Title: Flowers, Diamonds, and Gold: The destructive public health, human rights and environmental consequences of symbols of love
1Flowers, Diamonds, and Gold The destructive
public health, human rights and environmental
consequences of symbols of love
2Say it with flowers
3The Floriculture Industry
- 30 billion cut flower industry
- Major producers Holland, Columbia, Kenya,
Zimbabwe, Ecuador, India, Mexico, China, Malaysia - Only 1/3 of cut flowers sold in U.S. are domestic
- most from CA - Worlds largest producer Dole Fresh Flowers
4The Floriculture Industry
- 190,000 workers in developing countries
- Ecuador and Columbia account for ½ of flowers
sold in U.S. - Most profit flows to large, multinational
corporations, headquartered outside producing
countries - Small amount reinvested locally
5Floriculture and Women
- Predominantly female workforce
- Low wages
- No benefits
- Short contract cycles
- Child labor, dismissal for pregnancy, unpaid
overtime common
6Floriculture and Labor
- Labor organizers harassed, workers fired for
trying to organize unions - Third party contractors shuffle workers from
plantation to plantation, avoiding payment of
social security and inhibiting union organizing
7Floriculture and the Environment
- Floriculture displaces crops grown for local food
consumption - Contributes to malnutrition and increased local
food costs - Requires large quantities of irrigation water
- 120 liters/dozen roses
- Contributes to drop in water tables
8Floriculture Toxic Exposures
- Flowers most pesticide-intensive crop
- Greenhouses increase ambient levels of pesticides
- 1/5 of pesticides banned or untested in U.S.
- Carcinogens, persistent organic
pollutants/endocrine disruptors
9Floriculture Toxic Exposures
- Flowers carry up to 50X the amount of pesticides
allowed on foods - USDA inspects for pests, but not pesticides
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12Floriculture Health Effects
- Over 50 of workers have symptoms of
organophosphate pesticide exposure - Other common health problems
- Allergic reactions, heat stroke, pneumonitis,
RSI, cellulitis, UTIs, neuropathies, mental
health problems, cancers, reproductive problems
(low sperm counts, spontaneous abortions, fetal
anomalies, etc.)
13Floriculture Health Effects
- Labeling, handling, and storage problems rampant
- Protective gear often lacking, not working
- Reuse of pesticide-saturated greenhouse plastic
for domestic purposes not uncommon - Workers wash / bathe children in same sink
14Floriculture Health Effects
- Local physicians poorly-trained, lack resources
to manage pesticide-related health problems - Many providers employed by floriculture company
- Conflict of interest
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16Diamonds
- Symbols of wealth, power, love, and magical
powers - Created from carbon early in the earths history
under extreme temperature and pressure - Discovered in India around 800 B.C.
- Commercial mining began in 1866 in South Africa
17World Diamond Production (1995-2011)
18Diamond Production
- Antwerp, Tel Aviv, New York and Mumbai (Bombay)
major trading centers - Most cutting done in Surat (India), Tel Aviv,
Antwerp, Mumbai, New York and Thailand - Major retail markets U.S. and Japan
- Annual retail sales 71 billion (2011)
19Kimberley Mine, SAYielded 3 tons of diamonds,
Closed 1914
20Mirny Diamond Mine, SiberiaLargest open diamond
mine in the world
21The Diamond Engagement Ring
- Diamond engagement ring introduced in 1477
(Archduke Ferdinand ? Mary of Burgundy) - De Beers Mining Company
- Founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1888
- Responsible for 40-45 of worldwide diamond
production and sales
22Cecil Rhodes(Rhodesia, Rhodes Scholarship,
DeBeers Mining Company)
- We must find new lands from which we can easily
obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit
the cheap slave labour that is available from the
natives of the colonies. The colonies would also
provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods
produced in our factories.
