Flowers, Diamonds, and Gold:
The destructive public health,
human rights and environmental
consequences of symbols of love
Martin Donohoe
Overview
 Flowers
 Diamonds
 Gold
 Alternatives/Solutions
“Say it with flowers”
Flowers
 Long
history of religious, folk,
heraldic and national symbolism
 Gifts of love, friendship and filial
devotion
 St. Valentine’s Day
 Mothers’ Day
The Floriculture Industry



$30 billion cut flower industry
Major producers: Holland, Columbia,
Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ecuador, India, Mexico,
China, Malaysia
World’s largest producer: Dole Fresh
Flowers
The Floriculture Industry


Largest import markets: U.S. and
Germany
Only 1/3 of cut flowers sold in U.S. are
domestic
 Most from CA
The 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
Floriculture and Women

Predominantly female workforce
 Low wages
 No benefits
 Short contract cycles
 Child labor, dismissal for pregnancy, unpaid
overtime common
 Women often must take pregnancy test or
show proof of sterilization before hired
Floriculture 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

Floriculture 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
Floriculture: 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
Floriculture: Toxic Exposures
Flowers carry up to 50X the amount
of pesticides allowed on foods
 USDA inspects for pests, but not
pesticides

Floriculture: Health Effects


Over 50% of workers have symptoms of
organophosphate pesticide exposure
(cholinergic symptoms)
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.)



EPA estimates U.S. farm workers suffer up
to 300,000 pesticide-related acute
illnesses and injuries per year
NAS estimates that pesticides in food
could cause up to 1 million cancers in the
current generation of Americans
1,000,000 people killed by pesticides over
the last 6 years (WHO)
Floriculture: 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
Floriculture: Health Effects
Local physicians poorly-trained, lack
resources to manage pesticiderelated health problems
 Many providers employed by
floriculture company
 Conflict of interest

Diamonds




Symbols of wealth, power, love, and magical powers
Created from carbon early in the earth’s history under
extreme temperature and pressure
 Industrial uses: cutting, chemically inert, transmits
many wavelengths of light, can be tweaked to hold
an electric charge
Discovered in India around 800 B.C.
Commercial mining began in 1866 in South Africa
World Diamond Mine Production
(1995-2011)
Diamond Production



Antwerp, Tel Aviv, New York, Mumbai
(Bombay), and Dubai major trading
centers
Most cutting done in Surat (India), Tel
Aviv, Antwerp, Mumbai, New York and
Thailand
Major retail markets U.S. and Japan
The Diamond Market




Annual retail sales = $72 billion (2012)
2008: Christie’s sells 36-carat diamond for
$24 million
World’s Largest Diamond: 40-carat Hope
Diamond at Smithsonian
Fun fact – some exoplanets contain
diamond layers thousands of miles thick
Kimberley Mine, SA
Yielded 3 tons of diamonds, Closed 1914
Mirny Diamond Mine, Siberia
Largest open diamond mine in the world
The 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
Cecil 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.”
Diamond Rings

1939: DeBeers hires N.W. Ayer and Company to
make diamonds “a psychological necessity…the
larger the diamond, the greater the expression
of love.”

By 1942, 80% of engagements in U.S.
consecrated with diamond rings (still true today)

Diamonds first worn by stars to the Oscars in
1942
Diamond 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
Later: Anniversary diamonds
Diamond 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”
Diamond Rings

2003: De Beers begins to market
diamonds to single women

“Your left hand says ‘we,’ your right hand
says ‘me.’”
Pet Jewelry:
The Diamond Dog Collar
Diamonds: 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 $50 billion
Diamonds: 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
Diamonds: Profits and Losses
 Middlemen,
diamond dealers and
exporters earn the lion’s share of
profits
 Most foreign nationals
 Very little profit re-invested in
local communities
Diamonds: Profits and Losses

2008: DeBeers settles several class action
lawsuits over anti-trust violations, unfair
competition, and consumer-protection
laws related to monopolizing supplies,
conspiring to fix/raise/control prices, and
disseminating false and misleading
advertising


Over $300 million plus prohibitions/oversight
DeBeers admits no wrongdoing
Diamonds: 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

Diamonds: 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 (e.g., RUF in Sierra Leone
killed and mutilated thousands via amputations with
machetes and axes in 1990s)
Diamonds: 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
Diamonds: 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
Diamonds: Human Rights
Abuses, Conflict and Terrorism

Accusations that television evangelist Pat
Robertson’s charity, Operation Blessing,
served as an elaborate front for his forprofit African Development Company Ltd.,
a diamond mining operation licensed by
Zairean President Mobutu, who had been
sanctioned by the UN over alleged human
rights violations
Gold
 Dominant
role throughout
history in the growth of
empires and the evolution of
the world’s financial
institutions
Uses of Gold



40% of gold mined today turned into
jewelry
40% used in financial sector (coins, ingots
for banks, other uses)
10% used by industry

Special properties: malleable, ductile, good
thermal conductivity, durable, and resistance
to corrosion
History of Gold




