Do You Care Where Your Flowers Come From?
I can tell you that if you don't care, you really should. Did you know that 80% of the flower bought in the US are grown outside the US? It's true, that means that only 20% of the flowers sold in America area grown on American soil. You might wonder why this is and it's as simple as this - consumers want low cost. But wanting everything at a low cost can be a high price to pay as we see less and less being "Made in America".
As I read a view point in Floral Management Magazine written by Lane DeVries, who is the current Chairman of the California Cut Flower Commission, part of what makes flowers less costly coming from Columbia has been because of the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act, which provided duty free access to flowers from being imported from South America. As part of the geopolitical interest of the US, through "Plan Colombia", as the federal government called it, our government has "Invested" an estimated $570 million of U.S. taxpayer money into the Colombian economy since 2007, according to the U.S. State Department.
"Domestic flower farmers have paid the price for these federal trade policies. We have seen a marked decline in flower growing operations and much - needed jobs in our own country as a direct result of these trade policies" says Lane DeVries in his Floral Management View Point. "California's flowers are America's flowers. I can see a future where consumers request local flowers from local florists, and that is a future worth fighting for".
For more information about the California Cut Flower Association you can visit their website at http://www.ccfc.org/. Lane is the President of Sun Valley Floral Group in Arcata and Oxnard California. Thank you to Society of American Florists, SAF is the only national trade association that represents all segments of the U.S. floral industry. Their 15,000 members are the industry's top retailers, growers, wholesalers, importers, manufacturers, suppliers, educators, students and allied organizations. SAF is the face and voice of a strong, unified floral industry. To learn more about Monday Morning Flowers visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.com
"Domestic flower farmers have paid the price for these federal trade policies. We have seen a marked decline in flower growing operations and much - needed jobs in our own country as a direct result of these trade policies" says Lane DeVries in his Floral Management View Point. "California's flowers are America's flowers. I can see a future where consumers request local flowers from local florists, and that is a future worth fighting for".
For more information about the California Cut Flower Association you can visit their website at http://www.ccfc.org/. Lane is the President of Sun Valley Floral Group in Arcata and Oxnard California. Thank you to Society of American Florists, SAF is the only national trade association that represents all segments of the U.S. floral industry. Their 15,000 members are the industry's top retailers, growers, wholesalers, importers, manufacturers, suppliers, educators, students and allied organizations. SAF is the face and voice of a strong, unified floral industry. To learn more about Monday Morning Flowers visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.com
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