I like bananas. But not that much. So when I buy them I usually buy little ones, called baby bananas in the market although I don't like to think of myself as eating defenseless little underage bananas so I just think of them as bananas. Yesterday Mrs. R. and I went shopping and I saw these little green bananas, labeled "Thai bananas." I bought them, but now I have o idea if they are meant to be eaten fresh" or cooked or fired like plantains. If you know, leave a comment. But there were some bananas I didn't buy there. The ones from multinational Chiquita fruit company. Why not?
Multinational fruit company Chiquita likes to boast of its high social and environmental standards, but its Costa Rican subsidiary COBAL has sacked two union members for complaining about being exposed to a toxic chemical. Alexander Reyes Zuniga, Jaime Blanco Juarez and Marco Gonzalez Borge reported to their supervisors that spraying of a toxic nematicide (used for killing worms in banana tree roots) was going on in the same area as they were harvesting bananas. They became nauseous and dizzy and Jaime Blanco had to go straight to the doctor, where he was retained for tests for several hours. Alexander Reyes suffered symptoms of poisoning the following day, but was told to resume work regardless. The team complained to supervisors only to be accused of entering the area to be sprayed despite orders not to do so. Alexander Reyes and Marcos Borge were sacked for misconduct. Chiquita management did not conduct any medical examination, did not give the statutory three warnings for misconduct and continue to deny the workers' version. The union SITAGAH has tried to negotiate the two workers' reinstatement, but the company has so far refused. (via Labour Start)
That's why.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
We need to celebrate our victories, small as some are. I learned from my SciBling, Grrl, over at Living the Scientific Life that Elsevier is abandoning their ill gotten gains as enablers of international arms merchants, a role we and many others posted on. Her summary is excellent. Here's some…
Federal OSHA proposed a $283,000 penalty against an employer responsible for staffing a Hershey's chocolate packaging facilty in Palmyra, Pennsylvania for willfully violating workplace safety regulations. The agency's action followed a formal complaint lodged by workers at the plant, many of whom…
When I was a child in Bangladesh one of my "charming" activities would be to give the local banana seller some unsolicited advice. As he walked down the street carrying his banana-bunch I would shout down from the balcony and tell him which cultivars my family preferred, and that he better get…
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has released additional results from its ongoing investigation into the disaster at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine, which killed 29 miners last year in West Virginia. Like the independent investigation team, MSHA investigators cite poorly…
Thai bananas (Kluay Num Wah) resemble plantains, but the flavor is much sweeter. They should be eaten when the skin is yellow.
http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaidesserts/r/bananacustard.htm
http://www.supatra.com/pages/thaifruitguide.html
http://www.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/fruit-banana.html
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thai-Banana-Salsa-with-King-Prawns/Detail…
I can also cook....
Ditto on Chiquita....They have a whole PR department and they pay their people less in Central America on the banana and pineapple plantations than anywhere in the world. Payoffs? Dont know
Ever tell you about the Fer-de-lance that came out of a bundle of USGovt issued supply of Chiquita bananas in Central America. One guy reached for a banana and that banana moved...!
Randy: I had googled these same articles to find out how to eat these guys but they don't quite do it. Three of the four are Thai recipes that use bananas but not specifically these Thai bananas. The second link has a good pic of exactly what I bought and says they are best eaten when the skin is yellow (which mine aren't; they are still green) but that they aren't like bananas but plaintains but sweeter. So I'm not sure if that means they need to be cooked or not. I haven't heard of eating plaintains raw. Thanks for looking, though.
Ripened Thai bananas are generally served as desert with sweetened rice. Once they are ripe, you can just eat them. They are supposed to be sweeter than regular bananas, and will rot sooner as a result.
Let us know what you think. You won't have a lot of time to make up your mind unless you are planning to make banana bread.
I haven't heard the fer de lance story, but I interviewed a lot of banana handlers for a story I did years ago, and the biggest threat were poisonous spiders.
To this day, I shake every hand of 'nanas I buy before I pick them up from the produce counter.
Melanie: So they are just like "regular" bananas?
The central American health risk is the use of DBCP which caused sterility and infertility in many Costa Rican banana workers.
We somehow have to start treating farmers and farm workers around the world fairly. The current situation is unsustainable in the longterm and at the end of the day, everyone will suffer as a result...and I don't mean just farmers and farm workers.
The bottom line...you can't eat paper money or a computer...well, okay you can but I wouldn't want to try.
There will never be another chiquita banana in this house.
Not sure what species you have Revere, but there are many many species available in Thailand. While living there I was staggered at the variety available, including an uncommon one that had black flesh with large black seeds that was absolutely delicious.
Just try them both ways and wait to see what happens when(if) they ripen.
The large monopoly banana companies like Chiquita are abhorrent in their business tactics and ethics & HR practices, as Australian growers are finding out.
Those look exactly like bananas we had in Vietnam a while ago, and the descriptions I've seen on the taste seem to bear it out as well. You eat them like you would a normal banana. They are sweeter, though, and kind of "sticky" and soft; you could just about eat them with a spoon. In my view, they also taste a lot better than normal bananas - we pretty much gorged ourselves on those while in Saigon.
RobT: They look like the ones in the fifth row, first pic, here. They are green. Maybe I'll update when and if I eat them.
Revere-Technical name for that pesticide/humanicide you put up. Cant get it to drop on a search.
Randy: Dibromochloropropane (DBCP).
Fair Trade bananas are available in some states in the U.S. Producers of them are certified by TransFair USA to ensure that they abide by fair trade principles, which include:
"Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions, and living wages. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited.
"Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers' health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations."
Tho' I have not done this myself, reveres, I believe you can eat them like regular bananas.
Stories like this are one of the other reasons I have for switching to organic whenever possible, and choosing not to buy rather often if organic isn't available.
Of course there's always been pesticide residue, and now melamine-pork, chicken, & fish, to encourage my conversion. Did the FDA really think we were all going to chow down just because they said the stuff was dilute enough to eat?
Add a desire to support local small agriculture and business, and an even greater desire for food that tastes GOOD, like the fresh fruit I remember from my childhood, and my shopping decisions get easier every day.
Well, now I don't even feel confident that the Chiquita bananas I've been buying are organic, so ... the ones I bought today should be the last.
(Guess telling Chiquita that would help, too. Can't they give decent jobs down there, so illegals might stop coming up here?)
Going to have some interesting food choices as I try to buy US products, and regional and local... Fewer and fewer choices, but, it's better than buying a pig in a pokesack.
"Yes, we have no bananas, we have no bananas today..."
We purchased a farm in Costa Rica with the intention growing organic cashews and living a healthy life free of many of the toxins we are exposed to here in the US.
We soon discovered that although DDT is illegal for use in the US it is still manufactured in the US (Borden)and shipped to DDT friendly countries like Costa Rica. The country is saturated with it.
A campesino home may not have a floor or TV but it will have a can of Baygon on the windowsill.
It's alarming how much of the produce I see in the stores and stands here at home proudly displaying it's from Costa Rica.