Vegetables With A Dangerously High Level Of Pesticide Sold At High-End Markets: Bangkok

[belg]

i think thailand is still using many dangerous things, long time forbidden in western countries.... the few mysterious deaths in hotels and islands are a reflection of that... maybe also the increased levels of stomach cancer in this country

but hey: MAI PEN RAI ... is what most thai say anyway to problems like this

[femi fan]

The same happens in the UK. Lots of fruit and veg sold in leading supermarkets have been found to be contaminated with pesticides. The UK even gave the world mad cow disease. You are seriously mistaken if you think this is just a Thai problem. And in the US millions of tons of unfit meat has been sold. It should have been recalled but wasn't. In the USA the FDA as let many drugs be sold that they knew were unsafe. So let's not single out Thailand here. Take a look at your own countries. Their food and drug safety standards are shockingly bad and riddled with corruption.

Quite incredible that yours is the 64th post and finally a voice of reason!!

Clearly many westerners are totally unaware of how dangerous and poisonous foods are back in their home nations.

And no-one in the whole thread has mentioned that these nasty dangerous chemicals are all IMPORTED. Chemicals and pesticides are created and sold by (mainly) american, german, and uk pharmaceutical corporations. It is they who began the 'green revolution' of pesticided and herbicided mass farming techniques. When their chemicals finally get banned, they push the surplus onto countries like thailand, and then bring in a new chemical to use at home.

All these poisons are MADE IN THE WEST, so don't go dissing the poor thai farmers who make very little money for their hard work, and don't know about the dangers of pesticides until it affects their heatlh. Let's remember thousands of indian farmers are committing suicide every year.

Let's remember the western corporations and the billions of dollars they make in profits by pushing their toxic chemicals on the WHOLE WORLD, not just thailand.

Most vegetable produce in england and australia is TOTALLY TASTELESS. How did they manage that eh?

Really, i suggest people do a bit of research about how their own nations produce and supply foods. Why is it that americans are getting themselves so obese, and dropping down with cancer like flies? Why is it that IT'S THEIR FOOD SYSTEM that is being pushed onto all of us wherever we live?

Yeah, just blame the drug buyer, never the drug pusher.

Edited July 12, 2012 by femi fan

[femi fan]

However bad our vegetables are, i'm afraid your meats and dairy are far worse. You should investigate the living conditions of the 'cows' and the food they are fed in the USA. All your hamburgers are made from this 'meat'. I'm afraid the whole food supply in the modern world is a nightmare, and you can thank codex alimentarius, and the incessant demand for massive profits, even if in getting these profits people's lives are made miserable or snuffed out early.

Do a wee bit of research into SAD - standard american diet, and food production and supply in the US, and learn about why we have to eat all these toxins over here in thailand. Not that long ago they grew their foods without these chemicals.

And nobody mentioned GM foods that are in our food chain now, thanks to the silence of the thai governments and the mad corporations like monsanto and dow that push their spliced foods on us all.

It's an epic nightmare that posters here would do well to find the real source to vent their anger and shock at.

Did anybody mention the pills that are made by the same companies that make all these herbicides, pesticides, and GM foods???

[kaptainrob]

Last time I bought apples from a Big store, they tasted of chemicals even after being thoroughly washed, and one of the family bought some water melons from a road-side stall which were even worse. They add chemicals to enhance the redness but the taste is terrible. Apparently the locals say:- " drink plenty of milk then water to get rid of the taste and the ' dry mouth ' effect " but this sure doesn't get rid of the chemicals you've just introduced into your body. Yet another example of quick grow for quick profit without any care for the consumer.

Can you back up this claim with some fact? Utter BS imho.

[edwardandtubs]

This is extremely alarming! Its not just a matter of washing them coz you cannot wash the inside of the plant. and there-in lies the real danger. I see nothing mentioned about the fruits here. It would be difficult to even trust any of the organic labels as well.

My guess is that they do not meet or would not meet any of the western criteria for certification either.

This is not a good situation.

I would love to buy organic food but I don't trust the food industry at all here. It would be too easy to just hand over a bribe to the inspector and pocket the cash. The only thing you can really do is wash your fruit and vegetables well which has been shown to get rid of most pesticide residue.

[Chopperboy]

The Absorption Rate is different for each type of fruit or vegetable. The highest absorption rate is peaches and the lowest is avocados. Cabbage is quite high and also gets sprayed with a number of different chemicals.

