Whether we slice them over cereal or put them in our backpacks for an afternoon snack, we certainly do love our bananas. But lately we've been hearing more and more news that our beloved banana may be no more.
Some scientists are saying that the extinction of the banana as we know it is inevitable and irreversible. But then, we also hear that these stories are grossly exaggerated, that the scientists will take care of it, and life (with bananas) will proceed without a hitch.
So what are we supposed to believe?
The banana is one of the oldest food crops, and it has been cultivated to the point where the majority of the bananas in the world are genetically identical copies of each other. This means that a disease or pest that affects a crop in one place can eventually have repercussions world wide.
The Gros Michel was the number one banana sold in the US and Europe until the 1960's when a fungus known as Panama disease began wiping out crops in South America. Growers and producers eventually switched over to another type of banana, which was resistant to the disease. This banana, the Cavendish, has fully replaced the Gros Michel and is the typical yellow banana found in any grocery store today. It's also likely the only banana most of us have ever tasted.
But a new strain of the Panama disease was discovered in Asia in the early 1990's and has been devastating commercial banana crops throughout the Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. It has yet to affect crops world-wide, but given the banana's lack of genetic diversity and the effect of global consumerism, many scientists are saying that it's only a matter of time. Unlike the situation with the Gros Michel bananas, there is not another banana waiting in the wings if the Cavendish becomes extinct.
But honestly, we don't like the idea of a grocery store bait-and-switch anyway. Simply letting one banana fall into extinction and replacing it with another won't do anything to prevent a similar situation from happening again. The real problem--and a problem we're starting to talk more about with so many of our primary crops--seems to be lack of genetic diversity.
What are your thoughts on this possible banana extinction?
(Photo Credit: Whole-Istic Solutions)
This would suck for anyone on a low residue diet as it's one of the few fruits they can eat. And I love my banana smoothies and banana muffins.
Somehow I find it hard to believe that countries like St-Lucia, where bananas are their biggest industry (tourism second and gaining) are not doing everything they can to 1) protect their banana crops and 2) investigate genetic diversity.
view angorian's profile
even considering a world without bananas is downright torture to me. tally me banana!
view kdkaboom's profile
We need Michael Crichton on this one...
view stuzzeo's profile
Yes, we have no bananas?
view abb_brooklyn's profile
The problem is that there is NO "genetic diversity." The term "Banana Republic" has historical significance. Bananas have long been grown in poor countries by outside corporations interested only in profits. So now we aren't going to have any bananas.
view feathers's profile
there goes breakfast... :(
view hipersons's profile
i had banana trees in the yard growing up, (as far north as NC!). we kept them in a sunny spot near the fish pond and dug them up in the winter with the leaves trimmed off, put them in the basement, and planted them again come spring. the trees seemed okay with the arrangement and would live and grow until they were so large we couldn't take them in anymore. they would bear fruit but we would usually cut it off before it got very large, based on my grandmother telling us if it bore fruit and the fruit ripened, the tree would die afterwards (don't know if that was true or not). did anyone here ever have a tree where they let the fruit ripen? how was it? for folks in warm climates, maybe you can grow your own bananas, just like having an orange/plum/fig tree in the backyard.
view lindsey kathlene's profile
"Bananas have long been grown in poor countries by outside corporations interested only in profits. So now we aren't going to have any bananas."
Generally, when people and corporations are interested in profits, they find a way to continue generating said profits.
view Shawn's profile
Why can't we start diversifying now?
view bohemianbeauty7's profile
This is one prime example where genetic engineering/modification is necessary.
view bipolarbear's profile
lindsey kathlene: One banana stem is only good for one crop of fruit. Not sure if the same plant can put up multiple stems though. (Note that a stem is what we think of as a banana "tree"... it's no more a tree than a panda is a bear).
view angorian's profile
or maybe I'm thinking of koalas. One of those non-bear-but-resembles-a-bear animals, anyway. :)
view angorian's profile
I wonder if the most likely result of this will be some sort of genetic manipulation to bananas (and based on the description of this post, I assume it'd mean *all* bananas would get messed with). Yikes.
view branny's profile
The problem, in my understanding, (described by a banana farmer on a tour in Jamaica) is that most varieties of bananas don't have flavor, their skin is too thin to transport, or they are too hard. It's an example of us getting used to a single variety of banana and all the farms switched production to meet the demand. It's not that there aren't other varieties available, it's just that you can't ship them, or they taste terrible.
view jake1974's profile
I heard about this on Fresh Air! What a fascinating story. I was even more fascinated by the fact that our current bananas were considered downright disgusting compared to the Gros Michel 'naners of yesteryear. I sure would have liked to have had one of those.
None of the other varietals of bananas are sturdy enough to travel the distances required to be in our local supermarket. Scary/fascinating story with no clear solution!
Link to the Fresh Air interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19097412
Really worth listening to!
view isadora's profile
I had heard about this on NPR also, and I immediately called my father to tell him about it. for as long as I can remember, he has been talking about how much better the bananas were when he was a child. until I heard this report, I thought it was just one of those "uphill five miles in the snow" things that dads do.
view lcg's profile
Scary.
view missjelisa's profile
Bananas extinct? What will the poor monkeys do??? Who authorized this?
view bkelley65's profile