Flower Power

The below message was sent by Cory Morningstar...very interesting read as I've said before the flower industry is RIPE with chemicals and environmental destruction.

So the next time you think about getting your beloved some roses this Valentine's Day (first think about the validity of such a day), then look into buying locally grown flowers (potted flowers all the way!).

Valentine's Day - Flowers - At What Cost?

What we’re not hearing about in the MSM.

Many fresh cut flowers distributors are getting away with murder. Literally. Environmentalist Joan Root was shot & killed at her farm overlooking Lake Naivasha, in January, 2005. Her mission? Saving her beloved lake from the ecological ravages of Africa's lucrative flower-farming industry.

Lake Naivasha was once considered one of the world's top ten sites for birds and a paradise of clear water, with beautiful papyrus and water lily fringes. A haven for African wildlife and a major source of water for the lakeside's quickly growing population. Now - Lake Naivasha, Kenya's second largest lake, has shrunk to half its original size and its water level has dropped three metres. Vital wetlands, are degraded beyond recognition. Nowhere in the world is water from one lake basin used to supply drinking water to two basins, electricity to a whole country's grid and flowers & vegetables to a whole continent. The rotting tissues of the hippo carcasses reveal the secret to perfect bouquets - DDT and, 40 times more toxic, Dieldrin - pesticides banned in countries whose markets have made Kenya the world’s number on exporter. This is happening not only in Africa, but in developing countries all over the world. The corporations are able to rape the land, destroy the ecosystems and exploit the people. [Payment for ecosystem services is a rapidly developing economic means of restoring biodiversity around the globe. The price added to a rose or a bean would be a fraction of a cent.]

So – why has no one noticed flowers? No mandatory labeling for the consumer of any kind. One would think a label would be mandatory to inform, at the very minimum, where the flowers are grown. I guess we should not expect a label listing the pesticides that were used as apparently our government doesn’t feel it’s necessary for such a label even on our food, let alone cut flowers. Has the ‘Right to Know’ campaign ever made more sense? It seems that a mandatory labeling system is long overdue. Could we mandate that the amount of water & energy that was used be disclosed? Fair trade? Organic – obviously. Flower miles? I certainly would like to know this information.

I think until we start asking these questions – and demanding answers – nothing is ever going to change. I think flowers have been getting a free ride for a long time. Does any retailer in our city even sell ethically sound, sustainably grown flowers? Isn’t it time we asked? Isn’t it time we demanded nothing less?

This is an issue that has to be brought into the mainstream. To speak openly about such issues to friends, family and retailers is to create a dialogue to influence water policy making at a global level, thus assuring better living standards for people all over the world and more responsible social behaviour towards water issues which ultimately affect each & every one of us. Because there is no such thing as new water.

Thanks - c

http://www.sierraeco.com/default.asp

Did you know that when you give Sierra Eco flowers, you’re actually giving twice? Every time you give someone Sierra Eco flowers, you are also giving a family a chance to earn a decent living and provide for their children while preserving the environment for future generations. Sierra Eco - quality flowers that respect people and the environment!

http://www.ecoflora.ca/ …Now you can send flowers that are wildcrafted, organically grown, or fairly traded anywhere in the Toronto area.

California: Flower growers facing stiff foreign competition bet on organic
Full story: Ottawa Citizen

Farmers who weathered a wave of cheap imports in the last decade by coaxing their fields to yield hundreds of harder-to-find varieties are increasingly betting on organic flowers, a nascent industry that is taking bloom on the heels of the organic food boom. Many in the industry hope the decision to go organic will eventually be an environmentally friendly but also a financially sound alternative for farmers trying to stay afloat. Though the market for organic flowers is still small - sales totaled $8 million [USD] in 2003, a fraction of the $19.4 billion consumers spent on all flowers nationally - it's growing fast. Consumers are increasingly willing to pay more for products made without chemicals harmful to workers or the environment. Organic flower sales are expected to grow 13 percent annually through 2008, according to the Organic Trade Association.