Blood Roses: Valentine's Day in Bogota

In an Internet café in Bogotá, Colombia, you could get the impression that you are in a modern European city. The streets are bustling with cars, vendors hawk mobile phone minutes, delicious snacks like green mangos and a fried doughy delight they call arrepas. Young people are lounging at the local cafes, sipping café con leche, and organizing clubbing events through Facebook. Wealthy Bogotains dress in designer jeans and t-shirts that reflect a pleasant breeze and the cool temperatures that characterize the capital city of Colombia. Bogotá sits at about 8,800 feet on a plain. Cool air and water flow down from the Andes peaks to create a year-round temperate climate and fertile soil. And while the much of Colombia is known for growing another kind of crop, the temperate savannahs of Bogotá are known for growing flowers, more specifically, roses.

In fact this Valentines day, about 250 million roses will be purchased, with the vast majority coming from Colombia. About two out of every three roses purchased originates in Colombia, and 90 percent of all Colombian flowers are sold in the U.S. The flower industry generates over a billion dollars in export revenue annually. It's big business, but it comes at a price. That price is that almost 80,000 women from rural Colombia are working for less than 50 cents an hour to pluck those beautiful bouquets. The working conditions are characterized by long hours and exposure to harsh chemicals. The mandate for pest-free flowers and aesthetically perfect roses, have created agricultural practices that are difficult for workers and pose long term consequences for the environment in Colombia. In short, these romantic icons have some pretty unromantic roots.

In an easily missed news item in late January, Secretary of State Condeeleza Rice was in Colombia promoting a free trade agreement. Over the past year, over 70 CODELS, or Congressional Delegations have come to Colombia to advance a free trade agreement, sighting a country that is trying to make a transition from its violent past. As those CODELS flew into Colombia and descended into Bogotá, one or two may have looked out their airplane window and noticed the hundreds of white squares, covering the landscape, like spilled dominoes. Those are the greenhouses where the flowers and the roses of Colombia's floral industry are grown, and where many of the Congressmen and women, (including Condi herself), would be taken for tours to promote this industry that in theory offers an alternative to the narco-economy that has been plaguing Colombia. I went on such a tour led by an organization called Asocolflores. Asocolflores is a trade association that promotes the Colombian flower industry. The tour especially promoted a label called Florverde, or Green Flower. Florverde is trying to become the dolphin-safe tuna of the Colombian floral industry. They are concerned with workers rights, sustainable agriculture, and reducing pesticide use. But the catch is that only about 40 percent of the farms have agreed to Florverdes standards, meaning that the vast majority of roses and flowers are still produced in a way that makes you think twice before showing love by purchasing that next long stem.

For example in 2006 in neighboring Ecuador, which has a budding (pun intended) rose industry, The Harvard School of Public Health did a study on the children of mothers who were working in the rose industry and had exposure to chemicals. The study indicated that "pesticide use is definitely impacting the offspring in terms of mental and neuro-physical abilities."

In Colombia, the scale of the industry exacerbates the scope of the problem. While organizations like Florverde are experimenting with non-chemical pesticide use, the majority of the industry is still dependent on harsh chemicals, which damage both the ground and the health of its workers. The greenhouses themselves amplify the problem by trapping the pesticides in a closed environment. The high demand for flowers, and the abundant supply of cheap labor means that productivity, not health is the bottom line. Take for instance the case of a worker who was refused employment unless she had her fallopian tubes tied. Couple the hiring practices with the employment practices -- 12-18 hour days for 50 cents an hour, and you have an industry that makes traditional sweatshops look almost bearable. Finally perhaps the most nefarious byproduct of the industry, the long-term toxic effects to the environment including the water supplies and land surrounding Bogotá, remain largely unknown.

So enjoy Valentine's Day. Express your affection for your spouse, domestic partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, lover, mistress. Just be aware when you give that beautiful bouquet of roses to your sweetheart, that every rose has its thorns.

