The story below comes from the Bangkok Post. I post it here because not only is it incredible that this kind of thing can happen, it made me wonder with the way the media is treating herbal medicine and herbal products in the UK currently, how soon until this happens to us and our dear Government with all their sage wisdom (the mildewed and useless kind!) will make putting together a garlic spray for treating your garden roses or comfrey liquid feed illegal?

Debs

A row has broken out in Bangkok between organic farmers and the Department of Agriculture , the farmers are threatening to take the Industry Ministry to court if it refuses to revoke its decision to list 13 herbs as hazardous plants. In order to stop people using natural methods of controlling pests these herbs have been put on the HP list, it comes as no surprise that the big chemical companies are rubbing their hands in glee at this announcement.

The listing of 13 herbal plants as "hazardous substances type 1" under the 1992 Hazardous Substances Act was made public on Tuesday by the Department of Agriculture, which sits on the hazardous substances committee. It requires growers, manufacturers, importers and exporters of pesticide and plant disease control substances to follow safety and quality control regulations, otherwise they will face six months in jail and/or a fine of 50,000 baht.

The 13 herbs and plants are neem, lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, Chinese ginger, African marigold, Siam weed or bitter bush, tea seed cake, chilli, Chinese celery, ringworn bush, glory lily and stemona.

Verapong Kriangsinyos, representing the Thai Health Foundation, said the announcement would hit sufficiency agriculture. It would also block the development of local herbal medicines, food and cosmetic products.

Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodee is said to favour revoking the announcement if it hampers the development of herbal products and alternative agriculture.

The director-general of the Industrial Works Department under the Industry Ministry, Rachada Singalavanija, stated that the listing focused only on "pesticide" producers and traders.

He said other activities could carry on as usual. "[Work on ] the Act was begun in response to the request of the Department of Agriculture, which found many organic farmers were concerned about fake or chemical-contaminated botanical pesticides," he said.

"Those 13 herbs [and plants] on the list used for food or herbal medicines are excluded from the Act. People can buy chilli, ginger or lemongrass as normal." Mr Rachada denied the listing would benefit big chemical companies. "This is just to protect organic farmers from fake pesticides. Agriculture director-general Somchai Charnnarongkul assured that the listing would not affect the Thai herb community."

The full report can be found here www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/136443/farm-lobby-threatens-to-sue-over-herb-list and a report to say the list may be amended can be found here www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/136484/herb-list-maybe-amended

Hi Debs,
I wish I could say that I'm horrified or amazed by this news, but sadly the war against herbs is so common and widespread that it ends up being yet one more blow that we are getting used to absorbing. It is of course, about money.
What is so important that although there is a drip, drip attack going on to take our herbs away from us, we are most likely to find ourselves in a situation where the govt. makes a sudden strike, as they did in 1994, to in effect take away our rights to use herbal medicine. After all, they did that in 1941, when the country was at war and should have more important things to be done. Remember that they got this law passed in just ONE WEEK.
This is one of the reasons that I consider this forum to be so important as it is a way of alerting and mobilizing people if such plans are raised again.

Linda

Hi Debs

re your comment - dear Government with all their sage wisdom (the mildewed and useless kind!) will make putting together a garlic spray for treating your garden roses or comfrey liquid feed illegal?-
(why wont this site let me type inverted commas?) In fact I believe that technically these practices are already illegal and certainly if you carry them out you will have to make an entry in your poisons book.
This information came from the ADAS adviser to the British Herb Trade Association about twenty years ago in response to another great slew of legislation. I think it was considered so daft that it was quietly and rapidly forgotten though given this governments mania for prosecuting anyone for anything, I shouldnt get caught holding a watering can of nettle soup if a bloke in a suit happens to be driving past. Since those carefree days, the rubbish emanating from Brussels has increased so much that even the British politicians have questioned it, though questioning is all they will do.
This overlaps with the Thai statement in that lumping together familiar and comparatively harmless spices such as Turmeric with potentially harmful and less common herbs like neem and glory lily is going increase the perception of the public that they are all harmless rather than in some cases, potentially toxic. I have to admit that I have no idea what some of those on the list are nor what they do, - perhaps Kevin can fill us in on this?
The overall impression is that politicians the world over, play it safe by banning everything whether they know what they are banning or not, - look at the current inanities perpetrated by our government over ecstasy and cannabis, with the result that they and their legislation are held in universal contempt and the world is possibly a more dangerous place because of it.

Anthony

Hi Anthony,

From talking with local people I get the impression that none of these plants present a health threat.

One of the recent articles in the Bangkok Post mentioned that organic farming is becoming increasingly popular in Thailand and the manufacturing companies are "concerned" about falling sales of chemical pesticides.So I am sure you get the drift,after all this is a third world country with all that entails.

I suspect in the end very little will change.

Kevin

The following was sent to me,it appeared in the Editorial of a Thai language newspaper.I donot have the reference for verification,but here it is

"The Thailand Prime Minister's father is on the BOD of the biggest agro chemical producer in Thailand.Nothing more has to be said."

A lot of backpeddling is going on at present.
Kevin

Hi Kevin

Sounds very similar to when Denis Thatcher prevented the Department of Health, notably Sir George Young, from introducing swingeing cuts in tobacco sponsorship and health promotion initiatives to stop people smoking in 1980/81. Denis, of course, was on various boards of various Tobacco companies.

At the time I was a young admin assistant with what is now the Confederation of Health Authorities. It was the first time I'd been exposed to the "outside influences" of family members of people in power. I was very young and innocent at the time and it made me very cross. I had great respect for Sir George Young who appeared to be a shining beacon of light amidst an otherwise black hellhole of Thatcherism. Denis' coup de grass virtually wiped out his career in health and I was sorry to see him go.

I've no idea of Sir George's take on herbs, but he used to ride his bicycle around London before it was fashionable to do so.

Sarah

I believe Anthony is right about home made pesticides and herbicides already being illegal.
When I guided at Garden Organics some 8 years ago I was told not to mention garlic spray for that very reason. However, I heard at talk at last year's BBC Gardener's World, and the speaker was advising about making your own sprays!

Best wishes - Jenny

Apparently there has been a temporary injunction halting the listing of the 13 herbs and a law suit has been filled on the grounds that listing the herbs as hazardous substances violates farmers rights to use plant based pesticides. It'll be interesting to see how this develops...

Debs

www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/03/05/national/national_30097199.php

Hello Debs,

Interesting,all this. If you type in Neem Patents there are several sites about the fight by people from the sub-continent against multi-nationals trying to patent neem products and plants etc., which have been used for several thousand years in India. And they won! Patents cancelled. Until the next time of course.

Jane