Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World | 
pickOne of the prompts for #Nonfiction2021 was “sunshiney or yellow,“ and what's more yellow than a banana? I've been interested in food justice issues for a long time (the pic is a banana article I wrote in 2002) and Koeppler does an excellent job of tracing the history and diversity of banana varieties, tackling the incredible history of corporate domination and exploitation involved, and looking into the risky future of the current popular strain.
Every single banana from the week‘s harvest is carefully skinned, then segregated, so that one breed doesn‘t mix with another. The peeling at HFIS is done by women, paid $10 a day, about double the Honduran wage. Aguilar says they are better at precision work than men. “They handle the fruit more gently,” he told me, “and they have better handwriting.” Each fruit has to be logged so its success or failure can be tracked through the growing cycle.
In 1952 [Guatemalan President Arbenz] issued decree 900. The law would redistribute land to local peasants. It allowed the government to confiscate any farm over 223 acres with a key condition: the land had to be unused. Nearly a quarter of a million acres were divided among 100,000 families...[United Fruit] hired a newspaperman to write a story that would “investigate” the links between Guatemala and the Soviet Union.
pickWhile I am actually allergic to bananas, I am deeply fascinated by the history of the banana. This book was so well written and researched, I loved reading it and learned so much!
Finished my banana book finally! Such a wealth of information! I was moved, angered, resigned, and hopeful! I hope you enjoy this book too!
I picked up this book on a whim several years ago; I'm glad I did. So much blood shedding and politics involved for one Banana. Koeppel takes readers through the entire picking process, including banana transportation for consumers at the grocery store. I raved about this book to everyone - my staff at the time read it and recommended it, and I had family members read it as well. I'll never look at a banana the same way again. #35bookparty
My stepdad has an obsession with bananas from his food scientist assistant days, so I think he'll like what he's getting for ChristmaHannuKwanzmas. 🍌🍌🍌
