Hi! Family of 3~ my fiance & I + our 10 month old

I have soo many questions about being in uruguay.Coming from the states (my fiance from LA then Dallas, me from Dallas & we are now both in Denver) my main concern is raising our son in the best possible place. Here in the states, our water is contaminated with the prescription drugs everyone is on, the fluoride & chlorine our gov puts in it, our food is sprayed with pesticides/herbicides that our deadly (theyre also mostly genetically modified without a label stating so.) The school system teaches a false history and frankly many things and subjects that aren't needed, and skipping some of the most essential. We want a healthy happy environment :) Safe to grow natural food, heal naturally, experience new and good things, start a little farm, slow down & jump off the "treadmill" of life America pulled us on, be ourselves, have fun and just love life! not worry about finding a job/school that doesn't force deadly vaccines. Please tell us your experiences and share opinions with us about uruguay! Thank you for your time,, Peace&happines

Hi jade,

Do more research.

UY is full of GMO soy and monsanto products. It is not as pristine as we would like. I love UY for several reasons but not from a farming aspect. The rio del Plata is also contaminated from the Brazil runoff.

Thank you very much! I appreciate the response. :)

I do not know how this forum page works but if you can PM me, We can chat off the main pages

For more information about the genetically-modified food situation in Latin America, visit the English-language GMO page of agendasuramerica.org by googling agendasuramerica gmo ...

Frankly, I don't understand why Skookum is taking this conversation off the main forum and doing PM's.   

This is a valid topic for conversation on the Uruguay forum that could educate readers about a subject important to their health.

cccmedia

i suggested PM as another option just in case we expanded the topic and it would complicate the thread

Thanks for responding, Skookum.

I wouldn't worry too much about complicating the Uruguay forum.  As far as I can tell, this is the first action here in weeks, and it could use a little
'complicating.'

cccmedia

:gloria   

In that case, I would seriously consider Cuba.  It has the best organic lands in the world. No cides on anything for 60yrs. The least polluted reef, the greatest collection of indigenous Caribbean flora/fauna.

Excellent medicine and schools. GREAT musica.
Eventually, commerce will open up but for a clean place to live it would be cuba

You make some good points, Skookum, eye-opening even.

However, anybody who's hot to cross Uruguay off their list in favor of Cuba may need to take a cold shower in the form of journalist Miss Conner Gorry's post about Life As an Expat in Havana, Cuba.  It's on the Matador Network website.  You can google it.

The former New Yorker points out some of the seamier aspects of life in Cuba and the current lack of Expats in the island nation -- the latter being related to Cuba's residency restrictions.

We appreciate your insights into this, Skookum, as the health ramifications are compelling. 

Surely there must be some alternatives to Cuba, though.  Right?

cccmedia in Quito, Ecuador

Hi Jadegreen927,

Your motives are exactly why I decided to leave my native home. Having lived here almost five years now, this is home for me.

Regarding a place to farm, there are plenty of opportunities to farm organically here in Uruguay on the smaller scale farms which in Uruguay is typically 5 ha or 13.25 acres which is ample room for a family to grow vegetables and raise some livestock for personal use. The soil is excellent quality and there is plenty of water. I sell real estate here and have sold numerous such farms to families just like yours.

Even buying produce at the local corner store will be organic although not certified as such. The corner veggie shops get their produce from small producers who do not have the inclination or money to use chemicals. It's the farms that produce on a large scale for export that use whatever to optimize their crops. And it's the large grocery chains that source from large producers who sell vegetables that are unlikely to be organic.

Most of the food grown here is with the usual fertilzers and pesticides. That is why there has been problems with the water supply in some areas where they have contaminated the rivers.
You can grow your own of course or buy a few limited choices of organic products in the supermarkets. I would not assume the small stores or street markets are selling organic products as many buy from the large central wholesale market in Montevideo.

Your child will have to be vaccinated to attend school here. Mandatory school age is 3 years. If you do not have permanent residency by the time he is three, you will need to show he is attending school to get it.

Uruguay is no more natural than anywhere else and is expensive these days.

>>> as many buy from the large central wholesale market in Montevideo.

For those who live in Montevideo.

focusproperties wrote:

...buying produce at the local corner store will be organic although not certified as such. The corner veggie shops get their produce from small producers who do not have the inclination or money to use chemicals. It's the farms that produce on a large scale for export that use whatever to optimize their crops. And it's the large grocery chains that source from large producers who sell vegetables that are unlikely to be organic.


Agree or disagree, Skookum?

Yes, it would be good to get the feedback of someone in the business. Really, I am basing my opinion on mostly circumstantial evidence - what I have observed of the practices of a couple of acquaintances in the business, and just the fact that the produce at my local store does not have the factory quality of consistency of shape, condition, etc. They have knots and blemishes such as a backyard grown vegetable would have.