Bananas Gone Wild!

 

The past couple weeks have been the best weeks of my life. Two days before flying to the Galapagos, we travelled to the Bonita banana plantation in Machala. I had written a paper for class on the health benefits of the consumption of bananas and the health risks of the production of bananas. This was where I presented that information to the rest of the group. My presentation went very well, and I received great feedback.

We went on a tour of the plantation. We were shown the process of harvesting and shipping the bananas. I loved the time we spent there, and I felt it was extremely informative. The way in which the bananas are harvested is so efficient and organized. Each bundle of bananas on the banana plant is marked with certain colors of ribbon. The ribbon allows the workers to know when to harvest each plant. The bundle is then cut from the tree, caught, put on the banana rail, and taken to the area where the bananas are further prepared. At this area, the workers cut off the “hands” of bananas. The hands are groups of about fourteen bananas. The bananas are thrown into water; this begins the cleaning process and pushes them to the opposite side where they are cut into smaller bunches. Those bunches of bananas are the ones that are exported. The workers must be precise when they cut the tops of the bunches giving them sharp corners or else importers will not accept them.  

After the bananas are washed and cut, they are packaged for shipping. The company has thirty- six hours to get them to their country of destination. The boxes are packed with forty-five pounds of bananas. The forty-five pounds of bananas is equivalent to only $12. I found that statistic to be fascinating. The United States accepts thousands of bananas yearly from Bonita, yet their requirements are extremely strict. As I mentioned earlier, the workers have to use caution when cutting the bananas or else the United States’ companies will not accept them. In addition, the United States requires each banana to be at least eight inches in length. Bananas will be rejected if they are too ripe or damaged. This puts much pressure on the companies to be very exact in the cultivation and harvest of their crops; too many mistakes and the American companies will choose to find a new producer. Since the companies are only making twelve dollars a box, the pressure to maintain the companies’ business is vital to their survival. It was fascinating to me to learn the detail that goes into banana production and the stress that the companies feel due to the high demand and strict regulations of the companies around the globe.

 What amazed me the most was that every job on the banana plantation involves solitary manual labor. It is impossible for any computer or machine to grow, harvest, clean, and ship the bananas. The bananas are too fragile. While many Americans sit in offices and create machines to do the hard labor, they have outrageously high demands for those individuals in other countries using their bare hands to give them exactly what they request. The employees on the plantations have to have strength and endurance to carry the bushels of bananas while working very long hours. Yet, workers on the plantations know that in order to make money it takes providing consumers with exactly what they want. Getting a firsthand glimpse into the process of the global supply and demand was a great experience. Now when I go to the grocery store to purchase bananas, I will be aware of all of the hard work that went into putting those on the shelf. 

The man cut the sharp edges on the bananas.

The bananas were ready to be shipped!