It's Thanksgiving time, or very nearly. It's cooling off, crispness in the air is reminding us of snow, gardens are over, stores are putting up garlands and lights, and suddenly the holidays are on everyone's mind.
A while back, while scrolling in the middle of the night while nursing a very wakeful baby, I came across a post of a woman gleefully sharing her choice to go plastic-free that year and choose a natural tree from a tree lot.
I considered scrolling on, because it's none of my business, and people are very attached to their Christmas trees, but suddenly I had to go back because actually, it is my business.
You see, I live in the Christmas Tree Capitol of the United States. A town that we frequent in our area literally grows the tree for the White House every year. Hundreds, or dare I say, probably thousands of people come up here right after Thanksgiving and clear out the Pick-Your-Own tree lots. Lowe's Hardware buys trees from farmers here. Almost everyone I know has worked at some point in a tree lot. Why? Because our main industry is catering to tourism and holidays, but that's a topic for a different day.
Suffice it to say, I know first hand about 'natural' Christmas Trees. Why do I keep putting natural in parenthesis? Because there's absolutely nothing natural about these trees.
Growing the Perfect Tree
The hunt starts earlier every year; the hunt for the perfect tree. It has to be tall enough, wide enough, full enough, green enough. Some people like a tree that looks like it's got snow on it, some like them plain. Growers and sellers realize this, and so they work hard every year to grow a tree that's perfect for every customer. They're thinking of Christmas season in the spring, when most people are finally enjoying the melting snow.
As our society starts to realize just how dangerous and long lasting plastic is, there's a growing movement to use more natural materials and move away from plastic as much as possible. This has led to the rise in 'natural' Christmas trees, although there was no shortage of people venturing into the wilderness of the mountains before for that authentic and perfect Christmas tree.
What many people don't realize however is that the plastic tree is no more harmful to your health or the environment than the tree you bought at that lot. If that sounds insane, allow me to explain.
Christmas Trees are like any other lucrative crop. They take land, water, and sunshine to grow. And like any other part of the natural world, they can be prone to infections, pests, and blights.
In regenerative farming practices, you would find natural ways to combat this issue, but Christmas Tree farming is often anything but regenerative. Millions of dollars pass through the hands of growers, lots, and sellers every year, and loosing huge swaths of crop would loose them money, not to mention give them what would be considered subpar crops.
So certain methods are used to stop certain issues, and grow the perfect tree for you, the consumer.
Dealing with weeds, pests, and similar issues is a huge problem for growers, not only of trees, but most farmers in general. As a way to get around the heavy workload that comes with weeding and pest control, most modern farms and tree lots turn to chemicals.
Chemical Warfare with Nature
Anyone who's ever tried to grow a garden, or even a houseplant, knows that pests and weeds can be a huge problem. Historically, pests such as locusts can be the catalyst to starvation for many cultures, and keeping invasive species of plants and vines out of your garden can feel like a full time job. Farmers have been fighting Nature for dominance since the dawn of time, and it's quite often a loosing battle. Droughts, floods, sun, and wind are all huge factors in the growing game, and while we do our best with what we've got, mankind fights most often against bugs and beasts. So how do farmers fill our tree lots (and grocery stores) with products so efficiently if there's so much stacked against them?
Enter the Golden Age of Chemistry.
Fresh off of World War 2, we had tons and tons of extra chemicals from warfare, and we didn't have any more Nazis to drop them on. We had discovered DDT could help keep bugs at bay, and the soldiers had been using them during the war. So, being the curiously creative beings we are, we decided to repurpose them.
Suddenly companies like Monsanto were selling pesticides that guaranteed to kill bugs, weeds, and slowly, the people who used it (but shh, Monsanto doesn't want you to know that they knew that already).
It was common to encourage children to wear DDT to keep bugs away, and crop spraying was done without regard to waterways, other plants, animals, or people nearby. Farmers were no longer fighting pests for their crops, and all seemed right with the world.
Of course, as DDT and pesticide use skyrocketed, so did environmental problems the world had never seen, as well as cancers, fertility issues, among other life-changing and threatening issues.
As Monsanto grew in money, and therefore power, they were able to easily buy off government officials, and while things like Agent Orange, another huge pesticide, is a well known danger, it didn't stop them from killing thousands and maiming thousands more before the US Government finally decided that it was unsafe.
Much like Agent Orange, things like Roundup Ready weed killer was largely seen as a good thing, until we started to realize it's deadly effects. Roundup Ready not only has a line of weed killer, but also a line of Roundup Resistant seeds, like soybean and corn, which is the most prevalent source of soy and corn in the US, and most of the world.
While Roundup Ready has a class action lawsuit currently going against them (which will make it difficult for the average citizen to use, but will not touch big growers), it doesn't stop people from using it en masse. One place this is seen prevalently is on Christmas Tree farms.
One study shows that in 2018, 97.5% of tree acreage was sprayed with Roundup Ready. Every tree farmer I've ever met, and pretty much everyone who's worked in the lots, openly embraces Roundup and the steady use of GMOs and GMO products, not just for growing the perfect Christmas Tree, but for having weed-free lawns, and growing pest resistant crops.
So, again, you may ask, why exactly do I care so much? And why now? Can't I just not buy a sprayed tree if that bothers me? And it's not like I celebrate Christmas anyway, why am I worried about it? Aside from the fact that I can happily say bah-humbug to the cheery season of Christmas Trees because I do not celebrate the holiday, the Christmas Tree industry is a tiny sector of a massive problem, and this particular one directly effects my family. And because, while Christmas Trees are a tiny portion on most people's year, they're one of the main imports here, and the spraying is happening all year long.
Why This Matters
"But GMOs help people in food deserts be able to eat!"
