The idea would have been unthinkable only a decade or two ago. Rice farming has always been the Thai way of life. It's in our cultural genes. Life in the old days for most Thais had revolved around farming. But it was disrupted by the first National Economic and Social Development Plan in 1961 as the nation was goaded into the industrial era. Thai farmers switched from farming for subsistence to farming for commerce and export. As world demand for rice rose, Thai policy-makers thought it a great economic opportunity to expand production. They plunged the country headlong into the "Green Revolution". They had little idea what devastating impact that would have on the people and environment.