Archive for August 22nd, 2009
Meanwhile… Daffodil Day
Yankee Elv is sick at the moment. Yesterday when I stopped off at the shops to get her some icy poles and ginger ale, since she can’t keep anything else down, I saw some fresh daffodils for sale. I bought some to cheer her up, and she really liked them. They’re in a vase in our bedroom right now, so she can see and smell them (they have a really strong, lovely smell).
Daffodils for Yankee Elv
Daffodils aren’t usually just sitting around in the supermarket, it’s just that Daffodil Day is coming up next Friday, so merchandise is everywhere. I don’t like to buy random stuff that I probably won’t use again (like badges or teddy bears), even if it is for a good cause. I’d rather just donate. However, the flowers won’t hang around in landfill for all time and there was a very good reason for purchasing them – to make Yankee Elv feel better!
It did get me thinking, on the bus home though. Where are the daffodils grown? Are they grown sustainably? And, big picture – are cut flowers bad for the environment?
I know that the flower industry in the US and South East Asia is really bad – lots of chemicals that leach into the ground and affect the workers, illegal workers who are taken advantage of, sometimes slavery is involved… but I thought that it couldn’t be that bad in Australia. I can’t find much on the importation of flowers to Australia (although Australia does make up about 1% of the world market in the cut flower industry, mostly exporting Australian and South African natives). Apparently we do import roses (and snow peas) from Zimbabwe, which is pretty bad considering we’re thus giving tacit support to Mugabe’s reign. I think the for the most part, Australia must grow it’s own flowers – apparently about 90% of flowers grown here are sold on the domestic market. If we imported more, then I think there would be some record on the net.
However, to be sure, I’ve emailed the Queensland Cancer Council, asking where the fresh daffodils sold for Daffodil Day are grown. I’m definitely going to be interested in the answer…
3 comments August 22, 2009
