The Magical properties of The Banana-The Pesticide Problem

In order to receive maximum production and maximum profitability there are 268 pesticides used by the multinational corporations that contaminate the ecosystems of the land. The pesticides are not only destroying the land but are also affecting the health of the banana workers. The three largest American multi-national corporation control 75% of the banana exporting industry and the issue of workers welfare and human rights are never discussed. Pesticides has threaten the banana industry for many years and certain pesticides has been banned by the EPA but the problem has been swept under the rug. Serious environmental and social disasters threaten the stability of the industry but the corporations continue to expand their market share.
Bananas workers in some countries are beginning to bring class action suits against the owners of large plantations as a result of the working conditions. "Dibromochloropropne" or DBCP is a pesticide that creates a debilitating illness that affects banana plantation workers. It disrupts the nervous system, and the immediate symptoms include hypersensitivity of the skin or face and extremities, headache, dizziness, nausea, muscle weakness, and skin rash. The long term effects are sterility, testicular damage, eye damage, bladder liver lung and thyroid damage, recurrent asthma, and increased mortality in the young. The major offenders have lost some court cases but the conditions basically remain the same. In some countries the pay is 10 dollars a day and in some countries the wage can be a dollar a day. The multinational corporations must control every aspect of the operation because of the perishable nature of the product.
There is fungal diseases that affect the profitability and production of the banana. The Black Sigatoko is an air borne disease that threaten the entire industry, that has led major companies to increase aerial spraying. There is a potential for groundwater contamination and there is nothing cultivated that has more chemicals than the banana. The gravest contamination problem is that the spraying indiscriminately reaches public streets, houses, springs of water, the rivers, the sea, all forms of life, and the worker themselves. The widespread use of pesticides also affect the consumers and rises safety and health concerns for the banana. The use of Alicarb was banned by the EPA because it affected the soil that affected other food.
There is a major pesticide problem with the cultivation with the banana. From a worker's perspective there is a need for better workers rights, better pay, and safer conditions. The deterioration of the ecosystems in many countries must be altered or curtailed, and groundwater contamination controlled. A new vision between the earth and the multinational corporations is necessary to save the planet for future generations. Tomorrow we will discuss the future and the final implications of the banana. What a complicating and powerful fruit.
Roger