The United States, particularly California, was once a leading producer of cut flowers that were sold internationally. Today, 80 percent of cut flowers in the US are imported from other countries, primarily South America and Africa.
In 1991 the US was cracking down on the coca trade and enacted the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) which provided duty-free imports to certain South American products such as live plants and flowers. For US flower growers, this led to a significant decline in their share of the US market, with market shares dropping from 64% to about 20% in 2007. While some US businesses have benefited from expanded trade, US flower farmers have not. The international cut-flower trade is a $36.4 billion industry.
Not only are we outsourcing a job that farmers in the US can fulfill, but there is also a huge environmental impact of how flowers are grown and shipped internationally. The production of cut flowers often involves the use of large amounts of water, pesticides, and other chemicals. These chemicals can contaminate water sources and harm the health of workers and nearby communities.
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