Food Sanitation and Pesticides

angarci1
Today 15:37:57Report#29
7 posts

OMG noooooooo!!!   Pesticides are the NORM!  Do any research on Constanza and you will see!!
The pesticide cloud
Broccoli, cabbage, strawberries.
Research “la mosquita blanca”, a pesticide-resistant plague that destroyed pretty much all crops (especially tomatoes) and is believed to have arrived due to the “pesticide treadmill”... overuse of pesticides that killed their natural predators!  Certain dR crops banned from export!

OMG pesticides are a HUGE, conveniently concealed problem in the DR!  We rely on agriculture!

Some pesticides used here are on the EPA hotlist for banning, other pesticides used here have been banned in the EU since 2018.

(This is worth it’s own thread!)

Also......  you should know there is no specific or strict definition for “Organic” in the DR FDA - Ministerio de Agricultura.  The term is thrown around at everything.... and any scientist will tell you, that by definition, every living thing is organic.  There is no “USDA Organic” certification in the DR.  No real regulating unit.  Just like there is no rea regulating unit for almost anything.

The Ministerio de Agricultura has one Organic initiative for Cacao, Bananas, Coconuts.... Helloooooo.... crops with thick skin so pesticide residue in the actual fruit is unlikely, and where spraying isn’t that necessary anyway.  Organic coconuts ... is BS!!!

What about cucumbers, cabbage, strawberries, acerolas, guayabas???   

Go to a farmer’s market and ask if things are organic.  Everyone will tell you it’s organic.  Ha ha ha

Nacional sells Arugula that is “Biologica”... LOL!  Any plant person will tell you, that every living thing is “Biological”.  We are 30 years behind in science in the DR (it is, one of the endearing things about being here), ... do not trust anything that says Organic/Biologic unless it also says - FREE OF PESTICIDES.

Research persistent respiratory problems in Cotui and the rice fields!

I buy the produce that I can from a farmer that I know and even still, cannot trust 100% that it is neurodegenerator-free.

I’ll start a thread about this (later) for those who are interested.  I am eccentric yes.

We have an upcoming mango harvest (almost-spray free—- there is drift from the shit that neighboring yards spray) that I treasure.  I wash them and scrub them and am doing all I can to convince my neighbors to have conscience.  Uphill battle that I will fight.  Long story for a different thread.  Anywho.... whoever likes mangoes raise their hands!!  They are (for the most part) organic!  🤣

I just bought "organic eggs" at the supermercado and thought what does that really mean?  We generally do not trust produce here that has no skin, especially lettuce products. We soak such produce in in vinegar solution, but....

I will just add this is one of the bummers of life here. I thought we would be living off of more fruits and vegetables and generally eating better; however, we cook the bejesus out of everything and, again, view a lot of fruits and vegetables with a skeptical eye, to avoid getting sick.

I'm curious myself. We're moving down permanently in August and I've been preparing myself for eating a lot of eggs, avocados, rice and beans. I don't eat a lot of fruit and veggies anyway and figured the meat and poultry were full of hormones and antibiotics. But there is a gigantic farmers market that has the most beautiful stuff and I'd love to know how to safely prepare it.

Thank you for doing this!     I appreciate it.

I can tell you from  experience that many  chemicals in the war against  bugs etc that are BANNED in many places are readily available here!   

The use of protective equipment is a joke when it comes to application and control!

So  what the heck is  organic here then????     I can  confirm the comment above, ask any local and they say, yes of course its organic.  They somehow think because its here its organic, its natural.  No,  doesn't actually work that way.

What is organic defined as here?

Who enforces that?  Is it real or  are bribes getting people  certifications? 

I do not have the answers but  hope to hear from others who do!

Organic products standardized in the DR

https://eldinero.com.do/82335/productos … vegetales.

In the Dominican Republic, the sustained positioning in the export of organic products is notorious, especially in bananas and cocoa. Other products grown in the country are coffee, mango, lemons, coconut, avocado, noni, orange and vegetables.

With this evident impact on the productive and economic development of the national and international market, it is necessary to apply quality in this area, taking into consideration the standards, certifications and possible regulations that could apply in a particular way to said products.

In this particular case, the Dominican Institute for Quality (Indocal) has the Dominican Standard (Nordom) 603 “Organic food. Guidelines for the elaboration, labeling and commercialization of organically produced foods ”, this quality standard establishes the principles of organic farm production, preparation, storage, transport, labeling, commercialization, as well as the substances allowed for the fertilization and conditioning of the soil.

This quality standard is intended to create essential guidelines to protect consumers against possible misleading in the marketplace and unsubstantiated claims. Similarly, it protects producers of organic items against false descriptions of other agricultural or livestock products that may be presented as organic.

It also provides national guidelines with international support for organic food control methods, with the objective of facilitating the recognition of a national system equivalent to the effects of imports and exports.

That is why the application of this Dominican Quality Standard for this area that provides so many benefits to the health of citizens, serves as the basis for improving the organic agriculture system and contributes to preservation at the local and global level.

https://issuu.com/mnunezpi/docs/norma_nordom_603

NORDOM 603 updated 2020 code for organic food production for those that want to read it.

For sure insecticides and fertilizers are used but like every other country the demand for organic produce is increasing and the buyers from foreign countries require certain standards be met and carry our checks. DR is moving that way.

I buy very little fruit and vegetable in the supermarkets now and buy from the local farmers or from my own plot.

