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Greenpeace supporters, volunteers and farmers planted organic rice today in a bid to create the first ever art on a rice field in Thailand. The 10-rai rice field in Ratchaburi province will grow into a beautiful art in the next 4 months to show an image of farmers wearing straw hats and suing sickle to harvest rice.
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Hundreds of Greenpeace supporters, volunteers and farmers planted organic rice today in a bid to create the first ever art on a rice field in Thailand. The 10-rai rice field in Ratchaburi province will grow into a beautiful art in the next 4 months to show an image of farmers wearing straw hats and using sickles to harvest rice.
Thailand is a country deeply rooted in farming traditions and farmers are considered the backbone of the nation. Upon nomination by Greenpeace, the Guinness World Record has also certified Thailand as the largest exporter of rice in the world, accounting for 27 percent
of all rice traded in world markets.
“Thailand is a leader in rice farming and we should also lead in sustainable ways of growing rice. By going organic, we can show the world that there are innovative natural ways to grow rice. We can also send the message to agro-chemical companies that risky technologies
like genetic engineering is not welcome here, and that chemicals for farming are on their way out,” said Natwipha Ewasakul, Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
To create the rice art, Greenpeace is using two rice varieties of rice seedlings that will generate green and purple colour in the field when fully grown.
Other activities included lectures on organic agriculture, rice planting orientation and making nam som kwan mai (Thai wood vinegar), a uniquely Thai natural bio-extract used to drive away insects from rice fields.
Greenpeace demands that the government issue an outright ban on GMO crops, especially GMO rice. GMOs have never been proven safe for human consumption and its impacts on the environment can be irreversible.
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace. Greenpeace campaigns for GMO-free crop and food production that is grounded in the principles of sustainability, protection of biodiversity and providing all people access to safe and nutritious food. Genetic engineering is an unnecessary and unwanted technology that contaminates the environment, threatens biodiversity and poses unacceptable risks to health.
Thailand is a country deeply rooted in farming traditions and farmers are considered the backbone of the nation. Upon nomination by Greenpeace, the Guinness World Record has also certified Thailand as the largest exporter of rice in the world, accounting for 27 percent
of all rice traded in world markets.
“Thailand is a leader in rice farming and we should also lead in sustainable ways of growing rice. By going organic, we can show the world that there are innovative natural ways to grow rice. We can also send the message to agro-chemical companies that risky technologies
like genetic engineering is not welcome here, and that chemicals for farming are on their way out,” said Natwipha Ewasakul, Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
To create the rice art, Greenpeace is using two rice varieties of rice seedlings that will generate green and purple colour in the field when fully grown.
Other activities included lectures on organic agriculture, rice planting orientation and making nam som kwan mai (Thai wood vinegar), a uniquely Thai natural bio-extract used to drive away insects from rice fields.
Greenpeace demands that the government issue an outright ban on GMO crops, especially GMO rice. GMOs have never been proven safe for human consumption and its impacts on the environment can be irreversible.
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace. Greenpeace campaigns for GMO-free crop and food production that is grounded in the principles of sustainability, protection of biodiversity and providing all people access to safe and nutritious food. Genetic engineering is an unnecessary and unwanted technology that contaminates the environment, threatens biodiversity and poses unacceptable risks to health.
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