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Protest Bananas!
by Louise |
by Sarah |
by Charlie |
by Emma |
Banana poems
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I am a banana man
Just about to get the can
cause yesterday I hid inside
to avoid the pesticide
It burns my skin, mutates my kin
I'm ill and poor, I cannot win
my pay is bad, my back is sore
this is the banana war.
by Emma Carter
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It's raining again
Over the fields of Honduras
It's burning again
Our hot skin is porous
It's raining again
Over the streets of Honduras
It's flesh-eating again
It's fine they assure us
But we don't own the fields
So a cancerous downpour
Falls on streets schools and houses
And we can't save our children
In the fields of Honduras
Nobody heard us
And nobody saw us.
by B.L.
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Anisha
Sharma represents
the World Trade Organisation in a surprising
turnaround of events!
Speaking on behalf of the World
Trade organisation, we think that Europe is authorised
to proceed with the preferential treatment of ACP products.
A man called Lorenzo Daw
Baker in 1870 established the banana trade,
and it continued from then on until the Second
World War, when it was bought to a halt. However
it was started again in 1950.
There are three major banana
corporations now that control two thirds of
world banana exports, making huge amounts of
profits. Whereas on the other hand there are
independent farmers making little to nothing.
The profit gained by large
corporations allows them to grow even more
bananas, which are treated with chemicals such
as fungicides and disinfectants throughout
the production cycle. Thus the production cost
is low due to large quantities. Another
advantage for big banana companies is that
shipping costs are reduced as larger volumes
are being produced.
Unfortunately small farms
in the Caribbean cannot use this advantage,
as their production is low due to the poor
soils and hilly areas, thus shipping and production
costs are high, and due to this little profit
is made. It is just about enough to feed their
families despite the long and hard hours gone
into growing the bananas. In
contrast to the large companies who employ
workers to work in their huge acres of fields
for low wages and long hours.
The money made from bananas
is unevenly distributed. Producers only get
5% of the profits, where as distribution and
retail get 34%. To see the difference in simpler
terms we can think of a situation where the
profit is £500, then the producers only get £25
of that, and the retailers get £170. The rest
is gone into shipping costs and ripening and
processes cost.
The banana trade is a vicious
circle for independent farmers who just want
to earn a living and want to feed their families,
and it's a thriving profitable industry for
large corporations such as Chiquita who are
set out to make a profit and pay their workers
as little wages as possible.
Therefore concluding that
it is fair that preferential treatment is given
to ACP's to give them a little help in establishing
their trade.
By Anisha Sharma
(Chiquita have
been asked for a response to this article)
NJ
Links:
Global
Issues on the banana trade
Oh dear! the Guardian has
the facts of the dispute
Banana link has
lots more information
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Return
to Juicy Geography 