"But the Christmas Tree is only in my house for a little while!"
"But plastic is so much worse for the environment!"
"It's not that big a deal, it hasn't killed us yet!"
I have heard all of these things from real, actual people. These things don't matter to some, and even when presented with all the facts, some people are more than happy to close their eyes, stop up their ears, and continue to poison themselves, their neighbors, their children, their animals, and the people unfortunate enough to work and live near industrial Christmas Tree and Agriculture farms.
Does that seem a little harsh? Well, what RoundUp is doing to your body and the environment is pretty harsh too. Does reproductive harm sound harsh? What about cancer?
If it's so bad, then why is it still on shelves, you may ask. Excellent question.
If you Google the side effects of RoundUp Read or even Glyphosate itself, you'll be met instantly with a wall of 'facts' telling you that the science says glyphosate hasn't shown any carcinogenic or reproductive harm in studies. That's because these 'studies' have been funded or ghost written by employees of Monsanto, the very company that makes RoundUp and depends on Glyphosate use. Sound suspicious?
Another issue, if the health of your family isn't as big of a concern for you, is that Christmas Tree farmers are known to hire illegal immigrants with no legal recourse to be the ones spraying in the Christmas Tree lots. If you drive through the areas where the trees are grown, you might see signs in the summer warning you not to enter the lot while spraying is happening, because it's dangerous, but look past that sign and you'll see dozens of immigrants spraying the trees. The owners of the lot sure aren't the ones putting themselves at risk, but they're more than willing to send in people who can't do anything about it because they would risk being deported.
Some of the other people you'll often see working the lots are the impoverished people who live in the area. The county these trees are often grown in, Avery County, sees health issues like nowhere else. Cancer is the leading cause of death here, and although nobody wants to admit it, it's due largely to the mass amounts of Glyphosate and RoundUp sprayed here. It's not just confined to the trees; it gets into the water, and it stays in the area for years. Given that this is a mountainous region, you also have to consider how many people are downhill from tree lots (the lots are often up the sides of mountains to have better access to sunlight).
It's no coincidence either that we aren't supposed to talk about it. I've had so many conversations with locals who are furious that I would even suggest that the trees are killing us. We've been taught since an early age that the stuff they spray on the trees is harmless, and if you ask any grower, they'll repeat that lie with a giant grin and a pocketful of money. I know that just by writing and sharing this, I'm going to get flack from local families who's livelihood depends on this crop of cancer.
But don't think this crusade is purely because of a distant fear of cancer. Both of my grandparents who lived in Avery County died from cancer. Not mild cancer, but aggressive, gets-in-you-whole body cancer. I also have friends with 'unexplained' health issues that were unable to be solved, and known people who've had to have heart surgery before they were 50. Avery, and surrounding tree-growing counties, are extremely proud of the industry built here, and Christmas is one of the most important holidays of the year because it's when impoverished families are able to make the most money, but at what cost?
What about you?
So what can you do about it? The truth of the matter is, this is a million dollar industry, and it's not going to topple anytime soon. The citizens of this region hold on tightly to traditions, and Christmas trees grown for the White House is a source of pride. The Tree Growers are insulated from backlash, because they quite simply have the funds to keep any environmentalists away. And even though there is some headway in mass lawsuits against the Glyphosate-pedaling company, it would only, at best, take RoundUp off the shelves of your local nursery, but won't be able to touch the agriculture giants that are truly poisoning the ground water and air across the planet.
Avery Country Christmas Trees are a small sector of the Agriculture business model that has wrecked our planet. Through no fault of our own, people have been conditioned for generations not to question the weed killers, fertilizers, and bug repellents used on our food or the trees we bring into our home. GMOs are as popular as they ever were because most people don't even realize, or feel like there's no other options.
I'm not here to offer solutions for the entire Ag Business and it's issues, but I am here to spread awareness. In my case, I don't celebrate Christmas for a myriad of reasons (another post for another day, but if you're interested why I, a Believer, don't, here's a good video to get you started).
But I know a great many Americans will celebrate Christmas this year, next year, and until the end of time. So that leaves you with the dilemma of what to do. I can't answer that question for you; certainly, a plastic tree will still be sitting in a landfill when your great-great-grandchildren have children, but a tree covered in Glyphosate might kill your kids before they can have kids of their own (or make them infertile). So is there a safe, healthy, environmentally friendly option? I suppose you could grow your own, or go into the woods to find one, but if we all did that, would we cause pine trees to go extinct? Not to mention, you really can't just cut down a random tree that belongs to someone else, or in the National Forests.
I'm going to go out on the proverbial pine limb and say there's not a safe, environmentally friendly, and legal way to get a Christmas Tree for the majority of Americans. It seems hopeless if you're hung up on getting a tree into your house. I'd argue that maybe that's a sign that you should dig deeper into the true meaning of the holiday, and decide if maybe it's not a holiday worth celebrating anyway. It's hard to ignore the fact that, while Christians claim that it's a high holy day for their religion, virtually everyone regardless of religion celebrates Christmas in exactly the same way, but that's not the point of this post.
I hope this has given you some pause when you're deciding what route to take this holiday season. Please remember that your fun, family traditions of going to the mountains to pick a tree from a tree lot is a years-long commitment for people who live here, and that supporting a business that blatantly lies about the safety of the products they're using is how they're able to continue to do what they do.
But don't take my word for you. Dig this up on your own. Do your own research. And have a lovely winter season.
*pics from Google
*this post has been written over the course of two years, due partly to the fact that sharing on this subject makes me a bit of a pariah in the community I live in. Please have patience with me as I update when new information on the Monsanto-Glyphosate trials comes out.
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