For reasons that shall soon become clear, I keep thinking about the bananas article. Bananas in more than one sense. A recent New York Times op-ed, “The Human Cost of Your Breakfast Banana,” recounts the corruption and even horrors of the banana sector:

“Each year hundreds of millions of people worldwide eat bananas, a fruit that’s rich in vitamins and minerals. But here’s what the average consumer should know: Every bite contains a drop of the banana industry’s bloody history.”

In June, a Florida jury found Chiquita Brands liable for the deaths of eight men by a Colombian paramilitary group Chiquita had financed. “We should all ask ourselves: How much bloodshed is behind the bananas we eat for breakfast?” @NachoGomex asks.

Read: https://t.co/sXBwcI8xLJ

Fair enough, you might think. Chiquita sounds, from that article, like bad news. Plus, bananas are sort of meh as a food. Convenient (the built-in wrapper) and affordable but if I never ate one again I wouldn’t mind.

But even if you boycott bananas indefinitely, you’re not in the clear. Every foodstuff has its exposé. “Can vegans stomach the unpalatable truth about quinoa?” The “truth” being that “poorer people in Peru and Bolivia, for whom it was once a nourishing staple food, can no longer afford to eat it.” It’s important to reflect on this, and then… do what?........

© Canadian Jewish News