This is Business Scene.
I'm Ira Mellman.
Thailand edged closer to banning glyphosate
and two other controversial pesticides despite
protests from farmers in a multi-billion-dollar
agriculture industry aiming to be the "kitchen
of the world".
Agriculture employs 40 percent of Thailand's
population, and the Southeast Asian country
is one of the world's leading rice and sugar
exporters.
It is also one of the biggest consumers of
pesticides being banned or phased out in other
parts of the globe because of links to a variety
of illnesses.
Thailand's National Hazardous Substances Committee
voted to ban glyphosate and chemicals paraquat
and chlorpyrifos.
Studies have linked the pesticide chlorpyrifos
to developmental delays in children, while
critics say the weed killer glyphosate is
a likely cause of cancer.
Thailand's health minister, who has argued
the pesticides put lives at risk, praised
this move as "heroic" on his Facebook page
even as several dozen farmers protested -- citing
a rise in production costs.
"If there's a ban on these chemicals, the
farmers will be severely affected.
We don't know how to finance the production
because the cost of production will increase
to more than 3 THB / Kg.
I don't know why I should invest."
Thailand's Pesticide Alert Network -- which
has long advocated for the ban -- thanked
the government but said it needs to help farmers
adjust to other methods.
For years, Japan's government has sought to
convince consumers that food from Fukushima
is safe despite the nuclear disaster.
But will it serve the region's produce at
the Tokyo Olympics?
They pitched the Games in part as a chance
to showcase the recovery of areas affected
by the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Japanese government officials tout strict
checks on food from the region as evidence
that the produce is completely safe, but it
remains unclear whether athletes and sports
teams from around the world will be convinced.
But the figures have only gone some way to
reassuring foreign officials: numerous countries
including China, South Korea, and the United
States maintain restrictions on the import
of some or all produce from Fukushima.
The position underlines a long-running problem
for Japan: while it points to its extensive,
government-mandated checks as proof of safety,
many abroad feel the government is not an
objective arbiter.
The International Olympic Committee said it
was still weighing how to handle the matter.
For VOA Business Scene, I’m Ira Mellman.
