The Process!

Our visit to the Chiquita banana plantation on Friday, June 6, 2008 was not only interesting, but also informing. The first thing that I noticed when pulling into the plantation was a sign warning people of the hazardous materials that are used on the plants. I had a feeling I was going to find such a sign due to previous research, however I didn’t expect to see homes of people right across the street. It is important to note that the reason that they must use the chemicals is because the plant is foreign to Costa Rica and therefore needs them to survive. The banana plant was actually brought over from Asia.

After lunch, we were able to take a tour to see the process of how the bananas are produced. First, they must grow and nuture the plant which can take up to a year in time. After, the plant begins to produce the fruit – bananas. However, as you can see in the pictures above Chiquita must use plastic bags in order to protect the fruit from insects/fungi. At least at Chiquita, those plastic bags are recycled after their use, however there are some plantations that don’t even do that. Next, the workers (who are payed $13 a day) pick the bananas, and take them to be cleaned. As you can see above, the good bananas are sent through a cleaning process. The water that is sprayed on them contains a toxic chemical – chlorine to rid the bananas of a natural latex. Next, the bananas are boxed and ready to be shipped anywhere around the world. However, what I found most interesting is that the water that is used to clean the bananas is then wasted. The most efficient process would be to clean the water and recycle it again to clean the bananas. Yet, the water containing chlorine, is sent out and into a creek, which is ulimately effecting and harming the surronding environment. Even though Chiquita is using a “less bad” approach compared to its competitors, it still isn’t using a complete cradle to cradle method.

There are numerous benefits that they could reap if they were willing to think “outside the box” and think sustainable. As a matter of fact, I don’t even think the guides could even answer our questions that related to sustainability. Some of the benefits that they could see if Chiquita was willing to make some changes would include: reduce costs (for example, the reuse of water), reduce risk and liability, and an increase in labor production and financial performance. Overall, they must shift their eyes from the short-run to the long-run. Also, not just on their customers, but also the environment and their stakeholders.