Organic Food Hub Status Planned For Thailand

[Kilgore Trout]

Thailand has just banned the export of 14 different fruit and vegetables because of continued, excessive infestation with pests including whiteflies, thrips and leaf miners. Surely the farmers should be using more insecticide to kill off the bugs, rather than trying to grow organic.

There are other options.

My link

[ignoramus]

I seriously don't know if the people who talk about Thailand as a hub for organic food are kidding themselves or believe they can kid the potentially interested public. I wonder which class they think would salivate over the prospect of organic food. The middle class, the upper class? Internationally, who would believe it was a serious possibility...

The average Joe in Australia doesn't give a fig about the organic label, and it's been coming for 15 years or so

On my second to last [very recent] trip to Thailand [in '94] I read an article in The Nation about the spraying-of-crops-with-wild-abandon. I can't help but imagine that it's got worse rather than 'better'.

It's a bit of a giggle, in my less than erudite opinion. But then again maybe there are various bureaucrats and others who are paid big bucks to produce big but silly ideas. Happens here.

[HerbalEd]

How about organic food for the domestic market in Thailand? Looks like a pretty big opportunity IMO.

I wonder how they're going to go about enforcement and checks... probably no plan in place...

Actually Thailand has an internationally certified organic agriculture system already in place and working well and growing rapidly. In fact, Thailand is the world's largest exporter of certified organic rice, and it's sold in USA, Europe, etc.

Why is it that so many members here are so eager and quick to always assume the worst about Thailand and Thais? I think many of you actually take a twisted pleasure in doing so. Yes, Thailand has it's contradictions, hypocrisy, corruption, weirdness, etc. .... just like any country/peoples .... but all-in-all I think it's a wonderful country with most of its people generally far more pleasant and good-hearted than most of the world.

BTW, my home country, the USA, has lots of corruption also, but there it is legal .... it's called lobbying.

Edited January 25, 2011 by HerbalEd

[brahmburgers]

Thailand has just banned the export of 14 different fruit and vegetables because of continued, excessive infestation with pests including whiteflies, thrips and leaf miners. Surely the farmers should be using more insecticide to kill off the bugs, rather than trying to grow organic.

AyG, you're showing a lack of knowledge about organic. Let me share a true story (among many) which I experienced. In 1999, I secured property in northern Thailand. I brought over some African gourd seeds. The first season, they were infested with orange beetles - which ate half their foliage. Some gourds, but not a great yield. The second year, same area, had a great yield. Neighborhood kids came by to make the gourds in to bowls, painting them, etc.

Never have I used chemicals to grow anything. What happened? When the orange beetles came in the first year, their predators (mostly birds, probably) also came along, though a bit late to be affective. Next year, the predators

were waiting, and the orangies didn't stand a chance. Haven't seen those beetles for over a decade since that infestation.

Here's another twist on organic: Twice, I've had caterpillar infestations - on different years - each time, a different tree was targeted. Each time, I simply took a pair of scissors, and calmly cut each caterpillar in half - and let the birds or fungi finish them off. If I had a regular farmer's mentality, I'd freak out and get all sorts of chemicals and dust the whole orchard (over 60 trees). Similarly, a regular vege farmer with the beetle infestation mentioned above, might have gone and bombed the whole garden with toxic chemicals.

Chemical applications is not needed. It's a ruse by multi-billion dollar corporations who want to sell as much chemicals as possible. I never believed it, and never had any doubts that organic is the only sane way to grow crops. Euwel Gibbons once said something like "Pick the uglier fruit and veges at the market, as they're the healthier ones that have likely been grown without pesticides and herbicides."

As a closing note, I'd like to mention that it's possibly those are the types of toxins which cause cancer to start growing. No one knows for sure, because cancer starts on a tiny molecular level. But cancer is probably triggered by something at least semi-toxic - and the stuff they spray on food crops is a plausible culprit.

[Dap]

In view of the current concern about foodstuffs from Thailand that are exported to Europe I fear that the statement is but a knee jerk reaction by an ill informed politician,

Less of the political hot air and we might well achieve a cleaner air supply here in Thailand..

Look out !!!

There goes a low flying pig !!

Thailand is already the hub of knee jerk reactions by ill informed politicians.

Perhaps with all these flying pigs in Thailand they will find a use for the aircraft carrier after all.

Well, you've certainly been around long enough to appreciate the humour of the aircraft carrier and I'm guessing the recent re-request for submarines has not passed you by. "Organic Food Hub" sits well into the genre

[bangon04]

In view of the current concern about foodstuffs from Thailand that are exported to Europe I fear that the statement is but a knee jerk reaction by an ill informed politician,

Less of the political hot air and we might well achieve a cleaner air supply here in Thailand..

Look out !!!

There goes a low flying pig !!

Thailand is already the hub of knee jerk reactions by ill informed politicians.

Perhaps with all these flying pigs in Thailand they will find a use for the aircraft carrier after all.

Well, you've certainly been around long enough to appreciate the humour of the aircraft carrier and I'm guessing the recent re-request for submarines has not passed you by. "Organic Food Hub" sits well into the genre

Actually the submarines might have a real use - they can torpedo the boatloads of Rohingyas without being caught on camera or satellite images.

[jayjay0]

Wow another hub !

Along with :

The Hub of corruption.

The Hub of low education.

Hub of selfish drivers.

Hub of prostitution.

Hub, Hub, Huberdy-Dub-Dub

You really should get out more.

You live in a dream world. Reading this thread I see you are not alone.

It's a big world out side of your computer room.

Thailand could take lessons in all these thing's you claim they are the hub of. Just step over the border for a quick dose of reality.

Well maybe prostitution they might have a edge over Cambodia. the big difference being Cambodia is not pushing it in your face.

Burma is so poor they can't afford to buy it. Did you get your education there?

[whybother]

AyG, you're showing a lack of knowledge about organic. Let me share a true story (among many) which I experienced. In 1999, I secured property in northern Thailand. I brought over some African gourd seeds. The first season, they were infested with orange beetles - which ate half their foliage. Some gourds, but not a great yield. The second year, same area, had a great yield. Neighborhood kids came by to make the gourds in to bowls, painting them, etc.

Never have I used chemicals to grow anything. What happened? When the orange beetles came in the first year, their predators (mostly birds, probably) also came along, though a bit late to be affective. Next year, the predators

were waiting, and the orangies didn't stand a chance. Haven't seen those beetles for over a decade since that infestation.

<snip>

Something else they can do besides using chemicals is to actually import predators for some of the bugs.

The Australians did that a while ago when some bugs were eating their sugar cane. They imported the Cane Toad.

[jazzbo]

A report from the evil empire:As one of the industry’s leading producers of processed potato products, we respect our planet’s limited resources and always strive toward greater economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable agricultural practices.

http://www.lambweston.com/Delhi/pdf/LWSustainableAgGrowerPolicies.pdf