The fluorescent lights in Safeway’s produce department illuminate the colourful display of tropical fruits, making the Vancouver blizzard outside seem miles away. The pyramid of pineapples sits neatly next to the selection of artificially dew-covered mangoes, and coconuts rest under a fake palm tree, which is lit up with blinking Christmas lights. Bing Crosby’s “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” floats through the store as shoppers bustle around, their boots squeaking on the floor from the melted snow. The perfectly yellow bananas with the usual Chiquita stickers sit in bunches next to a blow-up snowman. With such a winter-like atmosphere, it is difficult to visualize the warm climate where these bananas came from. Where were they grown? Who picked them? What does the plantation look like? How can the fifty cents per pound possibly pay for the production and transportation costs?
Bananas have been a source of discord in developing countries for years. Workers are usually underpaid by large corporations such as Dole, Chiquita, and Del Monte, and exposure to toxic chemicals has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of workers. These corporations have oppressed (and murdered) members of labour unions, bribed government officials, and stolen land from locals. In order understand the fruit companies in Central America a bit better, we examined the history and current condition of banana workers and corporations in Guatemala, one of the original sites of the UFCO's operations. You can read more about it in our blog.
The true Chiquita Banana Song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2E3qtHiDF4
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