Banana Industry Crisis
Feb 12, 2019 9:45:30 GMT 10
Post by RockyMountainExtreme on Feb 12, 2019 9:45:30 GMT 10
In late 2017, Australian scientists from the Queensland University of Technology had designed genetically modified Cavendish bananas which are resistant to Panama Disease caused by Tropical Race 4, which by far is the biggest threat to the banana industry ever.
Bananas, the yellow Cavendish variety that we're all familiar with, are the worlds most popular fruit by far, with over 100 billion of them eaten around the world every year. They are especially a fruit that we in the developed first-world take for granted and can't imagine a life without. 50% of surveyed Europeans stated the banana was their favorite fruit, with apples trailing way behind at 38%. It is also by far the most consumed fruit in Japan at 19,396 grams between 2011-2013, with tangerines and apples trailing way behind 12,099 and 12,069 respectively. Americans consume about just as much bananas as both apples and oranges combined. They trail apples in Australia according to one survey, but not by a lot. We in the western world certainly do love our bananas, yet unlike other popular fruits like apples, oranges, and peaches that are commonly grown within first world countries, nearly all the bananas in the world are grown in poorer developing countries within South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. They are a foreign fruit, yet so mass produced and so widely available that they feel like domesticated fruits to us, and often times, these foreign fruits grown in a different part of the world are cheaper to buy at the grocery store than a domesticated fruit that might be grown just 10 miles away.
Bananas are also popular in the developed world where they're grown as well, in fact only 15% of bananas globally are exported. About 400 million people in developing countries depend on bananas and plantains for more than 300 calories a day. So while we in the developed world like to enjoy our bananas for pleasure of the taste buds, those in developing countries enjoy their bananas to stay nourished, the banana truly is one of the most important crops in the developing world, both for local consumption and for exportation.
Back to that 15%, that may seem low percentage wise, but in sheer numbers though, it's not low at all, with 20.5 million tonnes of bananas being exported globally throughout 2017. The banana industry is a very important business within developing countries, millions of farmers are dependent on earning a living off of this one crop alone. They are growing these plants for us just to get by, while we are just eating them for pleasure of the taste buds while we got tons of other varieties of fruit to chose from.
As of recently however, the worlds favorite fruit has been under threat from Tropical Race 4 caused Panama Disease. Back in the late 18th and early 19th century, the most popular banana variety was not the Cavendish variety that we're used to today. It was a variety known as the Gros Michel, also known as "Big Mike", which was even sweeter than the Cavendish variety. It was the driving force behind the Banana Wars that gave the US huge control over the banana market. Well, in 1903, in Panama, the blight known as Panama Disease was discovered, which all throughout the early-mid 20th Century would go on to wipe out the Gros Michel banana variety from every export plantation on the planet. The Cavendish variety however was immune to Tropical Race 1 of this disease, survived, and became the staple banana variety we're so used to today. Well now we have Tropical Race 4 of the Panama disease, of which the Cavendish variety is not immune to, it is capable of wiping out up to 85% of bananas and plantains grown produced each year, which would cause mass famines worldwide, and would take the fruit off the shelves at out grocery stores... No more bananas, such a depressing thought for us, yet it's very possible at the moment unfortunately.
Luckily, we now have a modified variety of Cavendish bananas that are immune to Tropical Race 4. This discovery is great news for us in the developed first world as it means there's now much bigger hope that we can enjoy these fruits well into our old age, but it's even better news for those in poor developing countries that are dependent on this crop.
We should be humbled, not thoughtlessly excited, about this discovery. I love bananas as much as the next guy, but we should be happier for the sake of those in third world countries dependent on this crop for this discovery, not for the sake of ourselves. We have countless other varieties of fruits to chose from and we don't have to rely on farming at all to make a living, while millions of people in the developed world are dependent on the banana both for nourishment and to make a living selling.
We've taken this one foreign fruit for granted for so long, it's time to sober up and realize two things, A, we don't really know what we have until it's gone, and B, out privileged lives we take for granted are what the majority of the world can only dream about living.
What do you think about this subject? Let me know in the comments below.
