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I love bananas, but they are air freighted. Is it ok to buy them if they are fair trade or organic? What do others think?

I seem to remember (although I could be completely wrong) that the EU has a fixed price for bananas. If that's so, than at least the producers aren't forced into losing spiral of negative profits. Travel costs, though - hmmmmm - problem is, I love bananas too.

Are you sure they are air freighted... I had assumed that many would be shipped as they have quite a long shelf life and they don't actually ripen on the plants.

I do know that the ones used by both Abel and Cole and Riverford/Nene/Swale are freighted by sea, I don't know about any others though.

I like narnas too! I thought they were shipped by boat as well. Arn't they the only income for some islands? I'll keep buying fairtrade/organic for now. I get frustrated that supermarkets always bag the organic ones which, apart from more plastic I don't want, I also have to buy 6 nearly ripe ones. That's a lot for just me!

marshlander wrote:I thought they were shipped by boat as well. Arn't they the only income for some islands? I'll keep buying fairtrade/organic for now.

That's my take on it, too! I'm pretty sure they come by sea - unless they've changed that recently. I won't buy non-organic ones; haven't done since I learned (at uni) how they are grown - sprayed on average once a week during their one-year lifetime for and against just about anything you can imagine, and then dipped into a chemical cocktail just before shipping to prevent mould - and most of that without any concern for the safety of workers and their families...

I thought they were shipped.

and you have to balance buying a banana which was grown overseas and hence has a CO2 footprint due to shipping against say, an apple which was grown here.. but wait a minute.. its May .. so its been in cold storage since Autumn.. also a footprint.

I buy organic fairtrade bananas.

Thanks everyone, I dont feel quite so bad now, but I will stick to organic ones now after all the chemical stuff ina.

ina wrote:

marshlander wrote:I thought they were shipped by boat as well. Arn't they the only income for some islands? I'll keep buying fairtrade/organic for now.

That's my take on it, too!

Same here. They are the only major export from some Carribean Islands, and a major crop for countries like Honduras (the original "Banana Republic" - I used to live there).
If everyone stopped buying bananas it would have a massive negative impact on those countries, and FairTrade or not, it's the only source of income for 1000's of people.

Right,
I shall continue buying bananas with vigour.

Living in Dover, I worked unloading fruit for a while on the docks and yes indeed they come by boat. Lots of them all green with creepy crawlies too.

Most of the citrus fruit comes in the same way too.

It did put me off them for a while but I am fully recovered nana eater now!

Don't a lot of bananas come from Iceland anyway? Yes really - they're Europe's largest producers of bananas! Something to do with the hot springs.
Maggie

They may be Europe's largest producer - simply because nobody else produces them - but I've never seen that on a "Country of origin" label! And I ALWAYS check that.