Roses From Kenya

Fresh flowers can be a wonderful gift or a good way to brighten up a space. But have you ever wondered where the fresh flowers you buy come from, or what it takes for them to be available to you? This episode digs into the story behind cut flowers specifically looking at roses grown in Kenya.

Bio:

Dr. Megan Styles is an associate professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Studies at University of Illinois. Megan received her Ph.D. in Environmental Anthropology from the University of Washington in 2011. She also holds an M.A. in Anthropology and a B.A. in Anthropology and Environmental Studies. Megan’s research focuses on sustainable agricultural development, environmental justice, and conservation issues in East Africa and the United States. She is the author of Roses from Kenya: Labor, Environment, and the Global Trade in Cut Flowers, an ethnographic examination of the social and ecological effects of cut flower farming near Kenya’s Lake Naivasha. Megan is also the Co-Editor for Culture, Agriculture, Food, and Environment (CAFE), a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Anthropological Association. Megan’s work has also been published in Restoration Ecology and in an edited volume entitled The Ecotourism-Extraction Nexus: Political Economies and Rural Realities of (un)Comfortable Bedfellows. She has also worked as an environmental educator and applied anthropologist. She is passionate about teaching, mentoring students, and conducting research that will lead to a more just and sustainable future.

Further Readings:

Styles, Megan. (2019). Roses from Kenya. University of Washington Press. https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295746500/roses-from-kenya/