4000 B.C.: gold first fashioned into decorative
objects
By 1500 B.C.: the standard medium of exchange
for international trade
Used by Catherine de Medici as poison and by
physicians to treat rheumatoid arthritis
Mid-1800s: Gold Rushes in California and South
Africa
Gold Production




Top producers: China, Australia, United
States, Russia, South Africa, Peru
3,000 tons mined each year
Valued at over $20 billion
Typical piece of gold jewelry sells for at
least 4 times the value of the gold itself
The 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

How Gold is Used
(In Tons)
2400 = jewelry
 461 = industrial and dental
 445 = retail investment
 253 = exchange-traded funds

Gold Mining:
The Myth
Gold Mining:
The Reality
Gold Mining


Artisanal (15 million people, including
3 million women and children)
Corporate (few major corporations)
Mining:
The World’s Deadliest Industry
Tens of thousands killed mining gold
and other minerals over the last
century
 40 killed per day presently
 Activists (labeled eco-terrorists) at
risk from militias, paramilitary
contractors

Mining:
The World’s Deadliest Industry
Over 500,000 abandoned mines in
U.S. alone
 Estimated cleanup cost: $50 billion
 Union-busting / human rights abuses
help maintain cheap labor force

Mining:
The World’s Deadliest Industry
Local communities suffer
environmental damage, pollution,
dislocations
 STDs rampant, spread by miners to
wives and children
 FGC

The Resource Curse

Dependence upon gold mining
slows/reverses economic growth,
increases poverty, and encourages
governmental corruption
The Resource Curse
½ of gold produced worldwide
between 1995 and 2015 has or will
come from indigenous peoples’ lands
 Rural and indigenous peoples evicted
without prior consultation, meaningful
compensation, or the offer of
equivalent lands elsewhere

The Resource Curse
Benefits go to corrupt central
governments and overseas
corporations
 Little returned to local communities
 Casino economy

Environmental Destruction
¾
of active gold mining and
exploration sites overlap with
regions of high conservation
value, such as National Parks and
World Heritage Sites
U.S. Gold Mining

Mining Law of 1872
 Archaic law
 Mine purchase price between $2.50
and $5.00 per acre
 No royalties paid for gold mined on
public lands
U.S. Gold Mining

Generous government subsidies
 Cheap fuel
 Road building and other
infrastructure
 Reclamation and cleanup
U.S. Gold Mining


Local communities stuck with multimillion to multi-billion dollar
environmental cleanup costs when
mines declare bankruptcy or move on
Native Americans’ rights violated
Gold Mining
Gold = 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
 Cyanide paralyzes cellular
respiration

Gold Mining
Gold = Cyanide + Mercury

Mercury used to capture gold particles as an
amalgam
 Mercury converted to methylmercury in
environment
Significant neurotoxin
 Minamata Disease
 China, Brazil (Amazon)


37% of global mercury pollution due to gold
mining (major source = coal-fired power plants)
Minamata Disease
W Eugene Smith
Gold Mining
Gold = Cyanide + Mercury
 4000
tons used to purify gold
during 19th-Century Northern
California Gold Rush
Fish in Sacramento River and San
Francisco Bay still show elevated
levels
Gold Mining:
Environmental 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 fisheating animals, and poisons drinking
water

Gold Mining:
Environmental 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”
Gold Mining:
Environmental 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
Gold Mining:
Environmental Damage


Animus River spill, SW USA (2015)
Coastal dumping of gold mine waste
elsewhere damages estuaries and
coral reefs
Gold, Mercury and Malaria

Gold mining contributes to the spread of
malaria:



Mercury may lower immunity to malaria
Still pools of water serve as mosquito
breeding grounds
Migrant miners import new strains, infecting
indigenous peoples

E.g., Thousands of Yanomami Indians killed in
Brazil in late 1960s / early 1970s
Gold: Other Health and
Environmental Harms
Deforestation
 Gold smelting uses large amounts of
energy and releases SO2, nitrogen
dioxide, and other components of
acid rain


Contributes to asthma, skin ailments
Gold: Other Health and
Environmental Harms
High levels of neurotoxic mercury
found in artisanal miners
 Release of lead into soil and air
causes lead poisoning



Epidemic of lead poisoning in Nigeria
Silica exposure causes silicosis

Increases risk of TB
Gold: Other Health and
Environmental Harms
40% of Western U.S. watersheds
affected by gold mining pollution
 More than 25 mines (some still
active) on Superfund list
 Mine pollution ruins farmlands and
strains local food resources

Gold: 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)
Gold 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 women’s financial resources and
educational, political, and legal opportunities
Gold 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
Gold Mining: Human Rights Abuses

Grassberg mine, Indonesia (world’s 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
Gold 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
Gold: 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
Gold: Markets vs. Morals


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
Subsidies make it cheaper to extract new
gold than to recycle existing gold
Gold: 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)
Gold: 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 Banksponsored debt-forgiveness package
Radio talk show hosts hawking gold from
Goldline International, others
Other Items With Similar Human Rights
and Environmental Health Issues

Conflict minerals – for cellphones,
electronics, missile guidance systems,
etc.


