NY Times, Feb. 13, 2003
Behind Roses' Beauty, Poor and Ill Workers
By GINGER THOMPSON
CAYAMBE, Ecuador, Feb. 10 � In just five years, Ecuadorean roses, as big
and red as the human heart, have become the new status flower in the
United States, thanks to the volcanic soil, perfect temperatures and
abundant sunlight that help generate $240 million a year and tens of
thousands of jobs in this once-impoverished region north of Quito.
This St. Valentine's Day, hundreds of American florists and catalogs are
offering the roses of this fertile valley. Calyx & Corolla, for
instance, bills it as a place "where Andean mists and equatorial sun
conspire to produce roses that quickly burst into extravagant bloom,
then hold their glory long after lesser specimens have begun to droop."
But roses come with thorns, too. As Ecuador's colorful blooms radiate
romance around the world, large growers here have been accused of
misusing a toxic mixture of pesticides, fungicides and fumigants to grow
and export unblemished pest-free flowers.
As in other industries like garment production, bananas and diamonds,
the poor worry about eating first and labor conditions later. They toil
here despite headaches and rashes here for the wealthier of the world,
who in turn know little of the conditions in which their desires are met.
Doctors and scientists who have worked here say serious health problems
have resulted for many of the industry's 50,000 workers, more than 70
percent of them women. Researchers say their work is hampered by lack of
access to flower farms because of reluctant growers. But studies that
the International Labor Organization published in 1999 and the Catholic
University issued here last year showed that women in the industry had
more miscarriages than average and that more than 60 percent of all
workers suffered headaches, nausea, blurred vision or fatigue.
"No one can speak with conclusive facts in hand about the impact of this
industry on the health of the workers, because we have not been able to
do the necessary studies,"said Dr. Bol�var Vera, a health specialist at
the Health Environment and Development Foundation in Quito. "So the
companies have been able to wash their hands of the matter."
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/13/international/americas/13ROSE.html
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