On organic bananas

On organic bananas

27 Feb 2008

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Dear Umbra,

Why are organic bananas always smaller and almost always greener than non-organic?

BG
Tallahassee, Fla.

Dearest BG,

Hmm. Fresh organic fruits and vegetables often differ in appearance from their conventionally grown kin. They're the hippies of the produce world: unwaxed, expressing their individualism, coming to the produce stand as they are, lumps and all. Although I notice this has changed some over the past couple decades as organic farming has become industrialized and the produce has become more uniform.

Green bananas: still a-peeling?

Photo: Ian Ransley

Smaller size can be a result of organic production methods. When a conventional plant receives synthetic substances targeted at maximum fruit production, and a farmer can apply pesticides whenever a sickly plant (fed on little of substance) starts to lag, the fruit can get quite large. Organic farmers have to pay a bit more attention to the health of the whole farm, the whole plant, and can't just push plants to the max. As a result the fruit is smaller. I'm not claiming to know much about banana production, but I have seen this effect with other produce. So I think organic bananas may be smaller than conventional bananas because -- well, probably because organic banana plants are healthier. Those gigantic bananas to which we are accustomed are just plain old weird.

There are other reasons for different appearances in organic fruit. The variety of fruit might be unusual -- say, you might be seeing a Jonagold variety apple instead of only Red Delicious. I thought this might be the reason for your smaller banana. I now believe that all the basic yellow sweet bananas in the same general size are the Cavendish variety. Cavendish completely dominates the export banana markets, and the other bananas we might see look fairly different: smaller, fatter, green.

Other reasons for a different appearance in organics would be fewer pesticides and fertilizers leading to a less cartoonishly perfect fruit; or maybe no waxing leading to a less blindingly shiny fruit. I don't, however, think "greener" counts as less perfect with bananas. You know that bananas are picked unripe and shipped from somewhere tropical to you. In order to sell, the bananas must be close to ripe by the time they reach the store, but not too ripe. Apparently it's quite tricky to get the timing right. Much of banana shipping is done under refrigeration. So, another batch of assumptions here, your bananas may be greener due to the habits of the vendor. That organic banana vendor just keeps things a little greener. It could be -- could be -- that organic farmers have to ship their bananas greener because there's a ripening retardation chemical they can't use under organic certification, but I looked pretty hard and could not confirm that theory of mine.

Ask Umbra continues below

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We should all know a little more about bananas, which are the world's most popular fruit -- and thought to be one of the world's oldest as well. Banana plants are not trees. They are giant herbs, just as if oregano grew 25 feet tall. The cluster we buy at the store was once part of a larger cluster called a "hand." They are incredibly popular and also incredibly important as a basic foodstuff. Most are grown in developing countries, with Ecuador, the Philippines, Costa Rica, and Colombia dominating the export market. However, exports make up only 15 percent of world banana production, which totals 115 million tons! The rest are grown for local sales or for home cooking.

There shouldn't be anything wrong with your greener bananas. Take 'em home, let them ripen at room temperature for a few days, and then have a tasty snack. Keep buying organic, especially as it benefits the health and living environment of the producers. As we have discussed in the past, however, if you have a limited budget or are desperate for fruit in a place without organics, you can prioritize your purchases -- and bananas are an OK choice for buying conventionally grown, as they have less pesticide residue than other choices.

Handily,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (22 comments)

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pesticides

Although bananas do have much lower pesticide residue than other fruits (due largely to their protective skin) the effects of pesticide use at the source make it far from "OK." The real impact of the bananas' weekly pesticide bath is on the workers and the farms. About a quarter of the price of bananas in the supermarket goes towards pesticides.

Where I live, organic (Dole) bananas are about 79¢ a pound, compared to 59¢ for non-organic. Your pricing may vary, but for me it's a no-brainer.

