Curiously Awesome

Banana Plantations are one of the worst crops for our environment’s health.

Massive amounts of rain forest are cut down to create plantations and workers spray tons of herbicides and pesticides to keep weeds, fungi, and pests away from the fragile banana plants.

In 1989 Costa Rica’s EARTH University acquired lands that included a large banana plantation and the school’s consultants told officials to ditch the farm.

So, the innovative agricultural school decided to grow a banana that’s better for the planet.

Today EARTH’s 600-acre farm is the oldest working banana plantation in Costa Rica and sells its wares exclusively to the Whole Foods Market chain.

Banana sales provide 7 percent of the university’s revenue and helps to pay tuition for the students who come from poor backgrounds.

The green practices implemented at the school are now reshaping the global banana industry.

EARTH has introduced a more environmentally friendly way of producing bananas.

Most of the world’s bananas are grown in Central and South America. Now sales from Costa Rica are also rising steadily.

Last year the Central American country exported more than 113 million boxes of bananas. EARTH grows a fraction of that total and ships about half a million boxes of bananas to Whole Foods each year. The green measures engineered at the school are now being adopted by other growers.

Standard banana plantations tie plastic bags around developing bunches to protect the fruit from scarring and to keep out pests.

Discarded, pesticide-covered bags often wind up clogging rivers and watersheds. EARTH began a plastic-bag recycling program.

Today almost all banana growers in Costa Rica have adopted bag-recycling programs. The Dole Food Company, one of the largest banana producers in the country, recycles about 1,900 tons of plastic each year. Dole recently signed an agreement with the Costa Rican government to produce a carbon-neutral supply chain for bananas and pineapples.

The school is also now working on producing completely organic bananas .

A major challenge is black sigatoka which is an airborne fungus that shrinks the fruit and will eventually kill the plant. At this time only powerful fungicides can fully control the disease. Radopholus similes is another serious threat for banana growers. The organism attacks the roots of banana plants.

EARTH’s organic farmers developed fertilizers that include benign bacteria, yeasts, and fungi that crowd out nematodes and minimize disease. Approximately 40 percent of banana-growing areas in Central and South America and even Asia are now using the techniques developed by Earth.

Not only are there serious environmental consequences, but using pesticides and herbicides is a danger to plantation laborers who are suffering from sterility, cancers, and other conditions after years of exposure.

The overall goal for the banana-producing business should be achieving sustainability. This means not just reducing chemical use but also having good wages and working conditions for the employees.