Excerpts from an interview with The Bali Times.
January 29, 2010

Paolo Righetti, a 45-year-old Swiss national and co-owner of the Bali Buddha chain of health-food stores and restaurants, spoke with Carla Albertí de la Rosa about the importance of awareness and how Bali still has a long way to go.

The Bali Times: You took over Bali Buddha after it had been struggling for a number of years. How much was your investment and why were you interested in Bali Buddha?

Paolo Righetti: I was always a good client at Bali Buddha and knew the owner very well. It used to be a normal restaurant and then the owner left. My idea when taking over Bali Buddha was to give locals environmental education.

Brenda and I invested about US$6,000 each initially. Since then, we have expanded a lot. Our aim is to raise awareness, with food and products.

I also believe the more you give the more you receive. It’s amazing how it really works. We donate almost 50 percent of our monthly profits to different foundations that are doing great things. Not just environmentally but also socially.

‘Balinese people are still not aware of the negative effects of using chemicals’

The Bali Times: Indonesian, including Balinese, dishes are mostly fried and can have high fat content, especially coconut-based fare. As a result, cholesterol levels and heart disease can be high in some areas, notably in southern Sumatra, where meat forms the basis of the popular rendang dish. What do you think of this food? Could it be made healthier?

Paolo Righetti: It could be healthier by changing the oil. Indonesians reuse oil until it is black. They use it for a month and it’s saturated, but it’s cheaper for them to do this.

They should not cook vegetables so much and reduce the amount of meat and fried food. But they love it.

It could be made healthier but it’s very difficult to change this habit.

The Bali Times: What are Indonesians’ perceptions of organic food? Is it available at the local market?

Paolo Righetti: Thirty years ago everything here was organic. They didn’t use any chemical products for fertilizing. Within the last 25 years there’s been a great explosion of government-supported programmes of chemicals in order to increase production. So for the last 25 years the country has been exposed to very high use and abuse of chemicals in agriculture.

Balinese people are still not aware of the negative effects of using chemicals. They’re starting to realise now that people are dying from cancer and have other problems they did not formally have.

Organic food is available to locals in places like Bali Buddha but it’s too expensive for them.

The Bali Times: How do Indonesian organic standards compare to those of other countries?

Paolo Righetti: There’s no national certification yet. But the great success is that in the last few years, people know more about organic food.

Locals have created the Bali Organic Association, BOA. It’s not standardised to the level of certification that they have in Australia or in other places. But it means moving a step further.

I can’t prove that my tomatoes are organic if someone asks me. But I do checks with the farmers. I go to the fields and customers can also go there. It will develop into something; it’s just a matter of time.

The Bali Times: What impact are pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers and hormones in non-organic food having on Indonesians’ health?

Paolo Righetti: People are having fertility problems, breathing problems, miscarriages, cancer… It’s not just that, but also the diet. In Indonesia, they don’t eat raw vegetables or much fruit. Now, Bali and the rest of Indonesia have been taken over by Monsanto’s GMOs (genetically modified organisms). They don’t have awareness and they are happy because crops are resistant to diseases.

But on a spiritual level, if you eat the DNA of a seed that has been modified, the seed’s bad DNA will also be your DNA. So somehow, by absorbing GMOs, we will be modified. We don’t see it now but we will in future generations. The key is education.

The Bali Times: Is organic farming more environmentally friendly?

Paolo Righetti: It’s more environmentally friendly because it uses composting, has natural pesticides and tries to avoid as much as possible the use of chemicals.

http://www.thebalitimes.com/2010/01/29/%E2%80%98balinese-people-are-still-not-aware-of-the-negative-effects-of-using-chemicals%E2%80%99/

Bali Buddha has been serving organic, MSG-free meals since 1994. Wi-fi free, Bali Buddha is an inspirational, alternative cafe where kids are welcome & the focus is on sharing conversation or simply enjoying your meal.
Visit their website here: http://www.balibuddha.com/

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