My other comment is that I find that Dominican fruit and vegetables by and large have real taste rather than the that which I have bought in other islands and was imported from USA and looked great but was dull. Perhaps genetic farming is a bigger problem. I however have to say the strawberries produced locally and are in abundance at this time of year lack flavour yet I have picked up some great strawberries from the roadside to Constanza in the past from small holders. The large producers are perhaps the culprits.

I am curious why no one has mentioned Hydroponics? I have never used one, but my husband and I planned on buying one to take with us for patio or rooftop terrace when in DR.   They range in price from $100 to $600 on Amazon and you could even make a homemade one from PVC pipe. Has any one used one or had good luck with them? I would imagine it could supply 2 people with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

This was about  buying organic  veggies here and what that means.  Hydroponics may or may not be organic. There are ways to make it  viable on a large scale.

So we just bought strawberrie on roadside in Jarbacoa, said they were from Constanza.  How do I clean or can I??

I buy my stawberries these days at the traffic lights on Duarte Highway into Santo Domingo and they too come from Constanza. 100 pesos a punnet. I wash them under sink water and eat them as part of my 5 plus fruit and muesli breakfast daily. Sadly they are only available for a few months but we are now moving into mango high season and they are imo the very best tropical fruit and often organic! Bani being the centre for mangos.

We are so lucky in DR with fresh fruit.

I often don't make it home before opening and eating those strawberries!

I read somewheres that in order to get an Organic Farmer certification, one had to only pay for the certification.  This simplified process was one of the initiatives to increase government efficiency.

The "registro sanitario" also, is a certificate that one pays for.  The certificate that you are operating under sanitary conditions, you just PAY for it and it's yours.

Nothing is guaranteed my friend... the only guarantee is we guarantee nothing.

My neighbors spray their yard and their trees so much that they've killed every insect, good or bad.   Every roach and ant and spider, mosquita, butterfly.. gone.  Now the crows and other birds are so hungry, they bite into my fruits and come into the house looking for scraps.  There has been no convincing the neighbors to stop spraying. 

Culturally, we like a day-to-day life here, if the effect is not seen immediately, it does not exist.  We don't save money for later, we don't stop spraying for fear of a chance of cancer later.

This is a magnificent country for fruits and veggies.  Try and get your own little piece of land to cultivate.  You don't need a lot of space.  Can't explain the happiness of seeing an avocado tree flower... an acerola harvest... a passion fruit / chinola bloom.... little lemons grow...  amazing.

I know someone who recently went through the process to get organic certification.

It is no longer a pay to play process.  Does money help speed things up, yes. But no longer can this be purchased.

We are seeing this in many many processes here!

Absolutely. Get your own plot, plant trees and flowers. Harvest the fruits. Dont use chemicals to control pests. See the birds and bees flourish.

Our carpentero couple have just reared chicks in their nest in the buen pan tree just outside the house. Our pregnant goat gave birth to two cute baby goats a week back the same day a stray hen had 7 chicks and a foster hen had 16 guinea fowl eggs hatch. The carambola tress are purple flowering a little for the first time. Avocados are plump and dropping. Way too many ginola everyday such that harvesting the pulp is a neccessary pain. Plenty of guineo and rullo less so plateno.

Too much rain of late and the weeds need constant strimming.

Living this way gives me much happiness.

Sounds very nice the way you describe it.  Watching the beauty of nature like this.  I will miss some of this from Ontario (Canada).  We have 4 seasons, so everything seems to die off at the end of the year before winter arrives. We get a spectacular show of colours on the leaves before they fall to the ground, and then thats it. Not much colour other than shades of grey or a blanket of fresh white snow!  Five months later,  the miracle happens in the spring, when the grass turns green and the trees and bushes come back to life. The birds come back, hatch their eggs, the squirrels have babies. I like that part, the spring.  Soon the roses are blooming, and so are the  dandelions.  The green grass turns yellow with blooming dandelions.  So you learn to like this sea of yellow, or you pull them out in order to preserve your green grass.

Back in Bavaro, we stayed in a very nice apartment just out of town, owned by a very nice business woman and her husband.  I thought it was ideal for us, because locals live there too. There is a beautiful courtyard, in the centre of the apartments  full of lovely trees and flowers, like paradise.  But then after a day or two, the spiders came.  Not small spiders, huge ones, the size of your hand. Apparently they live in the yard but without screens on the windows or doors,  they come into your place too. The spiders were in the house, on the bed, and even in the closet.  Although I love nature, I found this frightening (like a very bad nightmare).  I know it does not make sense to be afraid of things that dont hurt you, but I dont want to kill them, but I dont want them in the house living with me.  Since I dont want to be frightened all the time,  we had to leave and find another place. 

I wish I wasn't so afraid of these things.  If it was our place, the screens would have been the solution but this requires money. Somehow we must find a way to live together, without chemicals, to preserve the beauty of nature!

Bugs and insects are all part of campo living and organic farming. Bee keeping adds to the enjoyment.

I have guinea fowl to help manage pests without pesticides. Even mice or rats. You have to control them or they knaw through parts of your car in the garage. They cost me a lot recabling the fuel pump supply.

Spiders get everywhere and are no real problem unless it is a tarantula. You kill those before they harm you or your animals. Have encountered only one so far in the covered nursery. A spade dispensed with it quickly.

Mongoose are another problem. Set poisoned egg bait to eliminate them.

Wow 😳
Can I be your neighbor? 😂