Fruit of the month: Banana

The botanical name for the banana is musa sapientum, which means “fruit of the wise men” – we couldn’t agree more!>

Top banana

The banana you see most often in the UK is called the Cavendish banana. The preferred variety was originally the Gros Michel which became almost extinct by 1960 due to a fungus called Panama disease.

Attack of the clones

Every single Gros Michel banana was genetically identical. They were all essentially clones – descendants of a single banana plant. Each new plant started as a cutting of an existing banana root. The fungus was able to spread easily from plant to plant as their defences were identical. This is also true for Cavendish bananas which puts them at similar risk of extinction.

Fruitful employment?

The banana industry provides employment for thousands of people in developing countries. This foreign exchange is vital to improve health, education, infrastructure and other social services. However the severe impacts of climate change make growing unpredictable and unsustainable. Issues in the banana industry highlight the precarious situation faced by many workers in developing countries such as poor wages, unstable employment and the handling of toxic and environmentally hazardous chemicals without adequate protection.

Fairtrade

Fairtrade products have been produced to meet the Fairtrade Foundation’s social, economic and environmental standards. The standards include protection of the rights of workers and the environment, the payment of the Fairtrade Minimum Price and an additional Fairtrade Premium to invest in business or community projects. We feel it is our duty to source all our food ethically so we only ever use bananas that are both organic and Fairtrade certified.