Just realized that big orchid farms on my Thailand visit hurt local plants

I went to a large orchid farm near Chiang Mai last spring. They only cared about growing pretty hybrids for tourists. Native wild orchids in the nearby forests got no attention at all. This kind of travel spot does more harm than good for botany fans.

2 comments

2 Comments

ivanlewis1d ago

I read a piece a while back about how these big orchid operations in Thailand can actually push out wild orchids. They focus on making the flashy hybrids that sell well, so nobody bothers to protect the native kinds. It turns out that the fertilizer and pesticides from the farms sometimes leak into the forest soil. Pretty ironic for a place that markets itself as a nature spot. Seems like a classic case of tourism messing things up while trying to show them off.

faithroberts1d ago

Profit tends to damage the very things it tries to highlight. We see it in how unique local spots become carbon copies for visitors. The original value gets traded for something that just looks good on a postcard.