During my trip to EARTH University, we spent a day in the banana fields and at the packaging center. In the fields I was blown away when I saw how the bananeros harvest the bunches. One man uses a machete to separate the bunch from the tree, and another man hoists the 60 lb bunch onto his back and sprints across uneven terrain. He then nimbly chains the bunch onto the train that will take them to the packing plant.
There, workers spend 10 hours a day wielding knives at lightning speed. They inspect and separate the big bunch of bananas into the smaller banana hands that you pick up at Whole Foods.
While I was watching them work very hard, what I was really witnessing was the Whole Trade Guarantee in action. Whole Foods trusts Transfair USA, Rainforest Alliance, and Fair for Life to certify that suppliers have met criteria including quality, premium price to the producer, better wages and working conditions, and environmental sustainability.
According to Fair Trade USA, “Many of the developing worlds’ small farmers live in poverty, struggling to feed their families and to maintain ownership of their land. Hired workers are often denied basic employment rights and fair wages, unable to escape poverty no matter how hard they work.”
This is especially relevant to the banana industry because the companies that have dominated it have a dark history of treating workers unjustly, including knowingly exposing workers to toxic chemicals.
When workers and the environment are treated fairly, one could assume that the products will inevitably cost a little more. So how much are you willing to pay for the piece of mind that your bananas were not involved in the exploitation of innocent workers?
If you have extra pocket change, a dime to be exact, you could put it toward a good cause and potassium rich produce. I called several grocery stores and couldn’t find bananas more then ten cents a pound cheaper than the fair trade variety, so why choose cheaper? Sometimes when you get a deal, someone else is paying for it.
Apparently a lot of shoppers feel the same way. According to a recent press release by Fair Trade USA, it was announced that sales of fair trade certified products are up 75% in 2011 in the U.S. That means huge improvements in a lot of peoples lives, and is proof of what big changes a small amount of change can make.
Photos by April Gilbert
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