[femi fan]

I would love to buy organic food but I don't trust the food industry at all here. It would be too easy to just hand over a bribe to the inspector and pocket the cash. The only thing you can really do is wash your fruit and vegetables well which has been shown to get rid of most pesticide residue.

Shown by who?

Another problem with produce grown with chemicals is that they become severely depleted from the nutrients that they're supposed to be good for our health in the first place.

The health of the soil reflects the health of us all. Damage the soil, and we get damaged. Our soils are badly damaged by all these chemicals and gmos. And now humans are getting all kinds of health problems that were minimal two generations ago. But never mind, just go to the pharmacy and get a pill to solve it. Those friendly pharmaceutical companies who make the herbicides and pesticides make some very good pills to help us out when the food makes us ill.

[femi fan]

The Absorption Rate is different for each type of fruit or vegetable. The highest absorption rate is peaches and the lowest is avocados. Cabbage is quite high and also gets sprayed with a number of different chemicals.

I talked at length to a dutch organic farmer in the south of england last year. She was busy tending to her small farm. She told me that potatoes got 39 different sprayings before they reached the store shelves.

Let's remember that the chemicals deplete the soils of the nutrients, so even if you do manage to wash surface poison off, we're still left with the poisons that seeped into the produce through the roots, and the fact that what we're eating has not much nutritional value.

Remember posters: food has seven billion customers. No other product can produce such vast profits... and corporations just LOVE money.

[Chopperboy]

Another problem with produce grown with chemicals is that they become severely depleted from the nutrients that they're supposed to be good for our health in the first place.

The health of the soil reflects the health of us all. Damage the soil, and we get damaged. Our soils are badly damaged by all these chemicals and gmos. And now humans are getting all kinds of health problems that were minimal two generations ago. But never mind, just go to the pharmacy and get a pill to solve it. Those friendly pharmaceutical companies who make the herbicides and pesticides make some very good pills to help us out when the food makes us ill.

Its called Demineralization when the soil is depleted of minerals through intensive farming.

An apple today has a staggering 14 times less nutrients than one from the 1920's.

[Curt1591]

What a great deal: dangerously high level of pesticides in vegtables sold at high prices in high end stores....must be Thailand.

Paragon's Gourmet Market actually has lower pricing on many of the same items at TOPS or Big C.

BTW, you got to love Google AdSense!

It reads the topics, then provides "appropriate" advertising !!!!

[Chopperboy]

What a great deal: dangerously high level of pesticides in vegtables sold at high prices in high end stores....must be Thailand.

Paragon's Gourmet Market actually has lower pricing on many of the same items at TOPS or Big C.

BTW, you got to love Google AdSense!

It reads the topics, then provides "appropriate" advertising !!!!

I am on the beach ordering my Chlorpyrifos/ Phorate/ Carbofuran cocktail while we speak.

[vijer]

So we moved into our new house and within a few days one of the bathrooms started to smell of sewer gas. The builder came a few times to check the problem but couldn't pinpoint what was causing the stink. They ultimately put "chemy" (my wife's term) down the drain. The day before we visited a Thai friend and when were were leaving they handed me a plastic bag. My wife said to be careful it will burn you if you get it on your skin. I said then why are they giving it to me, I don't need it. My wife said all Thai people use this to put in the toilet when "shit" (my phrasing) gets stuck. No plunger just pour caustic chemicals in your toilet and let the chemicals dissolve the shit. The lack of knowledge and standards for everything is hideously low here. You shouldn't be surprised that the vegetables are tainted.

I wonder if the vegetables at the high end grocers are tainted and the farmers markets are not. If so I wonder if this is because the farmers that sell to the high end grocer can afford to spray their crops. I wonder if the high end grocers want vegetables that look beautiful and are free of marks and so the farmers have to spray the vegetables to make them look so good. I would like to know if I am safe eating any vegetables in Thailand. I guess I will start growing more of my own. We already grow morning glory and peppers, guess we will have to add a few more containers to our home garden.

I always wondered why there were so many people with handicaps here, perhaps this is why.

[femi fan]

Another problem with produce grown with chemicals is that they become severely depleted from the nutrients that they're supposed to be good for our health in the first place.

The health of the soil reflects the health of us all. Damage the soil, and we get damaged. Our soils are badly damaged by all these chemicals and gmos. And now humans are getting all kinds of health problems that were minimal two generations ago. But never mind, just go to the pharmacy and get a pill to solve it. Those friendly pharmaceutical companies who make the herbicides and pesticides make some very good pills to help us out when the food makes us ill.

Its called Demineralization when the soil is depleted of minerals through intensive farming.

