Where Did That Bouquet Come From?
Exploring the Cut Flower Industry
Author: Sarah Pounders
Overview
In
the United States, cut flowers are popular gifts, and they play an important
role in key cultural rituals. Most of
the cut flowers available in this country are imported. This lesson
will introduce students to the cut flower industry, the concept
of imports and exports, and some of the issues and challenges inherent
in the cut flower business.
Objectives: Students will explore data compiled by
the USDA to learn about the cut flower industry and sharpen data analysis
skills. They will also consider some of the social and economic impacts
of the business.
Standards (Microsoft
Word document)
Materials:
USDA
Floriculture and Nursery Crops Outlook for 2006 (print just pages 13 - 17)
Exploring the Cut Flower Industry Worksheet
Background
People have used cut flowers to decorate and celebrate for thousands
of years. In some countries, fresh cut flowers are an everyday household
staple, but in the United States we usually purchase them as gifts
and for special occasions.
Though many people grow flowers for bouquets in their home gardens,
the trade in cut flowers is a
major international agricultural industry.
Think of all the places you see flowers for sale: florists (about 22,750
shops in the United States), grocery stores (nearly 23,000 sell flowers),
and some garden centers (approximately 16,500). Unlike many agricultural
crops where we produce much of what is consumed in our own country,
about 70% of the fresh flowers sold in the United States are imported
from other countries. Visit the Society
of American Florists and the USDA for
statistics of where cut flowers originate.
Domestic cut flower sources:
73% are from California
5% from Washington
4% from Florida
4% from Hawaii
3% from Oregon
2% from New Jersey
|
Imported cut flower sources:
59% are from Colombia
19% from Ecuador
10% from the European Union
3% from Canada
3% from Costa Rica
2% from Mexico
|
Why do so many of our cut flowers come from other countries, especially
South America? The climate and soil conditions there are excellent
for cut flower growth, and they
also have cheaper labor costs. This
means that South American farmers can produce high quality cut flowers
at a lower cost than many growers in the United States, who must pay
higher wages and need greenhouses to protect flowers from the elements.
Cold storage and fast shipping are both crucial to the existence and
success of the international flower market because it allows flowers
to arrive in retail stores while still fresh.
Laying the Groundwork
Ask students:
Exploration and Making Connections
Provide students with copies of the USDA Floriculture and Nursery
Crops Outlook for 2006 (see Materials, above) and ask them to answer
the questions on the Exploring the Cut Flower Industry worksheet. Use
the following questions to spark discussion about the answers they
come up with.
1. Have overall cut flower sales in the United States increased or
decreased since 1997? Why
do you think they have changed? (Decreased
demand, lower prices for retail flowers)
2. Why do you think the Western United States has the highest value
of sales of cut flowers? (Growing conditions in the region better suited
for cut flower production; most of the flowers are sold close to where they are grown; prices are cheaper due to greater supply and lower transportation costs.)
3. Why do you think the Midwest has the smallest value of sales of
cut flowers? (The inverse of answer 2).
4. Why do you think most of our flowers are imported from other countries?
(Other countries have more favorable climate; unemployment is high
so there are plenty of willing, low-paid workers, allowing them to
produce flowers at a lower cost.)
5. What are the benefits of this system?
(Imported flowers are cheaper; takes advantage of the good growing conditions in the region; provides jobs in countries where there aren’t many opportunities.)
6. What are some of the problems of this system? (Transportation costs - both financial and environmental;
drives down prices for domestic flower producers; worker treatment;
negligible pesticide regulation means that workers and the environment
may suffer from pesticide exposure and contamination.)
7. Based on this discussion, list the challenges faced by domestic flower
growers, retailers, and customers.
1. Set
up teams to debate the pros and cons of the current cut flower
industry.
2. Have students research fair trade cut flowers. Here are some
links to get you started.
VeriFlora
Fair
Flowers, Fair Plants
Guardian
Unlimited article
Food
Politics (a general overview of fair trade market issues)
3. Learn about careers in the floral industry. Download the Floral
Industry Careers Brochure from the Society of American Florists.
4. Invite a florist to come to your class and talk about the joys
and challenges of their profession.
5. Read about the cut flower industry from a more personal
view? Check out Dirt:
A Blog by Amy Stewart.
Locate flower producing/exporting nations on a world map an calculate how far they travel to their end markets.
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