Not sure wether to laugh at this or be worried...

[prkravi]

Fields of watermelon burst in China farm fiasco.
(http://sg.news.yahoo.com/china-watermel ... 30866.html)

Watermelons have been bursting by the score in eastern China after farmers gave them overdoses of growth chemicals during wet weather, creating fields of "land mines" instead of the bounty of fruit they wanted.
About 20 farmers around Danyang city in Jiangsu province were affected, losing up to 115 acres (45 hectares) of melon, China Central Television said in an investigative report.
Prices over the past year prompted many farmers to jump into the watermelon market. All of those with exploding melons apparently were first-time users of the growth accelerator forchlorfenuron, though it has been widely available for some time, CCTV said.
The farmers used it during an overly rainy period and put it on too late in the season, causing the melons to burst open, CCTV said, citing agricultural experts.
Chinese regulations don't forbid the drug, and it is allowed in the U.S. on kiwi fruit and grapes. But the report underscores how farmers in China are abusing both legal and illegal chemicals, with many farms misusing pesticides and fertilizers.
Farmer Liu Mingsuo ended up with eight acres (three hectares) of ruined fruit and told CCTV that seeing his crop splitting open was like a knife cutting his heart.
"On May 7, I came out and counted 80 (burst watermelons) but by the afternoon it was 100," Liu said. "Two days later I didn't bother to count anymore."
Intact watermelons were being sold at a wholesale market in nearby Shanghai, the report said, but even those showed telltale signs of forchlorfenuron use: fibrous, misshapen fruit with mostly white instead of black seeds.
The government has voiced alarm over the widespread overuse of food additives like dyes and sweeteners that retailers hope will make food more attractive and boost sales.
Though Chinese media remain under strict government control, domestic coverage of food safety scandals has become more aggressive in recent months, an apparent sign that the government has realized it needs help policing the troubled food industry.
The CCTV report quoted Feng Shuangqing, a professor at the China Agricultural University, as saying the watermelon problem showed that China needs to clarify its farm chemical standards and supervision to protect consumer health.
The broadcaster described the watermelons as "land mines" and said they were exploding by the acre (hectare) in the Danyang area.
Many of farmers resorted to chopping up the fruit and feeding it to fish and pigs, the report said.

[nakatago]

Oh wow. Just wow. There's a joke in there somewhere...

[prkravi]

Oh wow. Just wow. There's a joke in there somewhere...

Let me inject some tragedy into it, had this not happened, these watermelons would have hit the markets in SG......
we perhaps have been consuming such stuff for a while as well, lets admit, I've always wondered how those Oranges were that SWEET! Talk about yellow coloured water melons as well, i hadn't realised until I came to SG.
As consumers, do we even have a choice Nak?

[nakatago]

Oh wow. Just wow. There's a joke in there somewhere...

Let me inject some tragedy into it, had this not happened, these watermelons would have hit the markets in SG......
we perhaps have been consuming such stuff for a while as well, lets admit, I've always wondered how those Oranges were that SWEET! Talk about yellow coloured water melons as well, i hadn't realised until I came to SG.
As consumers, do we even have a choice Nak?

I wanted to make a quip about melamine, lead paint and BPA but with such incidences and having everything being practically made in China, well...

[ev-disinfection]

Oh wow. Just wow. There's a joke in there somewhere...

Let me inject some tragedy into it, had this not happened, these watermelons would have hit the markets in SG......
we perhaps have been consuming such stuff for a while as well, lets admit, I've always wondered how those Oranges were that SWEET! Talk about yellow coloured water melons as well, i hadn't realised until I came to SG.
As consumers, do we even have a choice Nak?

I wanted to make a quip about melamine, lead paint and BPA but with such incidences and having everything being practically made in China, well...

These crazy Chinese people, why don't they just do it the right way... (Greed)
I really feel that we should start our own farms (fish / animals / veggies and fruits) i am sure that it will get really bad before it gets better....

[nakatago]

I really feel that we should start our own farms (fish / animals / veggies and fruits) i am sure that it will get really bad before it gets better....

Just one question: Where would Singapore put all that agriculture?

[ev-disinfection]

I really feel that we should start our own farms (fish / animals / veggies and fruits) i am sure that it will get really bad before it gets better....

Just one question: Where would Singapore put all that agriculture?

We can do it in another country.... get a QC / QA team to ensure quality.

[JR8]

I really feel that we should start our own farms (fish / animals / veggies and fruits) i am sure that it will get really bad before it gets better....

Just one question: Where would Singapore put all that agriculture?

We can do it in another country.... get a QC / QA team to ensure quality.

Yah can buy Batam and clear it right?

[sundaymorningstaple]

I think they already tried to buy Batam, but the Indos said no way.

[ev-disinfection]

Well, there are 6 islands directly south of batam, all connected by beautiful bridges. These islands have very few people staying there and bigger then SG, a 2 hour drive from the Batam island all the way to the southern tip.

History: there used to be the compound, for the Vietnamese who had fled Vietnam during the war, and when the war ended, the Indonesians wanted to send them back, but most committed suicide and died in that camp. There is a museum there, with their accommodations, church, temple and the boats that they come in on display.

[JR8]

Yeah I heard.... think SMS can fill in any details....

[sundaymorningstaple]

Well, there are 6 islands directly south of batam, all connected by beautiful bridges. These islands have very few people staying there and bigger then SG, a 2 hour drive from the Batam island all the way to the southern tip.

History: there used to be the compound, for the Vietnamese who had fled Vietnam during the war, and when the war ended, the Indonesians wanted to send them back, but most committed suicide and died in that camp. There is a museum there, with their accommodations, church, temple and the boats that they come in on display.

You are actually referring to P. Galang. I worked on that Island from 1988 to 1991 under UNHCR while it was a refugee camp. I could tell you heaps of stories. However, what you see today is not what it looked like back then. It's been overhauled to look like the Indo actually cared!

Some of my photos from that time period for your education:

http://www.keynote-engineers.net/PGalang/PGalang.html