Kenyan Flowers are Toxic

I came across this article from a lady in some forum, the discussion brought a lot to the fore front that we might want to think about as flower producers and/or consumers.

Flowers from Kenya aren’t only good for decorating the house but also help in terminating fruit flies.

I usually pack all fruits and vegetables in closed containers but they need air and sometimes the pills and remains in the dustbin all bring about small fruit flies which are such a nuisance.

My husband recently bought me a bouquet of flowers which according to the packaging come from Kenya/East Africa. Coincidentally, I left the flowers in a vase of water in the kitchen. After a while, I couldn’t believe my own eyes. On the water surface around the glass, there were numerous dead fruit flies, floating on the surface. I believe the fruit flies were attracted to the beautiful flowers only for them to be intoxicated immediately they got close to them.

The flowers must be soaked in so much pesticide that they should come with a label: “Caution! Do not Breathe!” or “Consumption can be Lethal”.

I’ll definitely not be placing those flowers on my dinning table as planned but will definitely leave them where they are, to reduce the fruit flies in my kitchen.

The short article got responses from others who definitely had another way of looking at the whole situation.

Not only are those flowers toxic to the workers at those farms in Naivasha but also the animals in the area. The flowers use up too much water such that the animals and the inhabitants of the area have no water because all of it is being used in the farms.

Although we could just boycott buying flowers from Naivasha, it wouldn’t help much because thousands depend on those farms for their livelihoods. Something has to be done.

What do you think could be done to solve this problem in Naivasha? In a perfect world, the farms would share the water with those around them and everyone would be happy. Extremists might ask for the farms to be shut down but what could be done to ensure the locals still have their jobs, while still maintaining their health and their environment?