Bananas: A problematic product with the ability to improve

1. Bananas: A problematic product with the ability to improve By : Jessica Pederson

2. About Bananas Bananas are an ideal crop because: Fast growing Require little labor to cultivate Are a leafy plant, which provides shade for any plants growing alongside them

3. History • First domesticated in Southeast Asia several thousand years ago • Multiple varieties have since emerged • Has been cultivated in Americas for approximately 400 years. • Grown mainly in global South countries such as: Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.

4. History • Up until the 1800’s consumption was confined mainly to the tropics where it was produced. • Larger scale production of the plant began around 1873 • Expansion of consumption really jumped in the 1920s.

5. History • Although multiple varieties have emerged, only a few have become predominant. Two of these are: • Gros Michel • Cavendish • With fewer varieties being grown, a change in growth systems occurs.

6. Production • Change from multiple smaller growers to larger scale monocultures • Few companies gained control of land and production

7. Production “Due to early success of the banana trade, many small nation-states were monopolized by plantation economies, resulting in the decline of secondary industries and services. It is a tragic legacy of this dependence that these plantations still offer the most stable form of income for rural populations”

8. ChainofProduction Includes at least five parts Plantation: growth (cavendish – 9 months) and harvest Packaging: When packing bananas they are separated, washed, wrapped and packaged (usually by women workers) Shipping Ripening- Once arrived to countries where they will be sold- ripened with chemicals if necessary. Retailers.

9. Fair Trade and Alternatives? • Small scale banana production fits best into alternative options. • “Exporters in Azua believe the Fair Trade market may represent the only viable option for these growers to continue cultivating bananas”

10. Fair Trade and Alternatives? • Pros: • Makes production more sustainable • Fair Trade Premiums • Alternative Market designed specifically for small growers • Lowers risk of water quality damage, land management risks, agrochemical risks etc.

11. Fair Trade and Alternatives? • Cons: • Greenwashing with larger companies • Lack of Transparency at times • Distributor dominance • “the top-down/Northern-driven approach taken by the Fair Trade organizations raises concerns about why the monitoring is focused on the relations of production in the South while Northerners’ over-consumption is not challenged” (p.21).

12. Does it really Work? Are products like this Dole banana really working under a new system or are they a part of a greenwashed conventional one? Although there are some problems cited within already existing alternative systems, that does not mean it will not work in the future. Rather than abandoning something that is a better option overall, we can simply work to make it even better.

13. MOVE FORWARD!