Valentines' roses are 'green'

THE RECENT Valentine’s day ‘flurry’ saw Lufthansa Cargo flying 700 tonnes of roses to Europe from Kenya, Colombia, Ecuador and Ethiopia, all of which have a competitive advantage over the flowerproducing regions in Europe. Because roses thrive year-round in Kenya without the need of artificial irrigation or additional heating, and despite the air transport involved, airfreighting Kenyan roses produces less CO2 than growing them in greenhouses in Europe, according to a study conducted in 2007 by Cranfield University in Bedfordshire (UK).