Death of a Banana

cinemafiend — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:34:23 -0800

The world loves the banana - they are the world's most popular fruit and the fourth most consumed food on our planet. According to Johann Hari in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, it appears that the variety of bananas loved the world over - the Cavendish - is headed for extinction due to Fusarium oxysporum (Panama disease). Apparently, this is not the first time that a variety of bananas has gone extinct. Before 1960, the Gros Michel was the world's most popular banana - it was said to have been bigger and tastier than the Cavendish -until Fusarium oxysporum wiped it from the face of the earth. By the way, the U.S. Government used Fusarium oxysporum, as a biological weapon in South America in an attempt to eradicate the coca plant. As you may have gleaned from the articles above, troubled and violent history of the business of bananas (involving the C.I.A.and United Fruit) as well as the future of the seemingly innocuous yellow fruit are explored in David Koeppel's Banana:The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World.

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