Banana - Post 2

Did you know that bananas do not grow on trees? They are actually part of the giant grass family. The typical climate for banana growth is humid and hot lowland tropical areas. Many people assume that bananas were introduced in Central and South America since that is where most production occurs today, however, banana plants were first native to tropical areas in Asia. When the Spaniards reached the Americas they brought with them the banana plant, and from that point on, bananas have been a major part of the Central American culture. Today, more than $2.5 billion dollars is generated from the exporting of bananas from Latin America to North America and Europe. Until recently, the production of bananas has not been sustainable as their are many pesticides involved in the production of bananas.

In 2004, Chiquita joined forces with the Rainforest Alliance in the Better Banana Project. The project started in the 1990s for these reasons: "When the Better Banana Project first started in the early 1990s, there were clear problems with deforestation, over-reliance on pesticides, poor working conditions and waste management," said Chris Wille, director of the Better Banana Project. In an interview with Chris White, he said that for every ton of bananas produced there was two tons of waste produced from the plastic that keeps bugs away as well as the bananas that were thrown away because they were not consumable. Since Chiquitas participation in the Better Banana Project, they have drastically reduced the amount of pesticides that are used in production. In addition, Chiquita has started to recylce the plastic bags used to keep insects away from the plants. The recycled materials are made into the wooden pallets that the bananas are stacked on, thus saving thousands of trees per year. Chiquita still has a long way to go until they are considered a susatainable company, but for the meantime they are making progressions.