GARDEN- California Flower Growers Reach Out to Locavores

-California’s Central Valley

Thanks to writers like Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver we are in the middle of a global shift of choosing local produce instead of imported goods or those produced by large factory farms which are trucked across the country.

There is another group of farmers that want to participate in the local movement and protect their part of a shrinking business. It's the 250 cut flower growers in California that employ about 20,000 people. This may be an uphill battle unless the growers can compete with the international marketplace. Twenty years ago California supplied more than 60% of the nation’s cut flowers. Today that amount has been reduced to 25% as commercial airplanes zip back and forth from S. America to huge distribution centers in Miami daily undercutting the domestic growers. On-line shopping has also shifted business away from from the local florist or wire service to the lowest priced pre-packed imports- the ones that often arrive in a cardboard shipping box.

The California Cut Flower Commission is a state government agency created by the legislature to promote California-grown cut flowers and foliages. The commission kicked off a buy-local campaign last month starting in Vons and Safeway stores. The flowers will be displayed with “hint cards” noting various tips like; the Golden state’s flowers are America’s freshest. Whole Foods Markets have been tagging many of their produce and flowers with the locally grown signs as well.

Although I support this initiative and hope for the best, it may not be enough to effect the primary decision making of this impulse buy. First comes the perceived value and retail price so this may be effective as a secondary “feel good” emotion that comes after the purchase. One also imagines the reduced shipping and handling costs will help keep control prices.

Lastly I predict the awareness campaign will be more important for the self-purchase unless the pricing of CA grown flowers is less or equal to that of the imports. As for the flowers I buy for my own home; I want those to last as long as possible and here in Los Angeles they would most likely be those that are locally grown but the value must be there too. However as a gift I might be more frugal so if the less expensive flowers (of what ever origin) did not last as long – I would never really know.


www.ccfc.org/

www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/

www.michaelpollan.com/