• Vent@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        16
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        Or when people figure out that bananas actually cost ~20¢ each and not $2, lol

        • Shard@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          38
          ·
          11 months ago

          Banana Blight/Panama Disease.

          All bananas are essentially clones as they have no seeds and banana trees are propagated from offshoots.

          In the 1950s a fungus caused massive die off of banana trees leading to the effective death of the entire Gros Michel cultivar. We have overcome this set back by introducing the Canvendish cultivar which at the time was resistant to the fungus and was a commercially viable plant.

          We now face a resurgence of the fungus which has found a way to infect the Canvendish cultivars. Being clones, they have no way to develop a defense as we can’t interbreed the banana plants to produce resistance to the fungus. This time round we don’t have a readily replaceable cultivar thats commercially viable if the Canvendish cultivar fails.

          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease

          For reference the Gros Michel is still grown on a boutique scale and a 5 lbs box of Gros Michel bananas costs US$127 excluding shipping.

          • Droechai@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            7
            ·
            11 months ago

            Also worth mentioning is that candy banana taste is based on Gros Michel which is why it doesnt taste like standard bananas

            • bitwaba@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              5
              ·
              11 months ago

              Akschwelally this is on the Wikipedia list of common misconceptions

              Banana-flavored candy was not intended to mimic the taste of a formerly popular variety of banana. It tastes different from bananas because it is mainly flavored with only one of the many flavor compounds a banana has, isoamyl acetate, that is also found in a wide variety of fruits and fermented beverages.

              • Droechai@lemm.ee
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                11 months ago

                I couldn’t find the banana part on the link you sent (on mobile so hard to search) but if it’s true I stand corrected :) I’ll check the link when I get to a computer and if needed I’ll edit my misinformation post

                • bitwaba@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  11 months ago

                  It’s the last bullet under the Arts and Culture : Food and Cooking subsection.

          • bob_lemon@feddit.de
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            7
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            11 months ago

            I would buy organic bananas, but someone decided that they need a ring of packing tape around them, so I can’t separate the 2 or 3 that I need from the bushel of 6.

            • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              5
              ·
              11 months ago

              They did that at the grocery store for their organic peppers. Big plastic sticker around every bell pepper with ORGANIC in large print. And the sticker wouldn’t peel off without leaving glue residue.

    • Match!!@pawb.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      I believe the implication is that $2 would be a fair price to pay for a banana if it weren’t for imperialism exploiting the workers where they grow