On April 19th, WBEZ Chicago aired the following 19 minute radio interview about the conventional banana industry (owned and controlled by just a handful of multinational conglomerates like Dole and Chiquita) and the small farmer alternative which places small farmers, ethical retailers, and engaged consumers center stage in a growing movement.
One banana: Two very different paths. Which one do you choose?
Worldview
The Banana Supply Chain And The Movement To Change It
Worldview
April 19, 2016
Click here to hear the 19 minute radio broadcast.
Courtesy of Katherine Nagasawa, Leah Varjacques
A banana farm worker in Ecuador weighs and washes the fruit. Today, Ecuador exports 32 percent of the world’s bananas.
The interactive web documentary Beyond the Seal follows bananas from the fields of Ecuador to the U.S. supermarket and investigates a growing Fair Trade movement for the fruit.
Dan Koeppel, author of Bananas: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World and Nicole Vitello, president at Fair Trade banana importer Oké USA Fruit Company, are both featured in the documentary.
They join us to talk about the farmers, activists and business leaders who are working to change the U.S. banana industry.
Beyond The Seal was produced by Leah Varjacques and WBEZ intern Katherine Nagasawa.