23Diamond Rings
- 1939 DeBeers hires N.W. Ayer and Company to make
diamonds a psychological necessitythe larger
the diamond, the greater the expression of love. - By 1942, 80 of engagements in U.S. consecrated
with diamond rings (still true today)
24Diamond Rings
- 1947 A diamond is forever slogan born
- Jewelers instructed to tell (pressure?) men - who
buy 90 of all diamonds to spend at least 2
months salary on the ring
25Diamond Rings
- 1999 Advertising Age magazine declares A
Diamond is Forever slogan the most effective of
the 20th Century - Recognized by 90 of Americans
- 1999 De Beers chairman Nicky Oppenheimer
Diamonds are intrinsically worthless, except for
the deep psychological need they fill
26Diamonds Profits and Losses
- 144 million carats rough diamonds mined for
jewelry per year - Worth approximately U.S.15 billion
- 1 carat diamond retails for 4,000-7,500 in the
U.S. - Cost less than 2 billion to extract
- Ultimately sell for over 71 billion
27Diamonds Profits and Losses
- Workers desperately poor but hoping to strike it
rich in casino economy - 1 million in Africa
- Work under dangerous, unhealthy conditions for
pittance - Diamonds may be embedded in asbestos
- Workers suffer from cancer, leukemia, silicosis
28Diamonds Profits and Losses
- Middlemen, diamond dealers and exporters earn the
lions share of profits - Most foreign nationals
- Very little profit re-invested in local
communities
29Diamonds Human Rights Abuses, Conflict and
Terrorism
- Mine owners violate indigenous peoples rights
via destruction of traditional homelands and
forced resettlement - Mining hastens environmental degradation of
ecosystems already under severe stress
30Diamonds Human Rights Abuses, Conflict and
Terrorism
- Diamonds have been used by rebel armies in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola,
Liberia, Zimbabwe, and Sierra Leone to pay for
weapons used to fight brutal civil wars - 3.8 million deaths
- Child soldiers
- Forced labor
- Sex slavery, HIV
- Terrorize local populations
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32Diamonds Human Rights Abuses, Conflict and
Terrorism
- Al Qaeda and Hizbollah have used diamond monies
to - Fund terror cells
- Hide money targeted by financial institutions
- Launder profits from criminal activity
- Convert cash into a commodity that is easily
transportable and holds its value
33Diamonds Human Rights Abuses, Conflict and
Terrorism
- Smuggled and illicit conflict diamonds may amount
to as much as 10-15 of diamond jewelry sold
worldwide - U.S. State Dept.
- 20
- Global Witness
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36Gold
- Dominant role throughout history in the growth of
empires and the evolution of the worlds
financial institutions
37Uses of Gold
- 80-90 of gold mined today turned into jewelry
- 10-20 used by industry
- Used by Catherine de Medici as poison and by
physicians to treat rheumatoid arthritis
38History of Gold
- 4000 B.C. gold first fashioned into decorative
objects - By 1500 B.C. the standard medium of exchange for
international trade - Mid-1800s Gold Rushes in California and South
Africa
39Gold Production
- Top producers China, Australia, United States,
Russia, South Africa, Peru - 2500 tons mined each year
- Valued at 21 billion
- Typical piece of gold jewelry sells for at least
4 times the value of the gold itself
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41The Wedding Ring
- Formulated from a variety of minerals throughout
history - As with diamonds, aggressive marketing has played
a significant role in popularizing the gold
wedding band
42Where is the Gold?
- Currently 3 times more gold sits in bank vaults,
in jewelry boxes, and with private investors than
is identified in underground reserves - Enough gold to meet current consumer demand for
17 years
43Gold MiningThe Myth
44Gold MiningThe Reality
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50MiningThe Worlds Deadliest Industry
- 12 million adults, 1 million children work as
miners worldwide - Tens of thousands killed mining gold and other
minerals over the last century - 40 killed per day presently
51MiningThe Worlds Deadliest Industry
- Local communities suffer environmental damage,
pollution, dislocations - STDs rampant, spread by miners to wives and
children
52The Resource Curse
- ½ of gold produced worldwide between 1995 and
2015 has or will come from indigenous peoples
lands - Dependence upon gold mining slows/reverses
economic growth, increases poverty, and
encourages governmental corruption
53The Resource Curse
- Benefits go to corrupt central governments and
overseas corporations - Little returned to local communities
- Casino economy
- Rural and indigenous peoples evicted without
prior consultation, meaningful compensation, or
the offer of equivalent lands elsewhere
54Environmental Destruction
- ¾ of active gold mining and exploration sites
overlap with regions of high conservation value,
such as National Parks and World Heritage Sites
55Gold MiningGold Cyanide Mercury
- At least 18 tons of mine waste created to obtain
the gold for a single 3 oz., 18k ring - Gold leached from ore using cyanide
56Gold MiningGold Cyanide Mercury
- Mercury used to capture gold particles as an
amalgam - Mercury converted to methylmercury in environment
- Significant neurotoxin
- Minimata Disease
- 30 of global mercury pollution due to gold
mining (major source coal-fired power plants)
57Minimata DiseaseW Eugene Smith
58Gold MiningEnvironmental Damage
- Contaminated groundwater often sits in large
toxic lakes held in place by tenuous dams - Release of cyanide and mercury into local
waterways kills fish, harms fish-eating animals,
and poisons drinking water
59Gold MiningEnvironmental Damage
- Omai gold mine in Guyana (one of the largest
open-pit mines in the world) - Tailings dam failed in 1995
- 3 billion cubic liters of cyanide-laden tailings
