Flowers

The Sunday New York Times had a great article on Mothers Day flowers. The author was Amy Stewart who wrote a book called "Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers".

I think it's often times very hard for people (like me) to make decisions when they are isolated to an "earth friendly cause." No matter how strong your theology of creation, it can be difficult to sense your brocolli crying out from the table. Stewart helps me remember that there are very human elements involved in every environmental cause, that workers are inseperable from the chemicals and pesticides used to treat our plants, food and flowers.

She writes about the flower industry in South America, where most of our wedding, get-well-soon and Mothers Day flowers are shipped from. Because they have to get over the border, the flowers have to meet anti-fungal and de-bugging standards. Stewart writes:

"On a flower farm in Ecuador, I saw workers dunk bunches of roses, blossom-first, into a barrel of fungicide just before shipment. The stench was so overpowering that I had to resist the urge to run outside for air. Chemicals dripped off the flowers, they sloshed on the floor and it seemed impossible that the workers — almost all women — could get through the day without getting covered in them, too."

The full affects of health and birth defects of these chemicals are still being investigated but there is no doubt that these practices are harmful for the mostly women who work in the fields for little pay, no vacation and without health care benefits.

Stewart also adds a note about VeriFlora , a new certification program which ensures that flowers are organic and that flower companies employ fair wage and labor practices.

She says that the problem right now is that so few people carry these flowers. A really great way to help is by calling and asking your florist for flowers with the label. Hopefully the demand will drive the prices down and make the certification more popular.

Jacob and I are still unsure what we are going to do about flowers. We'll probably order some from Organic Bouquet but we're also looking into some alternatives like using potted plants from a greenhouse, replacing bride's maids flowers with candles and finding local dried flowers and herbs. We'll see.....