The political power behind the peel
Mmm, bananas! High in potassium. Seedless. The butt of every phallic joke. We can put them in our cereal or even use them to shine our shoes.
Indeed, bananas are America's most popular fruit. The delectable fruit accounts for 2 percent of supermarket profits; the average American even consumes 28 pounds of bananas per year!
"Wow Mom, how did bananas get so popular?"
Well, in 1870, a man named Lorenzo Dow Baker stumbled across bananas in a market in Jamaica. Impressed by their taste, he took bundles with him back to Boston. Bostonians found the fruit rather a-peeling, so Baker later joined up with two other men, Andrew Preston and Minor Cooper Keith. Together, they created the United Fruit Company in 1889. They bought plantations in countries like Guatemala and Nicaragua, where it's warm year-round.
Companies like United Fruit promoted their interests in banana-producing countries by creating PR packets (which proved influential in our foreign policy).
Video: "The Fifties," a 1997 History Channel mini-series.
"Didn't the people there mind, Mom?"
Of course not! Wonderful leaders like William Walker and Estrada Cabrera took care of people in banana countries. They let them work on the banana plantations and even fought off the commies! (Or did they?)
Banana plantations invaded places like Ecuador, where most of the clean water was used for agriculture. The people were left drinking water infested with parasites. One woman is at KU searching for a way to clean the water in her country. (Good luck fighting the Big Banana!)
"So Mom, if the people in banana countries are so sick, why is the Chiquita Banana lady so happy?"
First of all, everyone's happier in tropical climates. But also, just take a look at the banana companies' Web sites and you'll see the difference their optimism, generosity and corporate responsibility has made in banana countries! Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte actually have very complex histories.
"That's great Mommy, but how can I know where my bananas come from?"
Well, if you look at the sticker on your organic Dole banana, you can visit their Web site and track where your banana originated.
Certainly sustains the 694 vlog tradition for creativity and humor. All of that is really quite good and I am proud of you guys. I like my vlogs with a bit clearer "call to action" than we have here. Lotsa history (We report; you decide?) but, rather than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, it's more of a poke in the ribs with a ripe banana.
Now now now, we don't want to go around poking strangers with our bananas, do we?
My point exactly. And not to put too fine a point on it: Put a sharper point on the stick and use that.
I think the point is that our banana habits are destroying the people and the countries American companies exploit to import them. Want to stab someone in the eye? Keep buying bananas!
In fact, keeping buying all of your fruit out of season and from remote regions. You don't see the faces of crying children when you are in the produce section at the grocery store. You just see a scrumptious banana. So, go ahead. Eat your banana and enjoy it. You will probably make some poor kid die from diarrhea because the water in his country is tainted with pesticides and diseases and all the good water is diverted to the agriculture business. His sister will probably die of starvation because their Dad only makes $3 a day working on the plantation and their mom is too weak to leave the house. But oh well, at least you can eat your banana, the All-American fruit!
I like how you all used humor and sarcasm to draw attention to the less-than-stellar past of the banana industry. And, of course, the "Naner" song can't be beat.
Naner is Arabic for finger? Really? That's awesome. Not only did I learn about Banana's, but I learned a new word. I'm going to start referring to my fingers as naners now.
Brian is to naner as Arabic is to banan.
Sarah,
Nicely wielded and nicely sharpened stick. Latinos led a movement that boycotted grapes for years in the 60's and 70's. Are you suggesting a naner boycott?