View's on Organic vs In-organic produce in Thailand?

[arnold40844]

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!

[Mickey Cohen]

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

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[arnold40844]

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

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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.

[Mickey Cohen]

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

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[arnold40844]

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

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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.

Edited November 7, 2013 by arnold40844

[arnold40844]

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

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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!

[vtjforyou]

Who trusts anything organic in this country ???

[Showbags]

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.

[arnold40844]

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.

[arnold40844]

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.

[Showbags]

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.

[arnold40844]

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"

[Mickey Cohen]

Hey so we drove to lemon farm on sukumvit 39. Its a bit tricky to find as its in the PTT gaz station. There was a nice selection, not all is organic bcarfull! There are 2 kinds, no toxic and organic, of course organic is better.

We even found toothpaste dog shampoo ice cream ect...

No meat but employee told us there was a Chidlom branch with meat!

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[soomak]

In Big C I've found the following organic products:

Eggs

Rice

Cucumbers

Tomatoes

Lettuce

Some other greens

Corn

Pasta

Pasta sauce

Usually quite expensive

They also have a "safe from farm to table" brand, which is supposed to be tested, but of course not guaranteed as we are in Thailand...

You can also buy stuff with thick skins, such as coconuts, watermelons and pineapples. They are supposed to be safer as the pesticides can't go inside their skins.

[millwall_fan]

Who trusts anything organic in this country ???

Hey so we drove to lemon farm on sukumvit 39. Its a bit tricky to find as itsImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1383886150.139536.jpg in the PTT gaz station. There was a nice selection, not all is organic bcarfull! There are 2 kinds, no toxic and organic, of course organic is better.

We even found toothpaste dog shampoo ice cream ect...

No meat but employee told us there was a Chidlom branch with meat!

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Just because it says organic on the packet, doesn't necessarily mean it is. If there was an inspectorate of this kind of thing, it would almost certainly certify anything as long as the appropriate 'fee' were paid.

[edwinchester]

Who trusts anything organic in this country ???

Totally agree.

My wife was recently at a healthy living seminar and an 'organic' farmer also present detailed how they passed off produce as organic even though they used the usual chemicals.

We grow alot of our own vegetables in our back garden so know they really are chemical free. Vegetables and fruit from the market gets a good wash.

[edwinchester]

Who trusts anything organic in this country ???

 

 

Hey so we drove to lemon farm on sukumvit 39. Its a bit tricky to find as itsImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1383886150.139536.jpg in the PTT gaz station. There was a nice selection, not all is organic bcarfull! There are 2 kinds, no toxic and organic, of course organic is better.

We even found toothpaste dog shampoo ice cream ect...

No meat but employee told us there was a Chidlom branch with meat!

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Just because it says organic on the packet, doesn't necessarily mean it is. If there was  an inspectorate of this kind of thing, it would almost certainly certify anything as long as the appropriate 'fee' were paid. 

See my post above.

The farmer passing off chemically treated veg is forewarned of when inspections are due for a fee.

[arnold40844]

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.

[arnold40844]

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.

[millwall_fan]

This is, of course another example of the unfettered power of the Rich in Thailand, who have the financial clout to circumvent any law they choose and who only carte about profit and couldn't give a hang about the health of the Thai people. These chemicals wouldn't be allowed in any developed country and increasingly not in advanced-developing countries like Thailand.

[arnold40844]

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.

[Mickey Cohen]

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.

From wikipedia

Health scare in Thailand

Due to nonregistration of 4 carcinogenic chemicals used on crops not listed in the Dangerous Substances Act of Thailand, vegetables with residues of methomyl, carbofuran, dicrotophos, and EPN were taken off supermarket shelves in July 2012.[22]

I dont get it, that means thailand doesnt use it anymore ?

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[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.

[ayayay]

This is, of course another example of the unfettered power of the Rich in Thailand, who have the financial clout to circumvent any law they choose and who only carte about profit and couldn't give a hang about the health of the Thai people. These chemicals wouldn't be allowed in any developed country and increasingly not in advanced-developing countries like Thailand.

Don´t fool yourself, it is pretty much the same everywhere in the world. With Aspartame, etc.

People in developed countries are also exposed to dangerous and poisonous food.

[vtjforyou]

People have money and care for their mobile but not their food that will kill them. This world is ridiculous.

[arnold40844]

Ayayay I agree with you, its just that in many parts of the world it is easier to make the choice about organic food. In Thailand people do not really understand the concept. There are arguments that say non organic meat is worse because the animals get sick and can not be given medicine like antibiotics.

I have found ways to get around it. We get organic veg delivered now, given up dairy and pretty much all meat. The ones to watch I think are the staple foods like Rice, Beans, Soy etc its like a daily dose of carcinogenic endocrine system disruptors. I have stayed away from sweeteners for years, bad news.

By the way i'm 28 years old, it would seem I am one of the younger members of this site.

[Mickey Cohen]

Ayayay I agree with you, its just that in many parts of the world it is easier to make the choice about organic food. In Thailand people do not really understand the concept. There are arguments that say non organic meat is worse because the animals get sick and can not be given medicine like antibiotics. 

 

I have found ways to get around it. We get organic veg delivered now, given up dairy and pretty much all meat. The ones to watch I think are the staple foods like Rice, Beans, Soy etc its like a daily dose of carcinogenic endocrine system disruptors. I have stayed away from sweeteners for years, bad news.

 

By the way i'm 28 years old, it would seem I am one of the younger members of this site.

Im 27 mate

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