Yes, we have no bananas
Did you know that the number-one fruit in the country — bananas — might be extinct in 30 years? So says Dan Koeppel, the author of Banana: The fate of the fruit that changed the world. Due to the spread of the Panama fungus and because we eat only one type of the fruit (the relatively bland Cavendish variety), the world banana market is at risk of collapse. Interestingly, though, Koeppel dispels organic production as an answer to the dilemma. And surprisingly, he argues that genetic engineering wouldn’t be such a bad thing for the banana, which is a subsistence food in Africa, Asia, and Central America. Koeppel was interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday.
Related Topics: Green Living, Organics, From the Editors
February 21st, 2008 at 2:13 am
The genetic engineering part scares me, but it is odd to think that a fruit would go ‘extinct’.
Bananas are also one of those fruits that you don’t need to buy organic.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I’ve been following this situation in the banana industry for about 3 years. It’s scary.
Matt Smith, non-organic bananas are NOT safe. They are sprayed very heavily with a dangerous antifungal on a weekly basis. Much of our foreign-grown produce is also sprayed with powerful pesiticides that have been banned in the US (and there is far more foriegn grown produce than most people have any idea of).
I buy organic bananas ONLY.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Speaking of organic bananas, here’s an interesting piece that was published about them today:
http://grist.org/advice/ask/2008/02/27/?source=daily