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Pesticide Action
Network Updates Service (PANUPS) Floriculture: Pesticides, Worker
Health & Codes of Conduct In many cultures fresh cut flowers
are deeply symbolic. As a gift they embody a universal desire for connection--to
other people, to the beauty of nature, to God. What is deeply ironic is
the extreme disparity between the symbol and the real circumstances of
their production. Fact is, the rapidly growing floriculture industry is
a heavy user of pesticides and is poisoning its workers and the environment
in a number of Latin American and African nations. A May 2002 cover story in Environmental
Health Perspectives, published by the U.S. Department of Health, pulled
together current research on worker and environmental health in the cut
flower industry, which is increasingly concentrated in countries that
are near the equator with low labor costs. Holland remains the world's
largest producer of cut flowers, but Colombia is now a close second--one
of every two flowers sold in the U.S. is grown in the Colombian savanna
surrounding Bogota. Colombia flower workers number 80,000, with another
50,000 in packaging and transportation. China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India,
Malaysia, Mexico, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe all now export cut flowers.
According to a report by the International Union of Food, Agricultural,
Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers and Food First
Information and Action Network (FIAN), 190,000 people in developing countries
work in the flower business. A 2000 report by Gwen Curtis,
One Woman's Present, Another Woman's Poison, traces the
growth and globalization of the cut flower industry, which grew by a factor
of nine between 1994 and 1999. International development agencies push
floriculture as an exportable alternative to traditional crops, but increased
competition for water and croplands near transportation centers has created
conflicts with indigenous farmers. In rural economies where food shortages
are routine, the large-scale production of resource-intensive, non-edible
crops does not contribute to food security. Environmental & Worker
Health Statistics on pesticide use in
the industry are hard to obtain, but flower growers use a variety of fertilizers,
insecticides, fungicides, nematocides and plant growth regulators. In
the U.S., flower imports are not inspected for pesticide residues because
they are not edible; however, since flowers are considered an agricultural
product, they must be pest-free when imported. As a result, trade regulations
in countries like the U.S. and Japan actually promote use of the highly
toxic fumigant methyl bromide, also a potent ozone depleter, for some
flower exports. Pesticides can cause cancer, birth
defects, reproductive and nervous system damage, and floriculture workers
are exposed at numerous stages of plant growth. Worker exposure is of
particular concern in greenhouses, where up to 127 different chemicals
are used in enclosed spaces--increasing risk of exposure through the skin
and by inhalation. According to one study, some flower greenhouses in
Mexico's state of Morelos, use 36 different pesticides, including
the persistent organochlorines DDT, aldrin and dieldrin. A study of fern
and flower workers in Costa Rica found that over 50% of respondents had
at least one symptom of pesticide poisoning, such as headache, dizziness,
nausea, diarrhea, skin eruptions or fainting. In Ecuador, nearly 60% of
workers surveyed showed poisoning symptoms, including headaches, dizziness,
hand-trembling and blurred vision. Reproductive problems are also a concern;
studies of the largely female workforce in Colombia found moderate increases
in miscarriages and birth defects among children conceived after either
parent started working in floriculture. A Danish study of Colombian flower
workers concluded that female floriculture workers had reduced ability
to become pregnant, and that sperm concentrations were 40% lower in male
workers with long term exposure (more than 10 years). Indications of genetic
damage were also found in studies of workers exposed to organochlorines
in greenhouses in Mexico. Consumer's Choice for
Workers Rights In the early 1990's, as consumers
were increasingly concerned about conditions in the cut flower industry
Food First Information and Action Network and Bread for the World began
a European campaign to certify flower producers. In 1999, the Flower Label
Program was launched in Germany. Growers sign on to an International Code
of Conduct (ICC) for the socially and environmentally sustainable production
of cut flowers. Based on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
the ICC mandates living wages, the freedom to join trade unions, a ban
on child labor, guaranteed health and security standards, reduced use
of pesticides and protection of the environment. The industry has responded with
voluntary certification programs, such as Florverde in Colombia, Sello
Verde in Ecuador and the Kenyan Flower Council, each with different standards
based on their country's regulations. The programs offer some improvements
in worker safety but do not approach the protections in the International
Code of Conduct particularly for workers rights to free association and
to form their own unions. A current FIAN campaign is focused on basic
organizing rights for a Colombia flower workers union. (Contact FIAN Deutschland
e.V. for information, below.) As the Flower Label Program's
coalition of labor and environmental advocates continue their course,
the cut flower industry's promotional phrase, "Say it with flowers"
will gain a new subtext; "Say yes to environmental health and social
justice." Sources: "The Bloom
on the Rose, Looking Into the Floriculture Industry", Focus, pp.
240-247, Environmental Health Perspectives, Journal of the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, May 2002, Vol. 110, #5;
Public health Service, U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services, Washington
DC. and Gwen Curtis, "One Woman's Present, Another Woman's
Poison," for the abstract: http://www2.niwl.se/wwh/wwhsearch/detail.asp?ID=6. For more on the Flower Label
Program: FoodFirst Information and Action Network, FIAN Deutschland
e.V., Die Blumen-Kampagne, Overwegstr. 31, D-44625 Herne, Germany; phone
(49-02323) 490-099; fax (49-02323) 490-018; email blumen@fian.de;
Web site http://www.fian.org. |
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