P.S. Interesting banana fact: all Cavendish bananas produced today are clones of an original from the 1950s. Bananas are sterile and can't reproduce naturally.

by miken32 at 9:07 AM on 27 Feb 2008

ripeness

One thing I have noticed about organic bananas is that they stay good longer than conventional ones. A conventional 'yellow with a few brown speckles' banana is near the end of its life. An organic one is just reaching the peak, and will stay good a few more days. I've learned to open up organic bananas to see what they look like inside before assuming they have gone bad.

by zengrrl at 10:53 AM on 27 Feb 2008

ripening of bananas

Commercial bananas are usually ripened at the wholesale distributor in large gas chambers using ethylene gas.
See http://www.eatmorebananas.com/facts/ripening.htm

by wolfger at 12:02 PM on 27 Feb 2008

Even if you do end up with some bad bananas

Here's a great recipe for your overripe bananas:

Banana Nut Bread

2 1/2 cp flour
1 cp sugar
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 T. salad oil
3/4 cp milk
1 egg
1 cp mashed ripe banana (2-3 medium)
1 cp finely chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9x5x3-inch loaf pan or 2 8.5x4.5x2.5-inch loaf pans. Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl; beat on medium speed 1/2 minute, scraping side and bottom of bowl constantly. Pour into pan(s). Bake 55-65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly before slicing.

Enjoy delicious banana bread.

by Ashley Braun at 5:31 PM on 27 Feb 2008

Lets not forget about Ethylene gas

I have a friend who works for a very large national fruit and veggie company. He once described to me the banana ripening facilities he has on site at his distro center. Non-organic bananas are placed in what resemble large meat lockers. These banana lockers which are airtight are filled to the brim with bushels of bananas and then artificial ethylene gas is pumped in.

The ethylene gas hastens the ripening process so that the bananas are less green than they would normally be. Remember that rules of organics stipulate no artificial chemicals or non-natural methods for ripening. Your organic bananas that you pay almost twice the price for are NOT suffocated in noxious ethylene gas, unlike their cheaper much more attractive, and potentially hazardous counterparts.

by JLJ4774 at 7:12 PM on 27 Feb 2008

Purple bananas

You may want to check out purple bananas. I don't know if they are a subspecies of Cavendish or anything like that, but they are interesting.

by timhammond at 5:02 AM on 28 Feb 2008

radio show and book - fascinating stuff

Fresh Air just had an episode on bananas. Terry Gross interviewed the author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World and it was fascinating. They also talked about how there is a banana fungus or something that is threatening to wipe out banana trees (since they're all clones it wouldn't take much).

Yet another example of how mass industrialization of agriculture is bad for us. Africa is going to be particularly screwed since bananas make up a very important portion of the average African diet (so I heard).

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1909 ...

by sarahbei at 6:06 AM on 28 Feb 2008

another reason?

Organic bananas are still a tiny fraction of the bananas out there, so a grocer isn't going to move anything like the volume of organic ones as conventional. Therefore, maybe they aren't getting deliveries as regularly, so they have to put out greener ones at times, where with conventional the volume is so huge that they can put out only the ones that are right at their peak? I get that there's the ethylene issue, but I wonder if there's also some management stuff going on?

In any case, like the first commenter, I buy organic bananas for the workers' sake more than my own. In my area organic is twice the price (99c. vs. 49c.), but they also taste better, so it's no big.

In other banana news, a couple of months ago I was putting together a fruit basket of organic fruits from my local health food store, and in addition to apples, oranges, pears, etc, some little mini bananas caught my eye. They were maybe 4" long and not as bright yellow as Cavendish, but so adorable I couldn't resist putting some in the basket. Then when I went to actually assemble the fruit I had bought into the basket, I found that the bananas wouldn't all fit, so I split the bunch and got a few to eat myself...and OH MY GOD those things were delicious. If they had them all the time, I'd probably eat those exclusively instead of "normal" bananas. They were sweeter yet simultaneously more tart and delicately flavorful than a regular banana. If you see these, I highly recommend buying some!

by willa at 7:40 AM on 28 Feb 2008

You can use ethylene gas too!!!

