Beauty comes at a steep price in the Ecuadorian flower industry. Perfect petals mean poisonous floricultural practices. Harmful pesticides in flower production weaken the health of both Ecuador’s natural environment and the farm workers.
Traditionally, a flower is a symbol of love, beauty, and purity. After studying abroad in Ecuador last fall I learned that for Ecuadorians a flower represents a harsher reality. In a country as economically unstable as Ecuador, the flower industry is more concerned with maximizing profit than environmental or human welfare.
I was stunned by the concentration of biodiversity in Ecuador, a tiny country the size of Colorado. I found that the different ecosystems change with altitude. High in the Andes, I stooped to observe the short, water-retentive plants scattered on the hillsides with buds that bloomed straight from the ground. To then stand and look across miles of highland grasses stretched over the rugged mountainous landscape took my breath away.
In lower elevations, I hiked lush forested hillsides with avocados, oranges, guavas, guayabas, and other tropical fruits hanging overhead. Red, blue and black butterflies fluttered away as I walked along paths through the misty cloud forest region of the Amazonian rainforest. The chaotic tangle of vines, ferns, trees and flowers growing and twisting their way through the forest amazed me.
All manner of organisms live in Ecuador: hummingbirds, anacondas, pumas, tarantulas, leaf-cutter ants, condors, toucans and parrots. These animals, their ecosystems and farm workers are increasingly burdened with the demands of Western culture in the form of luxuries like perfectly preserved flowers.
One of the most biologically and culturally diverse countries in the world is also one of the poorest. During Christmastime I saw hundreds of children lining the highways with cupped hands begging for charity. I witnessed an old man sitting on a city curb spooning powdered sugar into his mouth for nutrition. I met an elderly couple selling pornography on a street corner to make enough money to survive.
Despite obvious signs of economic poverty, Ecuador is rich in human kindness. During my travels, I met few people who were inhospitable, whether they lived in the towering Andes, the dense coastal mangrove forests or the mysterious realm of the Amazonian rainforest. I’ll never forget the rural indigenous family of eight living in a one-room house that fed me without expecting anything in return.
Burdened with considerable national debt, political corruption and unemployment, Ecuador relies on its wealth of natural resources and its abundance of people willing to work for low wages. The Ecuadorian government sacrifices environmental and worker health to meet the high demand for cut flowers.
After returning to America from my studies, I realized the lack of consumer awareness of the biological and social health problems in Ecuador’s flower industry. Western culture uses flowers for special occasions, from weddings, to funerals, to Hallmark holidays. This dependency relies on an ample supply of flowers year-round.
The United States imports 70 percent of Ecuador’s roses, according to an article in USA Today. Approximately one-quarter of rose bouquets sold on street corners across the country are imported from Ecuador’s Cayambe Valley.
The Ecuadorian flower industry inundates a majority of these flowers with fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides and plant growth regulators. These chemicals protect and preserve the flowers during the growing and shipment processes, according to a FoodFirst Informaton and Action Network report, an international human rights nonprofit organization.
"These flower farms are terrible for Ecuador," said Santiago F. Burneo, Ecuadorian biologist, teacher, and conservationist at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador.
The government does not pressure flower growers to adopt safer practices that could also hinder their production, such as meeting environmental and workers’ rights standards, Burneo said.
As a result, pesticides wash into rivers from the flower farms, causing considerable harm to the surrounding biodiversity, according to studies by Tanya Korovkin, associate professor of the Department of Political Science for the University of Waterloo, Canada.
The pesticides contaminate groundwater and soil, and wild animals eat the sprayed plants, incorporating the chemicals into the food chain.
Water over-consumption is another cause of ecological and social damage by the flower industry. The industry uses the water normally available to the surrounding environment and local communities, according to the Organic Consumer Association, a nonprofit organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability.
A majority of flower farm workers suffer from health problems linked to daily exposure to toxic pesticides. According to an OCA study, six of every 10 workers have health problems such as allergic reactions, vomiting and fainting, lung illness
and vision loss.
One of the principal health effects from the pesticides is the "chronic toxicity secret killer," or exposure to poisonous chemicals over a long period of time, according to OCA. This exposure can cause damage to the liver, kidneys and bone marrow, resulting in cancer and birth defects.
The Ecuadorian flower industry’s contribution to domestic welfare is a topic of controversy, said Freddy Caceres, an Ecuadorian energy and environment researcher.
"There are many problems, especially with the contamination from chemicals, and the social and environmental problems related to the workers and people in local communities," Caceres said. "But it’s also an industry that has grown significantly and has given fountains of work to people who didn’t have work before."
