Cut flowers. They’re beautiful, colorful and fragrant. They’re evocative of Love, Friendship and Sympathy. They’re also a multi-billion dollar a year international enterprise that often leaves a less than a beautiful or fragrant residue behind.

Many of the cut flowers sold in the U.S. are imported from South America. An article in the January/February 2008 issue of Audubon magazine gave a window onto the rose industry in that continent; a process laced with herbicides, pesticides and fungicides that contaminate local water supplies and cause a collection of health conditions, particularly in workers but also in residents for whom the contaminated water is the only source of this necessary resource.

“In a 1995 report, Bittersweet Harvests for Global Supermarkets, the World Resources Institute found that rose and carnation producers in Ecuador use an average of six fungicides, four insecticides, and several herbicides. The situation is worse in Colombia, where flower-plantation workers near Bogota are exposed to 127 types of pesticides. Nearly two-thirds of the Colombian workers suffer from headaches, nausea, rashes, asthma, and other symptoms of pesticide-related illnesses. ” (From The Hidden Life of Cut Flowers, by Jennifer Hattam. Sierra Club. For the full article click here.)

There are now sources for organically raised Organic Flowers & Gourmet Gifts
So, before you buy a bouquet for someone to show them how much you care, show them how much you also care for the environment. Organic Flowers & Gourmet Gifts
are available on the Web at Organic Bouquet
and More growers are following suit, so do some browsing and see what else you can find.
Also check your local florists and health food stores. In my area Whole Foods as well as a chain of local health food stores often stock Organic Flowers & Gourmet Gifts
Even if a florist doesn’t currently stock organics, if enough people ask for Organic Flowers & Gourmet Gifts
you can be sure they’ll look seriously at it.