HARTFORD—As Valentine’s Day - one of the busiest days of the year for the flower industry - approaches, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to demonstrate their support for the American flower industry by backing origin labeling for imported, non-local flowers. In his letter to Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Murphy notes the positive local economic impacts of supporting small and local flower growers, and highlights the environmental reasons to support local growers over the internationally imported growers.

I write to you today to request your continued backing of the American and locally grown flower industry by supporting country of origin labelling for imported flowers and encouraging American flower farmers to label their products as locally grown. Despite the presence of over 60,000 U.S. floral businesses, the vast majority of cut flowers are imported from countries such as the Netherlands, Colombia, Kenya, and Israel. However, in Connecticut alone there are over 1,700 nurseries businesses involved in the farming, sale, and maintenance of fresh flowers and plants…We must do more to support these small businesses that enhance our communities, employ our friends and neighbors, and produce beautiful products.

The full text of the letter is below:

The Honorable Thomas J. Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

I write to you today, with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, to request your continued backing of the American and locally grown flower industry by supporting country of origin labelling for imported flowers and encouraging American flower farmers to label their products as locally grown. As you well know, floriculture is the third largest U.S. agricultural crop and every state in the country has farms that are growing beautifully, locally grown flowers and plants.

Despite the presence of over 60,000 U.S. floral businesses, the vast majority of cut flowers are imported from countries such as the Netherlands, Colombia, Kenya, and Israel. However, in Connecticut alone there are over 1,700 nurseries businesses, which collectively gross over $800 million annually, involved in the farming, sale, and maintenance of fresh flowers and plants. Across the state garden centers, landscapers, perennial growers, and landscape designers employ 30,000 people in all of Connecticut’s 169 towns. We must do more to support these small businesses that enhance our communities, employ our friends and neighbors, and produce beautiful products.

In addition to the obvious local economic impacts, there are environmental reasons to support locally grown flowers. With up to ninety percent of cut flowers being imported from overseas, it is clear Americans still rely on international growers for the bulk of their flowers purchases. However, transporting flowers from abroad is immensely resource intensive because flowers must be flown to the U.S. and then transported to stores in refrigerated, fuel-inefficient trucks.

In the past year, there has been encouraging developments towards promoting awareness for American grown flowers. At last year’s State Dinner with President François Hollande of France, all the flowers were American grown and the White House worked to highlight the farms these flowers came from and the importance of the industry that produced them. I hope you will continue to support buying American grown products and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Christopher S. Murphy