Food, dust and the disappearing winter

When Madre Brava's Thailand Manager, Wichayapat Piromsan (Wich), was young, she used to love wearing her bright winter coat to school for the short part of the year it was needed.

Today, she says, this time of year is more likely to necessitate a dust mask, as Thailand’s smog season approaches and doors and windows are closed and air purifiers cranked up.

Wich took to the stage at TedXChiangMai, Actions for our Future, to highlight a key cause of the air pollution: industrial animal agriculture.

Once corn that is grown to feed livestock is harvested, its residues are burned, releasing tonnes of dangerous PM 2.5 air pollution.

Wich told the audience that Thailand needs to embrace the food that it knows and loves, and not let it be influenced by meat-heavy cuisine from western countries.

In a personal account, which includes insights from her school days, Wich highlights that meat producers, restaurant chains, and supermarkets can play a big part in making plant-rich food options and sustainable protein become more affordable and accessible to Thai people.

Watch Wich's TEDX talk here.

Check out our report Tackling the Maize Haze, all about the link between industrial animal agriculture and air pollution in Thailand.

Photo credit: TEDxChiangMai 2025 Photography Team