Here are a couple links related to this subject if you're even more interested;
How the global banana industry is killing the world’s favorite fruit
www.fruitnet.com/eurofruit/article/176271/scientists-identify-tr4-resistant-bananas
Bananas, the yellow Cavendish variety that we're all familiar with, are the worlds most popular fruit by far, with over 100 billion of them eaten around the world every year. They are especially a fruit that we in the developed first-world take for granted and can't imagine a life without. 50% of surveyed Europeans stated the banana was their favorite fruit, with apples trailing way behind at 38%. It is also by far the most consumed fruit in Japan at 19,396 grams between 2011-2013, with tangerines and apples trailing way behind 12,099 and 12,069 respectively. Americans consume about just as much bananas as both apples and oranges combined. They trail apples in Australia according to one survey, but not by a lot. We in the western world certainly do love our bananas, yet unlike other popular fruits like apples, oranges, and peaches that are commonly grown within first world countries, nearly all the bananas in the world are grown in poorer developing countries within South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. They are a foreign fruit, yet so mass produced and so widely available that they feel like domesticated fruits to us, and often times, these foreign fruits grown in a different part of the world are cheaper to buy at the grocery store than a domesticated fruit that might be grown just 10 miles away.
Bananas are also popular in the developed world where they're grown as well, in fact only 15% of bananas globally are exported. About 400 million people in developing countries depend on bananas and plantains for more than 300 calories a day. So while we in the developed world like to enjoy our bananas for pleasure of the taste buds, those in developing countries enjoy their bananas to stay nourished, the banana truly is one of the most important crops in the developing world, both for local consumption and for exportation.
Back to that 15%, that may seem low percentage wise, but in sheer numbers though, it's not low at all, with 20.5 million tonnes of bananas being exported globally throughout 2017. The banana industry is a very important business within developing countries, millions of farmers are dependent on earning a living off of this one crop alone. They are growing these plants for us just to get by, while we are just eating them for pleasure of the taste buds while we got tons of other varieties of fruit to chose from.
As of recently however, the worlds favorite fruit has been under threat from Tropical Race 4 caused Panama Disease. Back in the late 18th and early 19th century, the most popular banana variety was not the Cavendish variety that we're used to today. It was a variety known as the Gros Michel, also known as "Big Mike", which was even sweeter than the Cavendish variety. It was the driving force behind the Banana Wars that gave the US huge control over the banana market. Well, in 1903, in Panama, the blight known as Panama Disease was discovered, which all throughout the early-mid 20th Century would go on to wipe out the Gros Michel banana variety from every export plantation on the planet. The Cavendish variety however was immune to Tropical Race 1 of this disease, survived, and became the staple banana variety we're so used to today. Well now we have Tropical Race 4 of the Panama disease, of which the Cavendish variety is not immune to, it is capable of wiping out up to 85% of bananas and plantains grown produced each year, which would cause mass famines worldwide, and would take the fruit off the shelves at out grocery stores... No more bananas, such a depressing thought for us, yet it's very possible at the moment unfortunately.
Luckily, we now have a modified variety of Cavendish bananas that are immune to Tropical Race 4. This discovery is great news for us in the developed first world as it means there's now much bigger hope that we can enjoy these fruits well into our old age, but it's even better news for those in poor developing countries that are dependent on this crop.
We should be humbled, not thoughtlessly excited, about this discovery. I love bananas as much as the next guy, but we should be happier for the sake of those in third world countries dependent on this crop for this discovery, not for the sake of ourselves. We have countless other varieties of fruits to chose from and we don't have to rely on farming at all to make a living, while millions of people in the developed world are dependent on the banana both for nourishment and to make a living selling.
We've taken this one foreign fruit for granted for so long, it's time to sober up and realize two things, A, we don't really know what we have until it's gone, and B, out privileged lives we take for granted are what the majority of the world can only dream about living.
What do you think about this subject? Let me know in the comments below.
Here are a couple links related to this subject if you're even more interested;
How the global banana industry is killing the world’s favorite fruit
www.fruitnet.com/eurofruit/article/176271/scientists-identify-tr4-resistant-bananas