Bananas · 3

Last week we had a chance to travel to Chiquita banana and learn all about the banana industry. It was very intresting, and i learned way more than i ever thought i would about bananas! One of the major things that struck me was how chemical intensive the process of harvesting bananas in Costa Rica is. This is due to the humidity and the bugs found in the local regions. We all know the devistating effects these synthetic chemicals have on the environment and the people that live near plantations. So in this blogg i would like to look at some of the ways a banana plantation can become environmentally safe and even organic.

One of the major ways banana farms are becoming greener is changing their banana bags. These plastic bags are used every harvest and in the past had been just thrown away, causing a major pollution and waste problem. On of the major problems was the pesticides that were sprayed onto the bags prior to disposal. Today almost all banana growers in Costa Rica have adopted bag-recycling programs. The Dole Food Company, one of the largest banana producers in the country, annually recycles about 1,900 tons of plastic. ¨Dole also recently signed an agreement with the Costa Rican government to produce a carbon-neutral supply chain for bananas and pineapples grown there".

One of the major issues of going organic is the Black Sigatoka. This is an airborne fungus that literally wipes out entire banana farms in weeks. This virus attacks the roots of the plants. Currently there has been work on "effective microorganisms", benign bacteria, yeasts, and fungi that crowd out nematodes and minimize disease. This solution cures the problem with synthetic chemicals and would have a huge impact on banana farming across the world!!!!!!!!