people believe the rhetoric put out by chemical companies and supermarkets alike.

Yes it is true that to grow organically one has to be a little more diligent to stay on top of the bugs but this does not make the production more expensive,That is false information put out by the said interests one to aid the continuance of chemical use and the other to gain higher profits on any organic products sold in there stores.

 

True that

I never said that food could not and should not be grown organically. I just said that it is not the solution, perhaps it is part of the solution, but certainly not the solution. IMO a good start. 

Kids diets in school and elsewhere contain way too much sugar in the preparation, it is not balanced and is high in carbohydrates and low in protein.and the "soft drinks" they drink are simply  sugar water with artificial flavor. 

 

[bamnutsak]

 

The solution to the school lunch crisis is to not allow school administrators (MoE in Bangkok, and provincial/local) to skim/accept kickbacks from the meals budget.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by bamnutsak

[Pouatchee]

33 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

 

As we are in Thailand I have converted your 10 hectares to RAI 62.5 ! and You farm all that yourself with no chemicals? and please give a link to the cheaper alternatives, do you use a lot BS on your 62.5 Rai?

 

Dude thanks for your post. This guy @Jimjim1 comes on here blabbing that he can farm 62.5 rai organically and acts holier than thou calling my post "utter rrrruuubbbiiiisssshhh" saying he is growing organic...is just a troll. I tried to grow 3 pot plants organic and had spider mites and white moth looking bugs come back over and over. I tried neem oil as smart arse @Jimjim1 suggests but that never quite did the job. Had to resort to non organic chemicals... so 62.5 rai? Mr jimjim1 is full of organic fertiliser himself. Easy to bla bla when one is a keyboard warrior.

[brianthainess]

6 minutes ago, Pouatchee said:

 

Dude thanks for your post. This guy @Jimjim1 comes on here blabbing that he can farm 62.5 rai organically and acts holier than thou calling my post "utter rrrruuubbbiiiisssshhh" saying he is growing organic...is just a troll. I tried to grow 3 pot plants organic and had spider mites and white moth looking bugs come back over and over. I tried neem oil as smart arse @Jimjim1 suggests but that never quite did the job. Had to resort to non organic chemicals... so 62.5 rai? Mr jimjim1 is full of organic fertiliser himself. Easy to bla bla when one is a keyboard warrior.

Same for me I have 1 rai, we don't have to use fertilizers our land is rich, kitchen waste gets chucked directly to the closest trees, but insecticide  is a must, on everything, Once had a load of tomato plants come up, every single tomato had white worm in them. Lemon trees eaten away buy beetles, caterpillars, mealy bugs, I've even had to spray my Kratom leaves. Not tried it yet though.

[digger70]

It would be nice to have organic farms and fruit and Vegetables .

There's one big Problem ,where to find Organic Farming.

What is Organic?

“I don’t think real organic even exists in Thailand anymore,” said Rungnapa. “The ideal organic farm means that the land must not have been contaminated by chemicals for five years or more, the water used is pure, the surrounding environment is also not contaminated and the only fertilisers used are natural. This just doesn’t exist. Believe me, I tried.” This basic definition is accurate, but the real meaning behind the word ‘organic’ goes much deeper into society than you may think.

[lordgrinz]

I remember when I first moved here in 2016, there were many investigative articles where the supposedly "Organic farm goods" at markets and stores were laced with chemicals. I would take their label of "Organic Farming" with a grain of salt.

[kingstonkid]

9 hours ago, sirineou said:

Certainly not, but it would be a start.

 

I agree.  You could give most of the cooks in the school's filet mignon fresh food fresh salmon and they would still crew it up by adding all the crap to it to make it.

 

Personally I think n the country this is a great idea.  In some schools, you could actually use it to teach students about growing things instead of just a textbook.

 

As for the cities, it may not work.

 

Part of the challenge is that the kids like this crap.  Take a look at the stalls outside the schools and what they are selling.  Take a look at the crap that the school store sells.

 

There needs to be a mindset change.  You need to not only supply the food but teach people how to prepare and serve it so that the kids will buy it.

[Jimjim1]

15 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

Dude thanks for your post. This guy @Jimjim1 comes on here blabbing that he can farm 62.5 rai organically and acts holier than thou calling my post "utter rrrruuubbbiiiisssshhh" saying he is growing organic...is just a troll. I tried to grow 3 pot plants organic and had spider mites and white moth looking bugs come back over and over. I tried neem oil as smart arse @Jimjim1 suggests but that never quite did the job. Had to resort to non organic chemicals... so 62.5 rai? Mr jimjim1 is full of organic fertiliser himself. Easy to bla bla when one is a keyboard warrior.

Brainwashed by the chemical companies and believes everything they say. What a fool !

I have grown and eaten organic foods all my life and at 77 years old I do not consume ANY medications and that includes viagra or any of its derivatives nor do I do not need glasses to read, can you do that having stuffed yourself stupid on chemically laced supermarket junk, and as for being a troll and a keyboard warrior you are never further from the truth, my comments here were meant only to pass on my own experiences and whilst some will understand this and have their interest peaked by it enough to give it a try there will always be some who decry it from the start, sadly no matter how hard we try it is impossible to educate PORK.

[cncltd1973]

On 11/6/2023 at 4:50 AM, djayz said:

The answer has to be yes.

wait for the brown envelope before answering