Roses: Why Not To Buy Them

I'm sure we all know of Blood Diamonds, thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly in the 2006 movie. If you don't know, rent it and see that the diamonds that women adore and want so much may cost someone their life. Most diamonds around the world are "Blood Diamonds", meaning that some one's life was taken so a diamond could be shipped to countries like the U.S to be sold. Most people don't have a clue about this and well don't care....so I'm sure they don't care about or know of "Blood Roses."
Like blood diamonds, blood roses also take lives too....except these lives don't even make it out the womb. So the roses we buy for Valentine's and Mothers Day, about 90% of the roses come from Colombia. Making them (Colombia) the main supplier of roses. You ever hear each rose has its thorn....well here's the thorn.
These roses require painful, low-paid labor by a workforce that's largely female. The roses require a huge work force, since the roses require individual attention by a single person. This attention leaves thw workers exposed to pesticides in the fields and to the fungicides that flowers are dipped in prior to shipment. These chemicals cause widespread headaches, asthma, nausea, and impaired vision, plus miscarriages among pregnant women. The repetitive tasks and long hours have also left many flower workers with painful carpel tunnel injuries. It has even crippled some.

The employers are aware of the fact that the chemicals can cause such things. Like I said above, the workforce is comprised of maily women. So, a young woman who has no education and needs to survive, this maybe the only job for her. If she wants to have food to eat, she must take the job and she must also must have her fallopian tubes tied, because the employer doesn't want to be responsible for yet another miscarriage. The young woman, who needs to survive has to take this job and either she suffers a miscarriage or has no children at all. These employers don't care because this is a billion dollar business and sadly the workers don't have many choices. Like blood diamonds, they don't care who lives or die...because it's all about money. The flower business has been described as worst than a sweat shop, and when Valentine and Mother's day come around....these women are lucky they get to sleep.
In the United states only two flower-sellers in the entire country Freshblooms in New Jersey and Organic Bouquet in California have so far embraced flowers from VeriFlora, a grower who don't use the pesticides that sicken flower workers and they agree to respect local labor rights and environmental regulations.
So, the next time you want to buy roses for that special someone, think again or at least make sure they are not from Colombia. It maybe hard, since they are the #1 supplier to the United Sates.