Kate Trotter, Environmental Editor

The next time you’re wishing your boyfriend would give you flowers, think again. They may be a symbol of love and affection, but they are also the cause of the suffering of many workers.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 70 percent of flowers are imported:  59 percent of imported flowers are from Colombia and 15 percent from Ecuador.

Flower plantation workers near Bogota, Colombia are exposed to 127 types of pesticides.  About two-thirds of the Colombian workers suffer from headaches, nausea, rashes, asthma, and other symptoms of pesticide-related illnesses.  Not only have these pesticides harmed the human workers, but they have also depleted the groundwater.

Recent tests have revealed that Ecuadorian roses bought in a San Francisco supermarket contained Aldicarb, a highly toxic insecticide that is banned in 13 nations.  A study done by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization in 2000 showed 60 percent of Ecuadorians suffered from headaches, blurred vision, muscular twitching and other symptoms of pesticide poisoning.

Before being shipped to America, roses are fumigated with chemicals to kill insects and mildew and dunked in preservatives to keep them from rotting before their arrival and purchase.

While the pesticides in flowers cause serious health problems in workers, the only effects they have on consumers are possible aggravation existing allergies or chemical sensitivities.

Even though these flowers may not cause significant damage to Americans, we should still care about the workers who are being affected by the pesticide use on flowers.  So what should we do?  Flowers are Ecuador’s third largest source of income so if we stopped buying flowers from them, their economy would be hurt.  There is no simple solution to help both consumers and workers.

But for now, the best solution is to buy organic flowers whenever possible, such as at the Farmer’s Market in the River Market downtown.  Maybe one day Ecuador and Colombia can develop safer ways to harvest their flowers, but until then, just stick with chocolates.