{"id":2450,"date":"2025-04-14T06:30:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T06:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/?p=2450"},"modified":"2025-04-14T06:39:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T06:39:42","slug":"regularly-grown-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/regularly-grown-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Regularly grown plants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2018Regularly\u2019 grown plants? There is nothing normal about that<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Trouw-Bodewits-Regulier-geteelde-plantjes\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Make it clear in language how harmful intensive ornamental horticulture is, writes Karin Bodewits.<\/p>

This is an unofficial translation by Philipp Gramlich. The original article<\/strong><\/a> was published in Trouw, April 13th 2025.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Language matters<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Language matters. Certainly, in policy and consumer behavior. One term is consistently used in the public debate about ornamental horticulture and in garden centers. We talk about regular growers, regular shops, and regular supply. That implies: this is how it should be.<\/p>

Because people like to belong to the masses, they automatically choose what is presented as normal. That makes that one term powerful – and therefore also particularly dangerous. Because in the context of intensive ornamental horticulture, that designation has long since ceased to be neutral or factual. It is seriously misleading.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Just like in the meat industry<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What we call \u2018regular\u2019 refers to an intensive, chemically supported cultivation method: synthetic fertilizers, poison, heated greenhouses, peat use, year-round production, and worldwide distribution. This system is responsible for significant environmental pressures: from CO\u2082 emissions to biodiversity loss and the large-scale destruction of peatlands for peat extraction.<\/p>

As long as we continue to call this catastrophic system \u2018regular,\u2019 it will remain the norm. In policy, in communication, and consumer behavior. And the genuinely sustainable alternatives? They are dismissed as \u2018alternative\u2019, \u2018organic\u2019, \u2018ecological\u2019 or worse: \u2018expensive\u2019.<\/p>

Elsewhere, we have long recognized the power of terminology. For example, the meat industry has undergone language shifts: \u2018flop chicken (plofkip)\u2019, \u2018kilo-banger,\u2019 and even \u2018ultra-processed food\u2019 have penetrated policy and consumer language.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Policy starts with language<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This shift has influenced consumer choices and supermarket policy. In the tobacco sector, we speak of \u2018smoke-free generation\u2019 and \u2018addictive products\u2019 \u2013 no longer of \u2018stimulants\u2019. In mobility policy, we call air pollution a \u2018silent killer,\u2019 in energy, we speak of \u2018fossil subsidies\u2019 instead of \u2018tax benefits for companies\u2019.<\/p>

It is time that we also use different terminology in horticulture. The government is investing billions in the sustainability of agriculture and the circular economy. Climate round tables are organized, Green Deals are concluded, and subsidies are made available for greenhouses without emissions. However, as long as the terminology in reports and consumer communication confirms the old standard, sustainable alternatives will remain a niche instead of the new standard.<\/p>

It is time to talk no longer about \u2018regular\u2019 production but the actual cultivation method. Only in this way can we give consumers the choice that does justice to reality \u2013 and accelerate the transition in the right direction.<\/p>

Policy starts with language. Let us ensure that what we call normal is also really responsible.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opinie stuk in Trouw: \u2018Regulier\u2019 geteelde plantjes? Daar is niets normaals aan. Maak ook in taal duidelijk hoe schadelijk intensieve sierteelt is. Beleid begint bij taal. Laten we zorgen dat wat we normaal noemen, ook echt verantwoord is.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_canvas","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2450"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2457,"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450\/revisions\/2457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turfvrij.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}