Have you ever walked through a typical farm in Cameron Highlands …Neat rows of vegetables growing under endless plastic sheds..You name it and its there..Shiny big vegetables as if popping out of a video camera , picture perfect…Plump red juicy tomatoes, garden fresh greens of every imaginable variety grow here…Eggplants in the deepest shade of purple..Dozens of varieties of green beans ,Asparagus zuchinni, broccoli and cauliflower.. the list is endless..Whatever it is you name it and it grows here. After all CAMERONS is the salad bowl of Malaysia.. On a conservative estimate, more than 50 percent of all vegetables sold in Peninsula Malaysia come from the Camerons..

But then there is another side to these vegetables looking unblemished and perfect ..The grim reality of our highlands produce is that majority of it is doused with high levels of toxic pesticides, sometimes growth regulators, and fertilizers to make sure it grows  fast ..A harvest of cabbages which would normally take three months now takes only 2 months ..The farms are sterile..You probably wont see any caterpillars bees earthworms and birds in these farms…An ecosystem in which there is a complete disruption of predator prey relationships, absence of pollinators and the natural soil restorers…In these circumstances all the beneficial soil micro organisms also decline, reducing the natural productivity of soil..The cycle of nature has been altered to bring these perfectly grown vegetables from genetically altered seeds to our table..The fact that this produce is tainted with high levels of pesticide residue is another story..

As one moves around the farms one cant help but notice strewn around carelessly, empty and discarded jelly cans of toxic pesticides….The theory of, if a little is good more will be better is definitely the case in Camerons..Lack of education and easy availability of banned pesticides, make farmers fall in the trap of quick short term gains without realizing the harm they are doing to themselves and their workers.. ..Polluting the air they breathe, their rivers and endangering their living environment and health…

.In all seriousness the intention is not to scare you my dear friends ..JUST something to think about…SO next time you see delectable looking vegetables in a store ….Are you still hungry?

 

 

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