When we are in a grocery store, specifically the produce section (which is often near the entrance), bananas are regularly the item we’ll see first. Whether it’s Chiquita of Dole, this fruit—a favorite to many people—is bundled and sold by the pound. Little known to the consumer is the working conditions that people go through to get them to our homes and how little they are paid in comparison to how much we pay for them.
As we’ve seen in various movies with the picking and transportation of crops across the world (see Hersey’s and Burger King), conditions are often extremely cruel. Often they are working in upward of 90-degree weather, but the physical toll it takes on their body is even worse. Not only that, but workers are often exposed to many chemicals to either maintain it’s color or modify it in other ways.
More importantly, the wages that these individuals are making isn’t enough to make a living in Ecuador (one of South America’s more impoverished countries). From statistics I found, it takes a family of four $9.60 per day to pay for “basic necessities” however many of workers make $3 a day and often less. On top of that, it’s not uncommon for children under the age of 10 to be working. Though it doesn’t have to do directly with the secrets banana companies, Patel would still relate these to companies such as Burger King as I discussed in a previous post. These major corporations hate it when their secrets are covered up because they realize that it could affect their business and reputation.
Even though bananas are now grown worldwide, we often date them back to Central and South America (Africa and southern parts of Asia are also recognized). One reason for their growth in these specific areas is that bananas need a hot and humid tropical climate to grow. Here is a picture of some of the places Dole gets their crop.
Bananas—as well as the production and transportation of chicken and rice—relate very closely to Patel’s thought on consumer knowledge/freedom. He’s not necessarily trying to get a consumer to think one way or the other about a product; he wants people to have a choice. It’s such a recurrent theme, but the fact of the matter is that in today’s society, whether it is where we choose to eat, places we want to shop, or as simple as knowledge we want to have, the sad truth is that in specific times, the choice is out of our hands a lot like it is for these workers around the world.
How do you think convenience and cheapness obscures conditions of production? How does it contribute to this injustice? How can consumers challenge or is lack of choice
ReplyDeleteWhat might you do to change these conditions if you had the power to? What needs to be changed, and yes the harvesting of bananas are still needed.
ReplyDeleteI know you mentioned Dole and Chiquita, did you find anything about how many people control the banana industry (very much like the bottleneck patel talks about)?
ReplyDeleteBanana production in the Central America belt is a re-occuring theme of production for profit. It is sad that because banana's are best grown in these areas, in 3rd world countries they are able to exploit people desperate for work. And as these companies grow from profiting, the workers are locked into these dominating jobs. The worst part is that most consumers thousands of miles away have no idea they are helping constrain the person that works for 3$ a day. If all consumers knew about this injustice they may be more willing to make changes.
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