Open letter to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand

Dear Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand,

Why are you ruining our country? Why are you destroying our environment? Why are you killing our people?

The importance of food and agriculture to Thailand is unquestionable. According to the Bangkok Post about 40% of the Thai population depends on agriculture for their income, and this income contributes to about 10% of Thailand’s GDP. Thailand is the world's leading rice exporter and has successfully earned itself the name “Kitchen of the World” with a total value of food exports estimated to have exceeded 1.2 trillion baht in the year of 2015. However, the import volume of agricultural pesticides has been gradually increasing. Meanwhile, the amount of land devoted to agricultural has stayed the same. Which means that the use of pesticides per rai has increased. With this information we can assume that the amount of pesticides used per unit area has increased.

Recently, results were announced by the Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai- PAN). Which tested 138 samples of fruits and vegetables in Thailand. The results were really shocking since they showed that 46.6% of these samples contained residues higher than the accepted safety standard levels. Notably 57.1% of the fruits and vegetables were granted the “Q mark” by the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodities and Food Standards were also contaminated at unsafe levels.

According to the data from the Office of Agriculture Economics, the volume of agricultural pesticide imports has dramatically increased over time. Meanwhile, the agriculture area has remained the same.

To be healthy, we need a variety of foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Pesticides have an important role in making sure there is enough food for everyone by protecting our food and crops from pests. Pesticides, by their nature, are gases that are toxic to humans and other species. Pesticides can enter the human body through inhalation, ingestion, and through the skin. Toxins from pesticides can remain in the body and build up throughout a person's life. The use of pesticides can cause fatigue, skin irritations, nausea, vomiting, breathing problems, brain disorders, blood disorders, liver damage, kidney damage, reproductive damage, cancer and even death. More importantly children are more sensitive to these chemicals than adults as child's brain, nervous system, and organs are still in the development stage. A child's immature liver and kidneys cannot remove pesticides from the body as well as adult kidneys and liver.

“Pesticide-free” food. Does it truly not have ANY pesticides? Well, no. Even though pesticide free foods still have pesticides in them, the safety standards that govern the use of pesticides are put in place to minimize any potential damage to the human body. So what is “organic food”? Organic food is completely free of any chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides results or excessive chemicals throughout the photosynthesis process. So, we need to educate farmers and encourage them to either follow the directions on the labels that come with the pesticides or encourage them to grow organic foods.This will allow for our vegetables and fruits to be safe while keeping the pesticide residues within limits. Thus, helping us to ensure a safe and healthy food supply.

So why do we use pesticides? We use them to protect our food and crops from pests (which include rodents, rabbits, ants, mosquitos and other insects). Another benefit of using pesticides is they make the vegetables and fruits look healthier. They also increase the production rate of the fruits and vegetables. The overuse of pesticides can lead to cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and liver cancers. Even though pesticides do have some benefits such as killing pests and making our fruits and vegetables look healthy, the drawbacks of using pesticides can be really harmful to humans.

Imagine a world where forests don’t exist. Imagine a world where there are no trees. Imagine a world where all sources of water are polluted.

Our environment is the most important constant in our lives, and pesticides are continually destroying it.

The environment includes all living and nonliving organisms around us. The use of pesticides can contaminate soil, water, turf and other vegetation. Even though pesticides are sprayed on land, they can make their way towards and pollute water through soil runoff or rain. Pesticides can be harmful to marine animals and fish as well as people who use or drink that contaminated water. When a water source is contaminated with these chemicals, many organisms such as fish may get sick or even die. Many people in Thailand depend on rivers as a source of water, if the rivers of Thailand are filled with these chemicals, it can create devastating implications of both the environment and people’s health. A significant example of an environmental impact is the interruption of the marine ecosystem, which in turn can affect all life on land.The use of pesticides can also damage the general biodiversity in the soil. Pesticides kill ALL insects and bugs. But not ALL of them are bad, some are good. For example, earthworms dissect organic matter and transport nutrients and minerals in the soil to maintain soil-health. If these earthworms are affected by the pesticides, this can also affect the forest ecosystem. Another way pesticides can be damaging to the environment is by volatilization.This happens when the pesticide turns into a gas or vapor after being sprayed. This allows these chemicals to travel in the air and spread to different areas. Life needs to be our number one priority, YOUR number one priority in order for us to be able to continue thriving in the future.

Do you really want all life on land to be gone? Think about it.

If not, then we must take action. It is not too late. We must educate farmers to follow the directions on the labels that come with the pesticides. We must encourage farmers to grow organic food. We must educate farmers about how pesticides can be really harmful to the environment. We must raise public awareness to our communities. If we want to continue to live our wondrous lives, we must act NOW. We don’t have much time left, if we want to be able to continue and improve our way of life.

Sincerely yours,

A concerned citizen of Thailand