The issue of farmland pollution in Taiwan has been happening for some time. In 1982, the government began an investigation, which was the starting point of the remediation process in various cities. This time we had an interview with Mr. W who worked in the environmental protection department for further information about the process of farmland remediation.
The interview had to remain anomynous since this topic was related to too many departments. Mr. W said he couldn't represent the whole department, but would try his best to answer our questions.



[ In between different needs, try to find a balance ]
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Mr. W has been committed to the farmland remediation project for a period of time. From investigation, inspection, communication, management, to the restoration and follow-up management of soil, it takes a long time to remediate a piece of land, and there are many difficulties in each stage. The source of all these problems can be traced back to the chaos in land planning in the past. Agriculture, industry, and residential area were mixed, so that the needs of many people involved in the land conflicted, and it was impossible to find a balance. In such a complex and intertwined situation, it was difficult to source back and solve the problem.

'Some people wait before moving the equipments in and just say, "No, it is not a factory, just a warehouse." And before you notice, the factory is there. In fact, lots of land is used illegally in Taiwan.'

Heavy metal pollution needs to be examined by devices, which makes it impossible to catch the polluter on the spot. These pollutions may have occurred ten years ago or earlier, and the victims who failed to catch the perpetrators could only scold the government. In between the farmers, factories, and people, Mr. W and his coworkers are often the target of criticism. Even so, they are still working hard to meet the needs of all parties. In addition to the land remediation and compensation for farmers, it is also necessary to eliminate the source of the pollution.

'If the source of these pollutions is not blocked, then there is no point for the remediation. In another five years, the pollution will continue. Only if a polluter is caught, investigated and punished, other possible polluter will be more vigilant.'

'It is necessary to maintain investigation with certain strictness, even shouting to let everyone know.'



[ Strict boundary, dividing protection and sacrifice]

The causes of land pollution are complex. It is difficult for us to say confidently whether these heavy metals harmful to the human body, through what parts of plants, and how they enter the food chain.

'Sometimes I feel that the experts dare not say too many simplified conclusions, because it is possible that this conclusion may not apply to all instances. The conclusions are likely to be interpretated in wrong ways."

People get panic when there is no enough information to trust. In a situation where the impact of pollution is not well understood, strict control is the safest. But to be honest, Taiwan has a large area of ​​polluted land in recent years, but most of it is not cadmium pollution. What everyone does not know is that other heavy metal pollution actually caused a crisis not as big as cadmium. But even if you spend more time communicating, the public's perception cannot be changed easily.

The big label "Farmland Pollution" may guarantee some food safety, but it has caused farmers to lose most of their livelihoods.


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[ From do-not-know to understand]

Now Taiwan is still going through the stage 'from do-not-know to understand'. People in the past did not know that there was pollution, and the first panic was actually a good stimulus that attracted the attention in the whole society. But in Mr. W's opinion, some more important issues will be ignored if all the attentions are on these less dangerous issues.

'After the development of science and technology, we will begin to understand that something we were afraid to death before is not that dangerous. At the same time the related regulation should be developed with the progress of the science and technology.'

'I expect that in ten years, Taiwan can move into the next stage where we manage things with a perspective of risk.'

After going through the stage of panicking, we should move forward. There are risks in everything, but what we should do is to learn more and make decisions after fully understanding the real dangers. It is true that the impact of food is unpredictable, no one can say without doubt. But with the general principles, we could still have our lives calmly.

'When I communicate with the public, I will emphasize that you can eat anything, but for some you can eat less and some can eat more.... It is easier to convert professional knowledge to something easy to understand when you communicate with the public.'



[ Let us be the catalyst for new ideas ]

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'There are many small streams scattered in Taiwan. I don't know if you have seen those streams when you were young. There are some fish and shrimps inside...'

Small streams became water ditches in the city, accommodating the people's living sewage. The waterways forindustry, agriculture, and residence areas are mixed. Now it is really difficult for us to imagine how to live together with a stream.

'I think art and philosophy are connected. Creating allows everyone to connect their own experience, themselves, and new ideas. I think my role today is also stimulating you to have new aspects on this issue.'

In this interview, we learned professional knowledge that was not so easy to digest. But it was true that these information changed our thoughts and attitudes on this topic. For this issue, might not be able to actually stop pollution, nor can we provide information that even experts cannot confirm. But we hope that we can dig deeper into the truth, and are not afraid to convey what we believe to stimulate more new ideas, just like Mr. W.