In the News

Pesticides kill the romance in a Valentine’s Day bouquet

Daily Bruin
02/13/2006

By Traci Waller

University Wire

Thinking about the origin of a dozen red roses – the quintessential no-brainer Valentine's Day gift – may put a damper on the holiday lovefest.

When the flowers arrive, a girl probably doesn't want to imagine their birth in Ecuador, where flowers are reared by masses of underpaid workers who suffer from immediate and long-term health problems stemming from pesticide exposure.

Ivory Coast says its cocoa not tainted by slavery

Reuters
02/13/2006

By Peter Murphy

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Top world cocoa producer Ivory Coast on Monday rejected charges by rights groups that child slaves help produce its cocoa and said Valentine's Day consumers could eat Ivorian chocolate with a clear conscience.

The West African nation, racked by conflict and unrest since a brief 2002 civil war, has come under increasing scrutiny from human rights and consumer groups who are campaigning for boycotts of foodstuffs tainted by violence, abuse or dangerous chemicals.

The Globalized Valentine Flowers

Reuters
02/12/2006

By Andrew Cawthorne and Jack Kimball

NAIVASHA, Kenya (Reuters) - A rubbish-strewn alley in a slum on the edge of Lake Naivasha in Kenya's Rift Valley leads to the cramped block where Julie Masete lives.

The 26-year-old flower worker spends her days in a nearby field, surrounded by tens of thousands of roses blossoming just in time for the global Valentine's Day market.

Masete points to black spots on her feet and says the pesticides and fertilisers used at the flower farm she works on give her rashes two or three times a month.

Sweatshop policy gains clout

Toronto Star
02/10/2006

By Tess Kalinowski

School board allies with workers group

Can monitor where uniforms are made

The Toronto Catholic school board has decided to put some teeth into a new policy requiring its uniform suppliers to guarantee that their garments aren't made in sweatshops.

Rubber plantation workers strike over conditions, pay, child labour

IRIN
02/10/2006

Angry workers have downed tools at Liberia’s largest rubber plantation, owned by Bridgestone/Firestone, saying that wages are so low that children as young as seven years old are being forced to help their parents meet production quotas.

Staff at the million-acre plantation told IRIN that 6,000 workers had stopped work since Monday to demand improved living conditions and wages. The strikers comprised 4,000 casual workers who score the rubber trees’ bark to tap them of their latex sap, and 2,000 administrative and domestic staff.

A thorn in Valentine's side: Traditional flowers might pose chemical risk

The Arkansas Traveler
02/10/2006

By Traci Waller

Thinking about the origin of a dozen red roses - the quintessential no-brainer Valentine's Day gift - might put a damper on the holiday love-fest Tuesday.

When flowers arrive on a girl's doorstep, she probably doesn't want to imagine their birth in Ecuador, where flowers are reared by masses of underpaid workers who suffer from several immediate and long-term health problems stemming from pesticide use and its hazardous residue.

Flower Farmers Going Organic

LA Times
02/09/2006

California growers hope to compete with South America's low wages and steady sunshine.

From Associated Press

WATSONVILLE, Calif. - Along a fog-blanketed swath of coastline waiting to burst forth with vivid colors, there are signs of the yesterdays, todays and tomorrows of the flower industry.

A Rose is a Rose... Or is it?

San Francisco Chronicle
02/08/2006

By Gregory Dicum

Valentine's Day is next week, and because I want to show my wife how much I love her, I've been thinking a lot about flowers.

I'm not the only one. This year, Americans will spend $20 billion on flowers and plants, with the bulk of cut flowers sold between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. The 180 million roses sold for Valentine's Day account for a third of the yearly total. It's a huge industry, on a par with something as ubiquitous as coffee.

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