There is a huge movement happening nationally as consumers are expressing an increased interest in buying from local businesses. Each purchase you make from a local business is essentially an investment in your community as you support local workers and families. When buying items made locally, you can often see where and how the items are produced, as well as how employees are treated. You can be confident that you are purchasing ethically made items. While this movement expands, there are some markets that still face significant challenges. The market I’d like to address is, of course, the cut flower market.
Before becoming a flower farmer, I wouldn’t think twice about buying flowers at the grocery store and, frankly, didn’t care where they came from. After all, they are just flowers. My perspective has changed drastically. Now I find myself scrounging through bunches and bouquets, looking for the tag claiming the country of origin, often to be disappointed. Weird, right? To put this into perspective, think about where your food comes from. I mean, wouldn’t you rather have an apple grown in Michigan than one grown in Argentina?
From time to time we hear concerns about the amount of food imported into the country. According to the FDA, “a lot of the food we eat”, 15 percent of the nation’s food supply, is imported. To take a look at cut flower imports, you might be surprised to learn that, as reported by the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, approximately 70-80 percent of the nation’s cut flowers are imported. Yes, the number is high, but why should you care? Really, what difference does it make? I’ll tell you.
ECONOMY
Let’s go back to where we started- supporting local businesses. For the sake of this discussion, we will talk about farmers, specifically. Flower farmers are just like any other farmers. They raise crops and then sell that crop to make a living. If the crop is not sold, they are not making money. The farm fails. If the crops do sell, the farm does well! They are able to expand and plant even more the following season and even more the next. They need help planting, caring for crops, harvesting, and doing deliveries. So they hire people from the community to come work on the farm. The farmers and farmhands, now gainfully employed, put money back into their community. Obviously, this is a simplified look at workings of it all but ask yourself this: how much does your community benefit when you buy imported flowers?
ENVIRONMENT AND WELL BEING
Imported flowers typically come from huge growers whose focus is to grow as much product, as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Flowers are often grown in an unsustainable manner with the use of pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers. And what about the people who work on these farms? Harvesters work unbearably long hours, are in constant contact with the chemicals used for flower production, and receive miniscule pay. The reality of a flower farm in Kenya, for example, is much different than a flower farm in the U.S. A lot of small, domestic growers aim to raise crops while giving back to the Earth, rather than depleting it. Many farms stick to use organic practices, if not being organic certified. They work hard to care for their soil and reduce waste, thus running a more environmentally friendly business.
And how do imported flowers get here? First the flowers make the journey overseas to arrive in the US. They are then shipped to a wholesaler, then to a florist or retailer, and then finally to you, the consumer. The chain of distribution is so long, that shipping the flowers, alone, creates a huge carbon footprint. Think of how the chain shrinks when you purchase directly from a local farm!
QUALITY OF PRODUCT
Let me describe a scenario that you fellow flower lovers may have experienced: You either buy or are gifted a bouquet of roses. The roses are still pretty tightly budded, so you’re excited to see them open up. You trim the stems, place them in clean water, and feed them their packet of flower food. You are waiting patiently for the flowers to open up so you may experience their full beauty and fragrance. You continue to care for them as the days pass. You may notice the flowers open a little, and you continue to wait. One day you notice that they are starting to shrivel and droop. Then, BAM! The bouquet that once held so much hope just becomes a vase full of pitiful, brown disappointment. The flowers never even had a chance to open, although you did everything right. Imported flowers are typically bred for shipping and are harvested prematurely so that they can be bunched, bagged, and boxed without being cosmetically damaged. That’s right. Boxed and out of water. How fresh could they possibly be by the time they get to you?
When you purchase locally grown flowers, they have been picked at just the right time, so that the consumer can enjoy them for their longest possible vase life. You can often watch flowers open up into their full glory right on your dining room table. The flowers harvested are often put directly into water and then are kept cool and fresh until they are sold. Local farmers also specialize in varieties that do not do well being shipped. Dahlias and zinnias, for example, are often rarely available as imports because they are not easily shipped. There is just no comparison to fresh, locally grown flowers.
IS SHE DONE YET?
Almost. I do need to say that the purpose of all this is to not make anyone feel guilty, or to bash on anyone for how they get their flowers but rather, to give you a little insight into the cut flower industry, its global effects and the benefits of buying from local growers. We have been conditioned just to buy flowers where we have always gotten them – the wholesaler, the grocery store, etc. But perhaps it’s time for a change of perspective. If you love flowers, I encourage you to do a little research of your own. Find out if there are local growers near you and how they make their flowers available. Many growers sell wholesale to florist and retailers, at farmer’s markets, and some, in addition to growing the flowers, do floral design for events. You can feel good knowing you bought local, and you benefit directly by being able to enjoy incredibly fresh and beautiful flowers.
