The Show!

As you can see above, these are few pictures of The Chiquita Banana Show. It was kinda of an awkward show not only because they all spoke Spanish and I had no idea what they were saying, but also because they pulled us out of the audience to dance with them. However, it was a fun show to watch. Also, while we were there they offered us all packets full of information about Chiquita and the business industry in Costa Rica.

First, I would like to start out with a brief history of Chiquita. Well, in 1899, United Fruit Company became an established corporation. Then, in 1903, the were listed on the New York Stock Exchange. However, it was not until 1944 that the name Chiquita, the Miss Chiquita character, and the jingle all came about. It is interesting to note here that Chiquita actually means little girl. Finally, there were two huge events that occured during the 1960's that will impact the company forever. First, they began to use cardboard boxes for shipping which allowed for protection between locations. Second, they began to sell in Europe which opened up a whole new market. However, I want to focus more social responsibiliy & environmental responsibility.

According to Chiquita, all of their Latin American farms conform to certain standards, which includes: no child labor, safe working conditions, no harsh treatment, maximum of 48 hours a week, and compensation meets the legal minimum. While visiting the plantation, all of those requirements were being met. However, it is important to address what the minimum wage in Costa Rica is. Currently, Chiquita is paying their employees $13 a day, which is 50% greater than most plantations in Costa Rica. That fact truly put it in perspective for me to see how hard these people were working for the amount of money they were making. I am truly blessed with the opportunities that I have been given.

I also wanted to address the environmental aspect as well. According to Chiquita, their farms concorm to strict standards such as: minimal pesticide use, protection of wildlife, conservation of water and soil, environmental education, fair pay, safe working conditions, and no tolerance for deforestation. While must of these issues are important, that statement continues to show me that Chiquita is still not ready to become sustainable. For example, they specifically mention minimal pesticide use. If there is no demand for another solution to this big problem, then it will never happen. Also, as I mentioned in a previous blog, they continue to waste water and release them into the environement with harmful chemicals. However, they are making strides.

The company has planted at least one million trees along rivers, lakes, roads and in residential and industrial areas to try and help offset their actions that are harming to the environment. Also, at Chiquita they minimize the water that contains pesticides from spreading unlike many other banana plantations. Even though they are not perfect, I believe that they realize that sustainability is important and they are making steps to become more environmentally friendly. Overall, it is not going to help the environment if only one company makes a change, we must all make a change to become more sustainable.

Information from: Chiquita

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.

Banana Business: Good or Bad?

Well, that’s a hard question. To answer let’s look at it from the point of view from the text, Corporate Survival: The Critical Importance of Sustainability Risk Management. One of the main themes in the novel is the discussion of maximizing shareholder value by increasing financial performance, environmental performance, and social justice performance.

1. Financial Performance: Well, overall the banana business is doing well in the financial aspect of this model. Bananas have been one of Costa Rica’s number one exporters for years. Today, it is still very profitable, which would allow us to assume that banana business is good. However, we must look at the other two objectives in order to come to a conclusion about whether or not the banana business is good or bad?

2. Environmental Performance: There are numerous environmental standards set by the government to help protect the ecosystem from the banana business. One example would be Art. No. 13, which states that waste shall not be burned. Solid waste which is demonstrably unfit for collection or recycling, shall be deposited in sanitary landfills. According to the text, Cradle to Cradle, it is a positive motion that they are banning the burning of waste due to the fact that it could emit powerful chemicals into the environment, which would be harmful to humans, animals, plants, and the ozone. However, they are directly saying that it is ok to deposit their waste into sanitary landfills. That is unacceptable. The waste that they are going to leave in the landfill is not going to decompose and be beneficial to the earth, and therefore the harmful chemicals are just going to stay there. Would you consider this a good business plan, harming our own Earth where there aren’t unlimited resources?

3. Social Justice Performance: The final aspect of the model discusses social justice. As I have stated before, social justice is the concept of fairness and equity in dealing with workers, local communities, and people in other countries. Well, how is the banana business handling this objective? Today, thousands of workers were exposed to harmful chemicals in order to “effectively” produce bananas. I would say that isn’t the best treatment of your employees. Also, the business only offers three month contracts, in order to rotate employees. I don’t believe this is a good business plan because your workers aren’t going to work at their highest potential if they have a fear of losing their job at any moment. Another point that must be made is that the workers often face sexual harassment and violence. Again, they aren’t creating a safe work environment. The final point that I would like to make is that the workers are often paid below the legal minimum wage, which doesn’t push the workers to be the best. Would you consider this a good business plan?

Overall, would you consider Costa Rica’s current banana business, a good one or bad one? From this information, I hope that the banana business takes a new look at where they are heading and what kind of business they want to be.

Information from: http://members.tripod.com/foro_emaus/ni5.html

The History!

Today, bananas are one of the largest revenue generators of Costa Rica. Well, how did it come to be that way? It all started in the year 1878 when banana planting and cultivation began. An interesting fact is that Costa Rica was the first Central America nation to begin this process. In the early 1900's the United Fruit Company, founded by Minor Keith, became and established banana plantation. At that time, Costa Rica was the number one producer of bananas in the world. However, in the year 1934 a strike occured resulting in the shut down of banana production in Costa Rica. The production began again when equal wages were given to all workers. In the 1950's another company stepped in to fulfill the demand for bananas, and that was the Standard Fruit Company. They began production in 1956 and began exporting in '59. However, it was also shut down in 1985 due to a 72-day strike. They were able to bounce back but were condemned in 1992 due to pollution. According to a main theme in Corporate Survival: The Critical Importance of Sustainability Risk Management, is it more important to make the right choice, but endore more costs in the short-run and large rewards in the long-run or the wrong choice to make a quick dollar and face the consequences when they come? For the Standard Fruit Company, they made a wrong choice and were effected by that in the long-run. However, they bounced back again. Today, BANDECO (Del Monte) and the Standard Fruit Company (Dole) are the leading exporters of Costa Rican bananas.

How are bananas prepared? Well, first the plantations use incecticides to protect their product. Then the large bunches are cut off the stalk, placed on a large belt to transport them to other labors to sort. Then they are washed and then placed into boxes for shipment. Now, there are two sustainabile issues that must be addressed. First, the bags that are used for shipment have incecticide in them and are usually disposed of into the sea. Not only are these chemicals spreading through the water, but many turtles are also choking on these bags mistaking them as jellyfish. The second point is that the fertilizers that have many different chemicals in them are being washed out to sea. This has a direct effect on coral reefs, as many are dying. Again, we must ask ourself this question while thinking of the seventh generation ahead of us, is it worth destroying our planet in order to make a short-run profit or should we be making environmentally sound decisions and be thinking of the long-run?

Information from: http://www.kostaryka.org/banany2489/