This is a short, oddball post, but I couldn’t resist sharing this 5-minute video from Dole about how they harvest fresh bananas from the tree and ship them to market. I had no idea about most of this and found it fascinating.
“But, Elizabeth,” you might ask, “What the heck does this have to do with Connection?”
I’m so glad you asked!
The more we know about our natural world—including how the foods we eat are grown, harvested, and brought to market—the more conscious we become of how connected we are to all other living things in the web of life. This knowledge also helps us make healthier choices as consumers. The expression “Knowledge is power” is certainly true when it comes to knowing exactly what we’re choosing to feed our families.
I love the farm-to-table movement, and believe it’s healthier to eat foods that are grown as close to home as possible, to eliminate things being picked too soon or sprayed with too much pesticide or preservative. This film doesn’t talk about it, but the green bananas (from Costa Rica in this video) are stored in special warehouses near their destination and treated with a ripening agent before shipment to ensure they arrive at the grocery store at the right stage of ripeness.
I’ll bet the native Costa Ricans enjoy a spectacular banana taste treat since they can let the fruit on their backyard tree get ripe right before they pick and eat it.
Do you try to eat locally grown foods, or is it just too much trouble or too expensive?
Photo credit: “Bananas” by Olaf Speier
I’m so glad more people are becoming aware of the foods they eat, where they come from, and how they’re grown. Yes, I support local farmers and farm-to-table restaurants. In fact, I prefer to only go to those in which the food is fresh. Unfortunately we have to spend more money to get food that isn’t processed, but the work of a farm owner/worker is arduous and competitive. Hopefully, with more awareness, people will begin to demand food from local farmers, and then prices can drop.
I hope so too, Pam, but supply and demand might dictate otherwise. And I think we—and the Food & Drug administration—need to remain vigilant about making sure the things labelled organic really are.
I often wonder what “agents” are added to foods shipped in from other countries. And what is done to ripen or halt ripening. Though this process seems to be friendly. Now that I’m living in North Dakota, I know actual farm and ranch people, and I’ve heard about struggles, problems with weather, problems with the market prices, etc. I admire farmers and know that I would never want to be one!
I agree completely, Karen — it’s a tough life and fraught with so many challenges. I had an interesting conversation with a veterinary pathologist this weekend. He specializes in avian biology, and he says—and I expect he’s right—that the days of the small farmer are in the past as far as having a dominant role in our food supply. The need of a growing population and the demands of a competitive grocery store system are just too great for anyone to meet besides big agricultural enterprises. I find this sad.
Very interesting! I like that the process of harvest to shipment of the bananas is so hands on. I am glad these Costa Ricans have steady, clean work to do and that there is such an effort on the part of Dole to make the harvesting and shipping process so environmentally friendly. Locally grown food is such a good idea for so many reasons (though not for bananas obviously). We support local farmers who raise their families and do business in our community. We know where our food comes from and how it is grown. There are not as many fossil fuels, as in trucking the food from California, used to get the food to market. We try to buy, fresh and local when we can. We get our beef from a local farmer every year. It is super delicious and much cheaper.
I agree that this seems to provide good work for the local people — and I love living in an area where we have access to locally grown produce and meat. The more of us who support this, the more likely it will be to continue. Thanks so much for reading and commenting.