Banana plantations

Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that bananas are taboo for anyone worried about the destruction of the rainforest? Even though I am looking for “fair trade” or organic bananas, am I fueling the demand that is driving the clearing of the rainforest? – Laura Barnard, Hillsboro, OH

Unfortunately, the brief answers to these questions may be yes and yes at the moment, but that could change as the $ 5 billion banana industry slowly accepts greener forms of production. Historically, growing the world’s most popular fruits has caused massive degradation of rainforest land across the tropics, spreading harmful chemicals into once-pristine watersheds and poisoning and exploiting farm workers.

“Banana plantations were infamous for their environmental and social abuses, which included the use of dangerous pesticides, poor working conditions, water pollution and deforestation,” reports Rainforest Alliance, a non-profit organization. New York-based profit maker who strives to improve workers. and environmental conditions in the industry since 1990. “Pesticide-impregnated plastic bags, which protect bananas as they grow, often litter the banks and beaches near banana farms, while agrochemical runoff and erosion kill fish, obstruct rivers and obstruct coral reefs. ” In addition, the proximity of dwellings to the banana fields, coupled with lax regulations for handling pesticides, has led to frequent illnesses among workers and people living near the plantations.

But help is on the way, thanks in large part to the pioneering work of the Rainforest Alliance, which certifies as sustainable those banana farms and plantations that meet certain criteria for responsible farm management set by the Sustainable Agriculture Network, a coalition of non-profit organizations that strive to improve the production of basic commodities in the tropics. As a result of this program, approximately 15 percent of all bananas sold worldwide now come from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. The group is particularly proud of its agreements with two of the biggest producers, Favorita and Chiquita. All of Favorita’s farms in Ecuador and all of Chiquita’s farms in Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama are certified as sustainable under the program.

While the success of the Rainforest Alliance is certainly a step in the right direction, other groups lament the fact that even certified plantations are found on land that was once tropical rainforest. According to Rainforest Relief, Americans should always avoid buying bananas and instead opt for locally grown fruits, such as apples, peaches, cherries or pears. The group hopes, however, that its work with agricultural cooperatives that grow organic bananas under the shade of a diverse forest cover in Costa Rica can eventually lead the international banana market towards better land use and standards. worker safety.

“These producers mostly only cultivate small portions of land that they own or control, the rest being left as Montana“Undisturbed forest” to keep running water cool and keep the wildlife that “work” on their farms with them healthy, ”reports Rainforest Relief. The group has worked to develop secondary markets for bananas which may have been bruised during harvest or transport but which can still be used for baby food, vinegar and other applications that do not require unblemished peels. . Some of these products are marketed to tourists in Costa Rica while others are sold in the United States – look for the Rainforest Farms brand, among others – at Whole Foods and other health food retailers.

CONTACTS: Rainforest Alliance, www.rainforest-alliance.org; Chiquita, www.chiquita.com; Favorita, www.favorita.com; Rainforest Relief, www.rainforestrelief.org.

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