An apple today has a staggering 14 times less nutrients than one from the 1920's.

Intensive farming is based on the use of chemicals, and is the cause of the depletion of nutrients. You cannot exonerate chemicals from this. They ARE intensive farming

[Curt1591]

I always wondered why there were so many people with handicaps here, perhaps this is why.

I think it has more to do with the fact that Thais don't stash them away like we do in the West.

[edwardandtubs]

I would love to buy organic food but I don't trust the food industry at all here. It would be too easy to just hand over a bribe to the inspector and pocket the cash. The only thing you can really do is wash your fruit and vegetables well which has been shown to get rid of most pesticide residue.

Shown by who?

I read it on the nih website a while ago. Here's the source:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1945691/pdf/canmedaj01301-0016.pdf

[edwardandtubs]

What a great deal: dangerously high level of pesticides in vegtables sold at high prices in high end stores....must be Thailand.

Paragon's Gourmet Market actually has lower pricing on many of the same items at TOPS or Big C.

BTW, you got to love Google AdSense!

It reads the topics, then provides "appropriate" advertising !!!!

I am on the beach ordering my Chlorpyrifos/ Phorate/ Carbofuran cocktail while we speak.

Can't be any more toxic than the Sang Som and Red Bull buckets they sell.

[edwardandtubs]

I always wondered why there were so many people with handicaps here, perhaps this is why.

I think it has more to do with the fact that Thais don't stash them away like we do in the West.

These gender-bending pesticides could explain the high rate of transgenderism in Thailand.

[happysanook]

What is the risk of cancers from these pesticides...? The article only mentions short-term side effects, but I'd be far more concerned about more serious long-term side effects, if any...

[edgarfriendly]

Stop picking on the poor thai s for selling us posion.

they bought it from us and need to make their money back, godddddddd..>!!!1

this is almost like selling saddam weapons & chems and then bombing the entire country to bits ...almost.

well, Haha to all the stuck up *(profanity edited out)* who gleefully boasted about the 'gourmet markets' quality!!

as for the rest of us stuck buying from local wet markets, whats the likelihood we have the same stuff but the grubbier looking bits?

then theres the meat as already mentioned

and the milk

eggs.

<deleted> are we supposed to eat, i mean i know we're supposed to guzzle down the poisons and love it, like the locals do.(no msg, mai aroi wa!)

but srsly, <deleted>!!!

Edited July 12, 2012 by Scott
Profanity edited out

[scotbeve]

This statement is just to reassure tourists that Thai authorities are making (some) efforts to regulate poisons. The truth is that spraying of airborne pesticides is entirely unregulated in much of Thailand, its a toxic chemical free-for-all in some places, and walking through a cloud of that stuff, or sleeping in beds sprayed with it, kills much faster than eating sprayed veg. If they cared about pesticide they would really overhaul the enforcement of laws on other types of hazardous poison sprays used without notice in built-up areas, inside properties such as rentals, schools, hotels etc.

DDT is still used here!

[maidu]

The Absorption Rate is different for each type of fruit or vegetable. The highest absorption rate is peaches and the lowest is avocados. Cabbage is quite high and also gets sprayed with a number of different chemicals.

Good to hear about avos, as I have 62 avo trees. I have 15 other types of fruit, and won't spray any of them. Some bugs on some things, but I'd rather have the bugs than the chemi. I heard avocados are poisonous to birds.

No one mentioned MSG yet in this thread. It's not a toxin that's applied to growing plants, but it's applied to prepared food - profusely in Thailand. MSG is yuksville, and could be yet another factor which might contribute to kids doing poorly in school.

[kerryk]

This statement is just to reassure tourists that Thai authorities are making (some) efforts to regulate poisons. The truth is that spraying of airborne pesticides is entirely unregulated in much of Thailand, its a toxic chemical free-for-all in some places, and walking through a cloud of that stuff, or sleeping in beds sprayed with it, kills much faster than eating sprayed veg. If they cared about pesticide they would really overhaul the enforcement of laws on other types of hazardous poison sprays used without notice in built-up areas, inside properties such as rentals, schools, hotels etc.

DDT is still used here!

What's wrong with DDT?

[kerryk]

The Absorption Rate is different for each type of fruit or vegetable. The highest absorption rate is peaches and the lowest is avocados. Cabbage is quite high and also gets sprayed with a number of different chemicals.

Good to hear about avos, as I have 62 avo trees. I have 15 other types of fruit, and won't spray any of them. Some bugs on some things, but I'd rather have the bugs than the chemi. I heard avocados are poisonous to birds.