In conversations with Ecuadorians, it broke my heart to hear stories about rural mothers who endure the poor conditions of these flower farms to support their families. The real tragedy in their stories is that they have little say regarding their
rights in the industry.
The workers want Western consumers to be their voice. Without a demand for certified-organic and fair trade flowers, the Ecuadorian flower industry has little incentive to change.
"There are many people in the local communities who have work thanks to the industry," Caceres said. "I don’t believe you should campaign so consumers stop buying flowers from Ecuador. It would be better to campaign to pressure companies to improve their environmental management."
Unfortunately, supporting the organic and fair trade movement is not as simple as visiting the local florist shop and paying a higher price for a sustainably
produced bouquet.
Haggen sells cut flowers from Ecuador, but none are certified organic, said Pat Jones, floral manager of the Sehome Haggen’s floral department. Jones said customers never ask her if Haggen sells
organic flowers.
Organic flowers are just as difficult to find in local florist shops.
"I’m not organically inclined," said Janice Oberg-Barrett owner of Belle Flora & Home Interiors, located in downtown Bellingham. "I don’t know exactly where these flowers are from, and I don’t really care as long as they’re good quality."
Trish Manley, owner of A New Leaf
Flower Shoppe, also located in downtown Bellingham, said she is concerned about environmental damage and labor conditions in countries like Ecuador.
"I like to know where the product is from, where the growers are," Manley said.
Although Manley wants to support organic growers, she said her organic stock is limited during the winter months because these alternatives are either not available or not economically viable for her
small business.
Fair trade certified flowers are not yet available in the United States. TransFair USA, a nonprofit organization, works to build a more sustainable model of international trade and plans to launch fair trade certified flowers in the American markets in May, said Nora Ferm, program officer for the International Labor Rights Fund.
"In recent years the non-organic farms have improved, but they still have much to improve upon concerning human rights, labor norms, the environment and corruption," said Omar Vacas, Ecuadorian research biologist.
But not all Ecuadorian flower farms fit into the typical environmentally and socially destructive mold, Burneo said.
"Companies exist that treat their employees justly, that pay them well, that don’t saturate the soil with fertilizers," Burneo said.
One flower farm that uses organic practices is Canaan Tropica, located in the misty cloud forest region of Ecuador, near San Miguel de los Bancos.
On one particularly foggy day during my stay in Ecuador, Marcelo Villacís, owner of Canaan Tropica, gave our group of students a tour of his farm where he grows birds of paradise, ginger, orchids, heliconia, and other tropical flora.
"In the long term, it’s more profitable to grow an organic farm since the soil of the land is not degraded," Villacís said as he led us through the rows of flowers. At times, his farm seemed more like a tropical forest than a farm.
There is a method to the planting madness, Villacís said. He uses poly-culture techniques to create a forest-like environment, growing a diversity of plants in the same area. A high variety of plants in a concentrated area ensures increased protection from diseases and deters some insects from destroying crops.
To avoid problems such as bacteria or fungi, Canaan Tropica utilizes organic remedies made from garlic, apple, and chili extracts, Villacís said.
But Canaan Tropica does not use entirely organic forms of production.
"If a [disease or insect] problem continues then we resort to traditional chemicals," Villacís said. "This organic farm uses the same principal humans use: when you have a stomach pain you can cure yourself with chamomile tea. But if you have cancer you should receive chemotherapy."
This limited use of chemicals could be seen as a breach in pure organic agriculture dogma, but for Villacís it is a means of staying afloat in an increasingly competitive business. He views his advances in organic production as small victories in a battle to protect Ecuador’s biodiversity.
"Many people don’t grow organic farms because they believe they won’t earn money," Villacís said. "Nevertheless, if they continue to abuse the chemicals, they don’t see that what they will lose is the fertility of their lands, and infertile lands don’t generate richness."
Heavy chemical use will continue to destroy Ecuador’s natural beauty if consumers are not willing to pay the extra price for certified organic flowers or to confront flower sellers about the problem.
"To a consumer who is deciding between an organic versus a non-organic flower for his or her loved one, I would say to choose the organic flower because the production process is less harmful for both the environment and the workers in the greenhouse," Ferm said.
I left Ecuador with a new eagerness to become a more conscientious consumer. I now understand that local decisions have global consequences.
Flower consumers have options. Ordering organic flowers online is one way to preserve the environment; some online sellers include Organicbouqet.com, Californiaorganicflowers.com, Localharvest.org, and Diamondorganics.org. Buy locally grown flowers at the farmers market and ask florists to support more organic growers. Finally, planting a garden is a personally rewarding way to avoid pesticide abuse.
From now on, when I buy a flower, I want to know about the soil it grew in and the hands that cultivated it. If either were poisoned in the growing process, the flower is not worth its price.