Cambodia: Pushing for a more organic future · Global Voices
Chhunny Chhean

Bloggers at CAAI News Media and Khmer Stars feature a Phnom Penh Post article on the slow food movement that ran on February 10, 2009.  The article discusses Slow Food's philosophy of creating food in a good, clean and fair manner and how that philosophy is applied in Cambodia.  The article interviews a restaurant owner in Phnom Penh who explains the country's relatively clean soil:
“They found that the land in Cambodia hasn't been exposed to chemicals or pesticides, mainly due to 30 years of war,” he said.  “And really, the quality of the produce in Cambodia is just exquisite –  much higher than in the rest of the region.”
Yet, as Vuthasurf shares in this February 17, 2009 Phnom Penh Post article:
Food vendors often use chemicals including pesticides and hydrochloric acid either to preserve food or to make it more visually appealing to customers, said Chhouv Kong Phally, director of the Health Promotion Program at the Ministry of Health.
In November 2008, Vuthasurf had extolled Cambodian fruits over those of its neighbors.
At the present, most of fresh fruits imported from neighboring countries like Vietnam and Thailand are the kind of fruits getting used pesticides and chemical fertilizers in order to make them fresh which harm the human being’s health…I always heard Cambodians saying that the Cambodia fruits such as durian, guava, rambutan, mango, and jujube and so on are tastier than fruits from neighboring countries.
Organizations such as the Cambodian Center for Study and Development of Agriculture (CEDAC) supports farmers who cultivate organic crops.
Photos by Narith5 at Flickr and licensed through Creative Commons.