Ethylene gas is a natural hormone produced by plants and fruits (especially ripe ones!). If you have some green bananas and have a hankering for ripeness in a hurry then just place the bananas in an air-tight bag with some ripe apples/oranges/pears etc. and let them sit overnight. Voila! ripe bananas!!!

Like snowflakes we are each frail but together we can stop traffic

by ruth117 at 10:42 AM on 28 Feb 2008

Bigger isn't always better

In regards to the size of the conventional bananas vs. organic bananas it might be helpful to consider size in a different way. Organic fruit usually has a "bigger" flavor. I work in the wine industry, a unique sector of the agricultural industry, because we are trying to produce more flavor, rather than more fruit. Most of the clonal selections we have in the vineyard are, at least partially, oriented towards smaller berries, since these have a better skin to juice ratio, but also better flavor in the grapes in general. I never buy conventional bananas anymore, because all too often they are bland and tasteless, regardless of how big and beautiful the fruit looks.

by marcus goodfellow at 10:44 AM on 28 Feb 2008

another reason to go organic

Did you know that when conventional bananas are grown they are covered by these enormous blue plastic bags? And, when they have reached the desired maturity the bags are thrown on the ground and the bananas are harvested. The rains come, wash those pretty blue bags into the canals and then into the oceans. THEN, turtles - whose primary diet is jellyfish - eat the blue bags as they mistake them for dinner. Thousands of sea turtles die each year this way. ORGANIC bananas don't need no stinkin' blue bag. If you care about turtles, oceans, your health, the environment (have I covered everyone here yet?) then please spend the extra .20 and buy organic!

by seattlepam at 5:56 PM on 28 Feb 2008

Ethylene gas

FYI some months ago ethylene gas was approved for use in organic bananas.

That makes me mad but they are still safer than the non-organic, so I still buy them.

Organic bananas in the store I shop are 79 cents a pound compared to 49 cents for the regular. It's well worth it to me to pay the extra.

by ladycat at 8:48 PM on 28 Feb 2008

The Cavendish

has been the dominant export banana since the early 1950's when it replaced the Gros Michel, which was wiped out within a very short space of time by a virulent root fungus. The banana is a finicky fruit best eaten locally: very few of the many many varieties of the banana are suitable for export. It is almost certain that the Cavendish will go the same way as the Gros Michel within the next decade or so as a new variant of that fungus to which the Cavendish is not resistant is already apparent in Asia and will undoubtedly hit the Central American plantations before too long. The Cavendish's replacement will almost certainly be a GE variety.

Enjoy your organic bananas while ye may.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

by spaceshaper at 3:59 AM on 29 Feb 2008

Conventional gigantism

I don't know about you, but I find those enormous conventional bananas to be too intimidating, almost pornographic.

I know it's opposite of what everyone thinks, but the smaller ones are so much tastier!

by crunchychicken at 4:48 PM on 29 Feb 2008

Organic bananas

Based on the headline for this post, I thought maybe you'd have offer specific information about banana production, organic vs. commercial. How are bananas grown, and how does organic cultivation differ? And how does that affect me, and the planet?

But by your own admission, you know virtually nothing about banana production, beyond a few stats you grabbed off the 'net, nor have you bothered to do any in-depth research as far as I can see.

So what is the purpose of this article--just to get people chatting? Or is it perhaps here, in the Comments section, that we the readers are supposed to supply the content for your article? Maybe it is YOU who should be chiding me for not doing MY research? If so, I quit!

by mkrugman at 8:54 AM on 01 Mar 2008

organic bananas

health be danged,
buy organic bananas to reduce the massive pesticide load dumped into the local environments surrounding banana farms.
Better yet, switch to a fruit that isn't farmed in monoculture on cleared tropical rainforest land, then shipped an ungodly distance to your grocery store.