2013: SEC notification required if Congo is
source of conflict minerals; “conflict-free”
label allowed if not
Chocolate
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

Flowers:

Grow your own

Potted plant
Symbols of Love: Alternatives
and Solutions

Flowers
 Purchase locally- or internationally-produced,
organically-grown, labor-friendly bouquets







Farmers’ markets, Whole Foods, other upscale markets
http://www.LocalHarvest.org
http://www.proflowers.com
http://www.organicbouquet.com
http://FlowerPetal.com (contributes to carbon offsets)
1-800-Flowers (some)
Others
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

Flowers:





Consumer education
Pressure on supermarkets, florists
Boycotts → voluntary eco-labels in Europe
NGOs developing industry standards
Food First Information Action Network’s
Flower Campaign → voluntary International
Code of Conduct
Alternatives 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
Alternatives and Solutions

Flowers:
 Veriflora Certification System: Campaign focused on
 Supermarkets (29% of U.S. flower sales, market
share increasing, 50 major companies)
 Less focus currently on wholesalers (1200
nationwide) and florists (30,000, 47% of market
share)
 Society of American Florists yet to endorse
 Fair trade flowers
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

Diamonds:

Consider alternatives to traditional
engagement ring
Cubic zirconium
 Synthetic/cultured diamonds – over 75,000 lbs
produced each year worldwide
 LifeGems (diamonds created from carbon captured
during cremation of human and animal remains!)
 No ring

Symbols 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
Diamond industry prefers self-regulation
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

Diamonds: Kimberly Process Certification
Scheme
 Requires rough controls to assure conflict-free
diamonds
 Governments license miners
 Diamond traders utilize sealed, tamper-proof
containers
 Integrated computer databases in importing
and exporting countries catch discrepancies
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

Diamonds: Kimberly Process Certification
Scheme
 Importing countries enact strict customs
regulations, backed by thorough inspections
and harsh penalties
 Supported by diamond industry and UN
General Assembly
 Involved countries (77) slow and often
ineffective in enacting Scheme
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

U.S. Clean Diamond Act of 2003




Mandates participation in Kimberly Process
Certification scheme
Money from fines (up to $10,000 for civil and $50,000
for criminal penalties) and seized contraband
earmarked for victims of armed conflict
Implementation slow
USA Patriot Act includes anti-money laundering
measures
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

Amnesty International/Global Witness
2006-2007 survey



½ of companies failed to respond
Only 38% of companies responding able to
provide a meaningful account of their policies
Helzberg Diamond Shops, Sterling (Signet),
and Tiffany and Co. have most
comprehensive policies
Conflict-Free Diamonds

2013: Only 11% of US jewelry stores have
a conflict-free diamond policy
Safe Diamonds (?)
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

Gold:
 No Dirty Gold Campaign:





Halt to production and sale of gold produced at
expense of communities, workers, and the environment
Mining companies not to operate in areas of armed
conflict
Companies representing 22% of US jewelry market
(accounting for $14.5 billion in sales) pledged
Take the pledge at http://www.nodirtygold.org
System similar to Kimberly Process
No Dirty Gold Campaign

Companies pledged include:





Zale Corporation
Signet Group (parent firm of Sterling and Kay
jewelers)
Tiffany and Company
Helzberg Diamonds
JC Penney
No Dirty Gold Campaign

Companies pledged include:






Cartier
Piaget
Van Cleef and Arpels
Fred Meyer
Wal-Mart
Jostens
No Dirty Gold Campaign

Companies pledged include:




QVC
Target
Sears
Pledging is just the first step
Alternatives and Solutions

International Labor Organization’s
Convention #169 Concerning Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples in Independent
Countries


Requires culturally-relevant consultation
before appropriation of indigenous peoples’
lands and that indigenous peoples participate
in benefits of mining
Signed and ratified by 19 countries (but none
of major gold mining countries)
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

Gold:
 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, and alternatives to mercury-based
smelting
 Extract gold from biosolids (sewage sludge) – worth
$millions
Minamata Convention


International agreement among over 140 countries
(including U.S.) to be signed October, 2013
 Places controls and restrictions on mercury use
 E.g., Medical equipment (thermometers), energysaving light bulbs, mining, cement and coal-fired
power plants
 Includes education and public health strategies to
identify and treat victims of mercury toxicity
UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples
Passed 2007
 Mandates principle of free, prior, and
informed consent before any mining
projects allowed on indigenous land
 U.S., Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand are non-signatories

Safe Gold
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions

Consider alternative tokens of affection



Homemade gifts (cards, photo collages,
videos, poems, meals, home improvement
projects)
Donations to charities
Eco-jewelry made from recycled materials by
indigenous peoples

Profits returned to local communities, providing
wide-ranging social and economic benefit
Conclusions


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
Conclusions


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
Paper/References
Donohoe MT. Flowers, diamonds, and gold:
The destructive human rights and
environmental consequences of symbols
of love. Human Rights Quarterly
2008;30:164-82. Available at
http://phsj.org/wpcontent/uploads/2008/02/symbols-of-lovehrq-pdf.pdf
Contact Information
martindonohoe@phsj.org
http://www.publichealthandsocialjustice.org
http://www.phsj.org