renders downstream 32 miles of Omai River, home
to 23,000 people, an environmental disaster zone
60Gold MiningEnvironmental Damage
- Baia Mare gold mine in Romania
- Tailings dam broke in 2000
- 100,000 metric tons of toxic wastwater spilled
- Fish killed, other animals harmed, drinking water
of 2.5 million people in Danube River watershed - Coastal dumping of gold mine waste elsewhere
damages estuaries and coral reefs
61Gold Other Health and Environmental Harms
- Mercury pollution contributes to the spread of
malaria - Gold smelting uses large amounts of energy and
releases SO2, nitrogen dioxide, and other
components of acid rain
62Gold Other Health and Environmental Harms
- Release of lead into soil and air causes lead
poisoning - Epidemic of lead poisoning in Nigeria
- Silica exposure causes silicosis
- Increases risk of TB
63Gold Other Health and Environmental Harms
- Water tables decline due to pumping of enormous
quantity of water to release gold from ore - Toxic pollution from gold mines affects 100
million people worldwide - Living near a gold mine costs 12.7 DALY loss
(i.e., productive lifespan cut by 12.7 yrs)
64Gold Mining Harms Women
- By displacing agriculture (where women play a
major role), removes women from labor force - Concentrates economic power in hands of men
- Diminishes womens financial resources and
educational, political, and legal opportunities
65Gold Mining Harms Women
- Mining employs a few women in low-level, clerical
positions, where they face severe discrimination,
sexual harassment, and firing for pregnancy - Women have to walk further to collect water
- Dowry-associated violence, esp. in India
- Utilization of child labor
66Gold Mining Human Rights Abuses
- Grassberg mine (worlds largest, owned by
U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan) - On land seized from Amunge and Komoro peoples
- Dumps tons of cyanide-laced waste into local
rivers each day - Operators implicated in forced evictions,
murders, rape, torture, extra-judicial killings,
and arbitrary detentions - Abetted by Indonesian military, which it has paid
millions of dollars
67Gold Mining Terrorism
- Echo Bay Mines Limited purportedly paid off Abu
Sayef (affiliated with Al Qaeda) in exchange for
protection of its Philippines-based gold mine
68Gold Markets vs. Morals
- Mining industry maintains strong ties with
governments to maintain status quo - 32 million spent on lobbying in 2011 (largest
recipient Mitt Romney) - Subsidies make it cheaper to extract new gold
than to recycle existing gold
69Gold Markets vs. Morals
- U.S. government has 8,134 tons of gold secured in
vaults (worth approximately 122 billion) - Federal Reserve and other major central banks
have agreed to severely restrict sales from their
reserves, offering, in effect, a price support to
gold
70Gold Markets vs. Morals
- Gold mining supported by World Bank and its
profit-making arm, the International Finance
Corporation - Gold industry blocking International Monetary
Fund- and World Bank-sponsored debt-forgiveness
package
71Symbols of Love Alternatives and Solutions
- Flowers
- Grow your own
- Potted plant
- Purchase locally- or internationally-produced,
organically-grown, labor-friendly bouquets
72Symbols of Love Alternatives and Solutions
- Flowers
- Consumer education
- Pressure on retailers
- Boycotts
- Food First Information Action Networks Voluntary
International Code of Conduct
73Alternatives and Solutions
- Flowers
- Veriflora Certification System
- Organic production with phaseout of pesticides
- Water conservation
- Safe waste management
- Mitigation of previous environmental damage
- Fair labor practices / fair wages / overtime pay
/ right to organize - Unannounced audits ensure compliance
74Symbols of Love Alternatives and Solutions
- Diamonds
- Consider alternatives to traditional engagement
ring - Cubic zirconium
- Synthetic/cultured diamonds
- LifeGems (diamonds created from carbon captured
during cremation of human and animal remains!) - No ring
75Symbols of Love Alternatives and Solutions
- Diamonds
- Purchase only verifiable conflict-free diamonds
- cut, color, clarity, and conflict
- Query jewelers, consumer education, boycotts,
protests, shareholder activism - Kimberly Process Certification Scheme
76Symbols of Love Alternatives and Solutions
- Gold
- No Dirty Gold Campaign
- Consumer pressure, boycotts, shareholder
resolutions - Consider recycled/vintage gold, eco-friendly
gold, alternatives to traditional wedding
ring/class ring - Develop biological and chemical treatments to
decrease/destroy cyanide, mercury and other
mining contaminants
77Safe Diamonds (?)
78Safe Gold
79Symbols of Love Alternatives and Solutions
- Consider alternative tokens of affection
- Homemade gifts
- Donations to charities
- Eco-jewelry made from recycled materials by
indigenous peoples - Profits returned to local communities, providing
wide-ranging social and economic benefit
80Conclusions
- Cut flowers, diamonds, and gold as symbols of
love are cultural constructs perpetuated in part
by the persuasive marketing efforts of
multinational corporations - Production involves significant damage to local
communities and the environment and harms men,
women and children
81Conclusions
- Production supports human rights abuses, armed
conflict, and even terrorism - Symbols of love should not be constant reminders
of death and destruction - Consider alternative symbols of love
- Work for social justice and change
82Paper/References
- Donohoe MT. Flowers, diamonds, and gold The
destructive human rights and environmental
consequences of symbols of love. Human Rights
Quarterly 200830164-82. Available at
http//phsj.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/symbols
-of-love-hrq-pdf.pdf
83Contact Information
- martindonohoe_at_phsj.org
- http//www.publichealthandsocialjustice.org
- http//www.phsj.org