Banana Plantations

There is an increased awareness of the environmental effects of pesticides and fertilizers these days, yet we feel so far removed from these effects. I went to the supermarket earlier this afternoon and bought a little bunch of cute red bananas imported from Costa Rica for my kids to dote over... I'm destroying the Cahuita coral reef!!!


The massive deforestation to construct banana plantations has caused erosion, leaving unwanted soil sediments to negatively effect the reef.



Although I think that it would not be bad to indulge in bananas every once in awhile, I will definitely pay the extra few cents and get organic to eliminate the demand of buying products that were produced using pesticides. Moreover, I still stand by the local farmer's market to obtain local fresh fruits and vegetables (winter months are abundant with Michigan apples around the Midwest).



Note: See the blue bag in the picture... These are used to protect the bananas from the sunlight. At one point, they were being thrown into waterways and later dispensed into the ocean until environmental groups threatened banana boycotts, resulting in the construction of a recycling plant for plastic bags.