Vietnam Looks Into Organic Veggies

"Citizens worried about high levels of pesti-cides and bacteria in vegetables are taking food safety into their own hands by planting their own organic vegetable patches.

They may look healthy and delicious but vegetables bought at the market can harbour invisible threats, Ta Thuy Hien, a housewife in Hai Ba Trung District says. "A bad dose of food poisoning left my son in a critical condition after he ate some water morning glory we bought at the market." That was in 2005, Hien says. Since then she has cultivated a 10sq.m patch of land outside her house where she grows salad vegetables like basil, lettuce, onions and malabar nightshade.

"The vegetables are tastier and we don’t have to worry about the chemicals and hygiene. We are totally in control."

Hien isn’t the only one. Many of her neighbours have also cottoned onto the idea and planted vegetables in polystyrene boxes on the top floor of their house.

"Gardening is also a really sociable activity," Hien says. "People in the community often get together to share growing tips."

Personal vegetable patches are springing up all over the city, a shopkeeper who sells vegetable seeds says. "People know it’s one of the best ways of avoiding food poisoning," she says. "The best-sellers are quick-growing plants like water morning glory, field cabbage, white cabbage and cress. Prices range from VND3,000 to 10,000 per package."

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