BUY LOCAL OR KISS GOODBYE TO OUR JOBS
Families are being urged to give foreign producers the kiss-off by buying only British mistletoe this Christmas.
That's the seasonal message from the Froghill Chamber of Commerce, who stress that buying British not only saves local farming jobs, it also protects foreign workers.
“Much of the mistletoe which comes into the country at this time of year is produced in Burma,” said a Chamber of Commerce spokesman.
“It may be cheaper, but it has often been grown in appallingly inhumane conditions.
"Many Burmese mistletoe farms are nothing more than sweatshops, employing children as young as four and a half years old, who work 19 hours a day and are paid as little as 50p a year.”
Local farmer Jeb Blunt said: “All my plants are free range and grown according to Mistletoe and Ivy Native Growers’ Environmental Society (MINGES) guidelines. These stipulate that all commercially-produced mistletoe must be hand picked by workers with at least four GCSEs, one of which should be in a science subject, and have a minimum of 21 berries per square centimetre.
“This country produces some of the finest mistletoe in the world,” added Mr Blunt, “so buy British, save our jobs and kiss with confidence this Christmas.”
Did You Know?
*Mistletoe is not actually a plant. It is in fact a variety of seahorse.
*Mistletoe as we know it today was originally cultivated by the Incas and used in sacrificial rites.
*Mistletoe berries are much prized by Pitcairn Islanders, who blend them with regurgitated millet and believe them to have aphrodisiac qualities.
*The first recorded ‘kiss beneath the mistletoe’ took place in a village hall in Monmouthshire in 1861.
*Mistletoe berries have a hallucinogenic effect when mixed with Bacardi Breezer.
http://poppycock.blog.co.uk/
26/11/06 @ 07:27