Vanguard Journalist, Kaj Larsen and Jael De Pardo's "Blood Roses and Deadly Diamonds" pod airs tonight at 10PM ET/ 7PM PT in a Special Valentine's day report on Current TV.

Comments

[blogota]

I am confident that Asocolflores will eventually get every single farm to go Florverde. You seem to expect them to join overnight, and that's just not gonna happen, because it's unrealistic to think that they can just flick a switch. That's not the way businesses work here or in the US or anywhere, especially agricultural businesses. There's always resistance and fear of change. They probably have to do some testing too. And this does not mean that they're evil, it just means they want to be sure, and they have every right to. Green alternatives have not always been available so you have to give them time. By the way, Colombia also has a Ministry of Environmental Affairs. It is obvious to me that you should have asked both of these government agencies for their response to your assertions. I guess bloggers don't have to be fair and balanced(?).

[blogota]

About the long hours, with a high degree of certainty nobody forces anyone to do anything; in fact, these women are likely happy to work the extra hours for obvious reasons.

In addition, the flower industry is NO alternative to ilegal crops. The Colombian flower industry has been growing for many years with no relation whatsoever to the drug trade. FYI, coca does NOT grow in the cold outskirts of Bogotá like roses; coca needs a warmer climate.

Lastly, you state that these women are being no less than abused by employers. There is a Ministry of Labor here. Anybody CAN go to and denounce any unfair or ilegal employment practice, so I don't give any credit to your accounts of unfair treatment by employers. The ministry imposes hefty fines to companies that infringe local laws which, by the way, are very friendly towards emploYEES. As a side note, low-income Colombians tend to be very pregnancy-prone so, if the fallopian tube story is true, I don't blame the manager who told the minimum-wage worker to be more sexually responsible. You should see how they reproduce... (the worker probably already had 3 babies at age 24, I'm not kidding, that's how it is... husbands tend to be very machistas and prohibit contraceptives, they don't care that they are poor.. the more babies they conceive the more virile they feel).

I'm all for fair employment but I suggest you don't attack an entire industry that allows thousand of workers to make a decent living. If Americans stop buying Colombian roses, who do you think is going to go first? That's right, hundreds of minimum-wage women will be jobless (a percentage of which will likely be in early pregnancy). So your analysis is not only full of holes, but you're doing a disservice to those you're supposedly trying to protect.

[blogota]

Agree with TVDinner666. How's 'about 2 outof every 3' a 'vast' majority? You (Larsen) can't just throw out an hourly wage number without taking into consideration the local cost of living. Obviously you're no economist.

Regarding the 'harmful' pesticides, they're probably produced by some American megacorporation (Monsanto anyone?). I'm not sure, but it's very likely, so why not go after the companies that produce them instead of attacking an industry that is our pride. Have you researched US-grown crops? Are they 100% free of harsh chemicals? I didn't think so.

BTW, are you aware that the US sponsors a fumigation program in Colombia with glyphosphate? Brand name RoundUp from Monsanto, I believe.

[joebrilliant]

If you missed it on TV, can watch the full pod in its entirety here: http://current.com/items/88842037_blood_roses_and_diamonds

[Egghead]

Thank you so much for this article. People don't know about this and/or don't want to think about it.

[TVDinner666]

I'm glad you're covering this, as it's an issue whose time has come. I would have liked to know if the "florverde" variety is clearly labeled in the United States so we can buy those flowers instead of the others. Also, and this is a minor quibble, but 60% is not a "vast majority." It's a majority, for sure, but not vast.

Also, has the "florverde" label been thoroughly investigated? How do we know that their claims that they respect workers' rights and use minimal pesticides are true?

Finally, while the wages are low, I'm not sure how bad they really are compared to other industries in Colombia. $7.50 a day isn't too bad for unskilled labor in Latin America, although I do know Bogotá is a more expensive place to live than, say, Managua. This industry really does have the potential to spur development in a country that badly needs an alternative to the "underground" economy. I think if it gets cleaned up, it could really be a boon to Colombia.

Kaj, you've just touched the surface of this story. I hope you report on it more.