Korean Job Discussion Forums

[MollyBloom]

When I first came to Korea years ago, something that shocked me was the size of chicken breasts. They were *surprise* smaller! Being American, most meat from my country is pumped full of 시트, and therefore larger. I noticed the smaller size in other meat, and also in veggies and fruit.
Is it safe to say that most products like that are raised/grown naturally? I know the organic section can be found in dept. stores (Lotte, Shinsegae, etc.), but I'm wondering if labeling food organic for Koreans is just trendy, and most food is just made/raised/grown without additives...

[atwood]

No. They use quite a bit of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. I knew someone who grew up on a farm and he said they kept a separate plot on which to grow the food they ate.

As for chicken, beef, and pork, it's probably not as industrialized as in the U.S. so probably they use less antibiotics. But they're not free range by any means, although you can buy eggs from free range chickens. Of course, free range is often in the eye of the beholder.

[brento1138]

Good question. I would like to have more information about how Korean food is grown. I remember a long time ago (in 2004) before coming to Korea, a foreigner I met in Vancouver (who lived in Korea at the time and was telling me about it) told me "never eat the vegetables and fruits, ever!" I asked, "but what about washing them off?" And he was still like, "No! No! It'll be impossible to wash the stuff they put on."

As I couldn't possibly live without fruits and veggies, I told him I'd just give it a really good soaking.

He claimed not only did they spray tons of pesticides on the stuff, but that they were grown in human feces. Now, he lives in the countryside with his wife and apparently that truly is how it is done. Now, the last part of that really disgusted me. Human feces? Seriously? I still can't really believe it.

Anyways, I came to Korea and tried out the fruit. It seemed fine and I couldn't understand what the fuss was about.

However, I bought some ginger the other day. It still had quite a bit of dirt on it. And then I remembered what that guy told me. I would say part of it could have been manure, I couldn't quite tell. But it didn't smell like crap, so I dunno. If anyone wants to verify this rumor, let me know... or... don't?

I guess it doesn't matter too much since we cook the food at high enough temperatures to kill anything that is in there. However, pesticides don't care if it is hot or cold...

[matthews_world]

I would venture to say that food bought in the supermarket would be safer to consume because it comes from reliable farms and is tested by the government and meets certain standards.

Who knows what sort of chemicals are used on the produce that you buy on the street.

[le-paul]

put it this way, when you go shopping at a real farmers market (not one in korea), the food is dirty, ugly and rots in in a few days ( a pepper or an apple for example). But they are usually very tasty, not watery and importantly - natural.

Here, you buy an apple, put it on the table and look at it. Its beautiful! Come back next week - its still beautiful and the week after and the week after...

Do you think thats natural?

It always makes me laugh too when poeple wash fruit before eating it. Does anyone belive that does any good?

I also know that people all over the world use 90 percent of the anti-biotics used daily on rearing cows and sheep etc. I doubt its any different here (especailly considering the animals cramped living conditions) - so it wont do your immune system much good eating meat either.

Ill take my chances with the probably GM fruit/veg but i will never eat the skins unless it grew underground.

But you can keep the meat thankyou

[oldfatfarang]

[cassimira]

My boyfriend and I are currently teaching in a farming community.... our apartment directly overlooks a rice field! So we have a little first-hand knowledge of this....

I totally agree with other posters that pesticides are commonplace, and probably very heavily used.... most of the farmers around here use hand-sprayers too, so there is little-to-no regulation of how much pesticide is actually being applied... let me mention that these are the same farmers who frequently burn trash STILL IN THE PLASTIC BAG, so they probably aren't really aware of what constitutes environmentally safe levels.

I actually refuse to eat grapes or apples with the skin on anymore because I have had experiences with both here where the level of pesticides POST-washing was enough to makes my lips numb and tingly (yay for nerve toxins!!)

If you really want to stay pesticide free, go for organic if you can find it. You can also find lists floating around online that detail which fruits and vegetables soak up the most pesticides, and which stay relatively safe.

As for the manure thing, that is definitely true. Although I don't know what type they use, I've actually wondered myself if it might be human matter.... the smell is pervasive around town seasonally, and is quite horrendous! Speaking of manure and smells, we've also biked past a few animal farms, and, while it doesn't appear to be nearly the factory-style production you see back in the States, the animals are kept quite confined in very small spaces/close quarters.

In addition to all this, the government a few years back asked all the factories to move out of the city to more rural areas.... So now all that pollution is spewing out directly over the food supply.... lovely!

So.... while you most likely don't have to worry about salmonella and e coli popping up in weird places (like tomatos and spinach... things big agra!), it will be really difficult to avoid pesticides and other non-healthy things.... sorry, OP.

[creeper1]

Ask your korean coteachers about the Jeju-do black pig. They feed those animals human feces. It's what it survives on.

[Dazed and Confused]

One of my students is a Biology Prof. with a specialization in plants. I've asked him about fruit and vegetables in Korea. Not only are they doused in chemicals but also they are all GMO. Furthermore, Korea does not have strict labling laws, like the UK, so they don't even have to announce that foods are GMO, organic, or whatever...He went on to say that in the US and many other countries it is no different.

On the subject of meat-I personally know of one family who run a pig farm. I asked them how many pigs they had. The mom replied "10,000 more or less". If you watch Korean news anytime during an outbreak of Hoof & Mouth or Bird Flu you will see just how much industrial farming Korea uses.

[oldfatfarang]

[superNET]

[Steelrails]

You mean to tell me that vegetables are grown from poop?
Golly Gee Wilikers I'd have never have thought that!
Guess what, everything grows from feces and detritus. Animals roll in crap. It's how things are. Silly people who somehow think animals should be bathed and never sit in crap or that vegetables can be grown without having any feces involved need to go try and live for a year or two self-sufficient on a farm

[whitestboyalive]

[Dazed and Confused]

GMO=Genetically Modified Organism

[dory]

the watermelons are GMO not so much to be seedless, but some of them advertise as being sweet because well, they are all sweet. they've been gmo to have a high sugar content.

when i cook sweet potatoes some parts often have a weird chemical smell. usually it's the bits closest to the skin but it's pervasive in the middle as well.

i saw a truck full of chickens drive by and i almost gagged. they were all sickly and blind, just like back home. yes, they're smaller, but they're not raised more naturally.

also, the amount of wax and chemicals that are on domestic apples and tangerines is absolutely scary. i sat around one day scraping off almost a tablespoon of wax off a small green apple.
there are lots of chemicals that can be absorbed through fruit skin/peels.