No one mentioned MSG yet in this thread. It's not a toxin that's applied to growing plants, but it's applied to prepared food - profusely in Thailand. MSG is yuksville, and could be yet another factor which might contribute to kids doing poorly in school.

Is the thread really about every danger to food known to man?

[PoodMaiDai]

The pesticides are banned in the European Union, US, United Kingdom, Finland, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

If those countries ban the pesticides, that really says something.

Myanmar of all place ban it, however, Thailand says no pompem, nothing to worry about.

[mistitikimikis]

So we moved into our new house and within a few days one of the bathrooms started to smell of sewer gas. The builder came a few times to check the problem but couldn't pinpoint what was causing the stink. They ultimately put "chemy" (my wife's term) down the drain. The day before we visited a Thai friend and when were were leaving they handed me a plastic bag. My wife said to be careful it will burn you if you get it on your skin. I said then why are they giving it to me, I don't need it. My wife said all Thai people use this to put in the toilet when "shit" (my phrasing) gets stuck. No plunger just pour caustic chemicals in your toilet and let the chemicals dissolve the shit. The lack of knowledge and standards for everything is hideously low here. You shouldn't be surprised that the vegetables are tainted.

I wonder if the vegetables at the high end grocers are tainted and the farmers markets are not. If so I wonder if this is because the farmers that sell to the high end grocer can afford to spray their crops. I wonder if the high end grocers want vegetables that look beautiful and are free of marks and so the farmers have to spray the vegetables to make them look so good. I would like to know if I am safe eating any vegetables in Thailand. I guess I will start growing more of my own. We already grow morning glory and peppers, guess we will have to add a few more containers to our home garden.

I always wondered why there were so many people with handicaps here, perhaps this is why.

When your toilet stinks the "technicien" who "installed" the bathroom stinks...................... Your "end-product" should never has been treated by chemicals; let the natural way in the sceptic-tank do the job. That is why I separated carefully the rest of the domestic waste-water from the sceptic-tank! Might be you can claim guarantee and let him clean his installation-mess.............................

[McMagus]

Lot of sense in femi fan's post...... I seem to remember Nestle some years ago off loading infant milk to Africa because it was so bad it could not be sold in western countries.

[PoodMaiDai]

These gender-bending pesticides could explain the high rate of transgenderism in Thailand.

For sure that has something to do with it.

Also Google BPA (Bisphenol A) and look into its gender confusing properties, along with cancer. Then look at all the plastic the Thais eat their burning hot food in.

There is a reason why this region of the world has so many transgendered people (and very high cancer rates), and it doesn't have anything to do with their fake openness.

[mistitikimikis]

This statement is just to reassure tourists that Thai authorities are making (some) efforts to regulate poisons. The truth is that spraying of airborne pesticides is entirely unregulated in much of Thailand, its a toxic chemical free-for-all in some places, and walking through a cloud of that stuff, or sleeping in beds sprayed with it, kills much faster than eating sprayed veg. If they cared about pesticide they would really overhaul the enforcement of laws on other types of hazardous poison sprays used without notice in built-up areas, inside properties such as rentals, schools, hotels etc.

DDT is still used here!

What's wrong with DDT?

Nothing, DDT has been banned "only some decades" in lots of parts of the world......................................

[kerryk]

These gender-bending pesticides could explain the high rate of transgenderism in Thailand.

For sure that has something to do with it.

Also Google BPA (Bisphenol A) and look into its gender confusing properties, along with cancer. Then look at all the plastic the Thais eat their burning hot food in.

There is a reason why this region of the world has so many transgendered people (and very high cancer rates), and it doesn't have anything to do with their fake openness.

My God has anyone told Yingluck about this?

[kerryk]

This statement is just to reassure tourists that Thai authorities are making (some) efforts to regulate poisons. The truth is that spraying of airborne pesticides is entirely unregulated in much of Thailand, its a toxic chemical free-for-all in some places, and walking through a cloud of that stuff, or sleeping in beds sprayed with it, kills much faster than eating sprayed veg. If they cared about pesticide they would really overhaul the enforcement of laws on other types of hazardous poison sprays used without notice in built-up areas, inside properties such as rentals, schools, hotels etc.

DDT is still used here!

What's wrong with DDT?

Nothing, DDT has been banned "only some decades" in lots of parts of the world......................................

I always heard that millions of people died from malaria because DDT was stopped by some nutcase publishing a book about it in the States. I remember a DDT salesman eating DDT to show it was not dangerous.