VOA双语新闻：1、泰国农产品安全令人担忧（在线收听）

泰国农产品安全令人担忧

Thailand has long been recognized as a leading exporter of rice and other agricultural produce. But tests for pesticide residues are raising concerns about whether the food is safe.

长期以来，泰国是众所周知的大米和其他农产品的主要出口国。可是检验发现产品中有残留农药成分，使得人们担心泰国食品是否安全。

Here, in the hills of Northern Thailand, farm workers like Inson face the constant pressure of producing optimum harvests for overseas clients.

在泰国北部的山区，像尹森这样的农场工人不断面临着为海外消费者大量生产优质农产品的压力。

Many farms rely on imported chemical pesticides and fertilizers to help meet demand. But, although the chemicals are readily available, many workers are not sure how to safely use them.

很多农场依赖进口农药和化肥来满足这种需求。可是，尽管这些化学药品可以随时买到，很多工人并不清楚如何安全地使用。

“The pesticide products come from abroad, so we just use them without knowing any information. They're too easy for us to buy. I don’t know if the product has any negative side effects," said Thai farmer Inson Meung-Kaew.

尹森说：“这些农药来自国外，我们什么都不知道就用了。这样的农药很容易买得到。我并不知道这些农药会不会带来不好的副作用。”

Thailand's quest to boost its harvests has led to a voracious appetite for agro-chemicals, tripling their use in the last decade. Their use now rivals neighboring countries like China and India, where the misuse of pesticides has been well documented.

泰国对快速提高农产品产量的追求，导致对农药的巨大需求。农药的使用在过去十年内翻了三倍。

Now, even inside Thailand there are worries about whether the chemicals are affecting food safety.

如今，即使泰国国内也有人担心化学药品是否会影响食品安全。

Repeated warnings from the European Union, threatening to ban some Thai produce, resulted in a self-imposed halt of exports last year, with promises by the government to clean up the industry.

欧盟曾多次发出警告，威胁要禁止进口一些泰国的农产品。为此，泰国政府承诺会整顿这一产业，并在去年暂停了出口农产品。

Many local watchdog groups are unconvinced that the consumer's best interests - both locally and abroad - are being addressed.

很多当地监察组织并不确信国内外消费者的利益正受到政府的重视。

Tests conducted in recent months showed alarming levels of toxic residue on market produce, including several cancer-causing chemicals that are banned in some countries. Gae Supab is the head of Bio Thai, which studies farming practices in Thailand.

最近几个月的测试报告显示，市面上农产品有毒化学物的残留已经达到了惊人程度，包括部分国家已经禁止的几种致癌化学物。泰国生化（Bio Thai）是一家研究泰国农业操作的机构，Gae Supab是这个机构的负责人。

“At the origin of this commodity we don't have proper control to limit the use right at the very beginning. And then, when it comes to utilization we don't have a proper system to dealing with it, to train and educate people, to limit use in every appropriate way," he said.

Gae Supab说：“我们一开始没能合理地限制农药的使用，后来在农药投入使用以后，我们没有正确体系去处理、培训和教育农民如何通过各种途径合理减少农药的使用。”

Meanwhile, Thailand's health department conducts blood tests in farming communities, to monitor the levels of organophosphates, an active ingredient commonly found in many pesticides.

与此同时，泰国卫生署在农业区进行了血液测试，监测有机磷农药含量，这是农药里最普通的活性成分。

The results leave many wondering about future health problems they might face, says Doctor Au Chamlong.

吴粲隆博士说，测试结果为今后的健康问题留下了很多悬念。

“Right now many farmers and consumers are at risk to get pesticides in their bodies. Most of the farmers are using pesticides to spray on their crops. The consumers will ingest pesticides from eating vegetables and fruits from those farms," he said.

他说：“现在很多农民和消费者正冒着让农药进入体内的风险。大部分农民都将农药喷洒在农作物上。而消费者则会因为吃了这些农场的蔬果而摄入农药。”

As the government promotes Thailand as the 'kitchen of the world', critics say that a serious overhaul of regulations and restrictions needs to be enforced so that the reforms will be taken seriously - protecting both consumers and farm workers from the chemicals.

由于泰国政府正将泰国作为“世界的厨房”来推广，批评人士称，要严格调整和落实法规和条例，这样改革才会受到重视，消费者和农场工人才能得到保护，免遭农药的毒害。