| Most studies of global commodity chains have focused on systems that are driven by either large producers or by large buyers. Little attention has been paid to alternative chain structures driven by intermediaries or middlemen. Even fewer studies are able to trace the commodity in question through the entire chain from producers to consumers. This dissertation examines the global fresh cut flower trade, arguing that the system that links flower growers in Ecuador and the Netherlands, among other countries, with the American consumers must accommodate continuous adaptation. By following the lives and relationships of individuals connected by fresh flowers, this study demonstrates how human agency creates the chain and individuals cooperate to constitute the cultural meaning expressed through the exchange of one commodity.; This dissertation also argues that consumers have some power in shaping markets. The commodity chain that brings fresh flowers to New Yorkers in particular, has continuously expanded and adjusted. After describing such changes in the Gilded Age (1870–1920) and the transforming pre- and post-War period marked by mass production and mass consumption (1930–1970) this ethnographic research focuses on the late modern period (1970–2000). By analyzing recent shifts in favored flowers, consumer practices, competition and adjustment among flower growers and traders, it reveals some of the mechanisms of change and their effects on people—producers, middlemen and consumers—and on the global commodity chain itself.; Fresh flowers have a primary cultural function: to clarify and communicate social and cultural meanings. This unusual characteristic allows shifting patterns of flower consumption to be read as reflections of changing cultural understandings. These altered understandings—or meanings—connect, in turn, to broader economic, social and cultural change and adjustment. Recent alterations in floral tastes and practices reflect new concern with identity, relationships and the negotiation of lifestyle choices in late modernity. This study shows how tastes and identity-construction are mediated by the content of particular categories of magazines. It also argues that some consumers actively collaborate with these forms of mediation. They employ them to inform their tastes and behavior, to acknowledge social roles and shape identities. |