Another note:
Beautiful fruit is not the same as quality fruit. As an example, juice oranges, bred for actual quality of the juice, look pretty ratty (but we never have to see them). The nice bulging orange oranges of supermarkets have been bred for beauty as much as for fruit quality. Furthermore, much of the pesticide application on orange-growing farms is geared at getting supermarket oranges to look nice, not at actually improving the culinary or gastronomical qualities of the orange.

by Leprof at 12:20 PM on 02 Mar 2008

other than Cavendish

I spent the summer of 2003 in Ecuador, and pigged out the whole time on fruit and juice, which were abundant, varied and cheap. A tall glass of frshly squeezed juice, from "pina"--pineapples--or mora--blackberries, my favorite--or other fruits, was fifty cents. I bought fruit in the farmers' markets--I could usually get pineapples two for a buck, and there were two kinds--the ones we know, and another kind which were the same only small at one end. There were two kinds of papaya, the ones we see and some shaped like footballs and a big bigger. There were three or four kinds of banana--the ones we know, big green ones, some medium-size red ones, and some small yellow ones. After trying them all, I stuck to the little yellow ones the rest of the time I was there. There were also lots of fruits we never see--I especially remember the tree tomatoes, looking like red eggs and tasting like a cross between tomatoes and fruit--they weren't too good without sugar but made a healthful drink apparently.

by mwildfire at 6:58 AM on 04 Mar 2008

Bananas are *tropical*....

Dear friends of the earth - don't forget that bananas are a tropical species and therefore can be grown nowhere in the mainland U.S. Therefore, even if you buy organic, large amounts of fossil fuels have to be burned and emitted to transport bananas to you. Our household has decided that the earth cannot afford Americans continuing this kind of high-traffic food lifestyle, even if the fruits and veggies are grown as ecologically sensitively as possible, so bananas for us are a rare treat. We live in northern California, and it's early March, so right now we are eating locally-grown organic oranges and storage apples.

I know that there have been studies (or at least one) indicating that locally-grown doesn't always win the prize - but I have yet to locate a detailed description of what was measured with these studies. It's like the British nappy study which found that cloth & disposable come out about even. Well, friends, that study was descriptive not prescriptive, and so measured the ecological footprint of the way people use cloth diapers - washed in a nearly-empty washing machine on HOT and dried in the dryer. I haven't been able to get hold of the details of that study either, but I suspect that it did not take fully into account the fact that a cloth diaper's useful life is somewhere passing 30+ years (my mother's still using mine to dust furniture) and they DON'T end up in a landfill.

The point is that if we environmentalists make use of these studies to endorse certain ecological bad habits without checking the specifics... well, that's just bad karma.

by Bobbi Katsanis at 8:05 AM on 04 Mar 2008

Mainland bananas

There was (maybe still is) a substantial banana farm between Santa Barbara and Ventura, California. And there is a gentleman in Sebastopol who grows amazing bananas, including the wonderful apple banana, which is little and yellow and has a stupendous flavor and texture, and the ice cream banana, which tastes very much like vanilla ice cream. He grows them in about an acre of greenhouse built for a '60s era flower operation using mostly solar heat (he told me he only has to use the heaters a couple days of the winter).

And I understand RMI grows bananas in their HQ in Colorado. It's amazing what you can do with a little glass and some smart siting.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

by PermieWriter at 8:23 AM on 04 Mar 2008

amen bobbi, others

I have to say I am with those who found this to be a surprisingly flimsy piece. But moreso with those who realize that choosing organic bananas is a bit like driving to the store and then fretting over paper or plastic (Walk, bike, bus...and take your own bag) I just heard Winona LaDuke speak on sustainability, and among the zillion socially and politically driven comments she made, she said a little flippantly, "how did bananas become our favorite fruit when they don't even grow here?"
duh.

by caseyreagan at 5:59 PM on 04 Mar 2008

More on imports

It's probably human nature to want to import exotic delicacies like bananas from time to time. We should regard such things as a special treat, and not expect them to be inexpensive, or always available. A much more insidious and dangerous trend, it seems to me, is the practice of importing produce that we can grow very well here at home, in the proper season, (e.g., apples and apple juice from China). That just makes no sense to me.

Let the jaguars return!

by Storm Dragon at 11:26 AM on 05 Mar 2008

Oh Banana

Oke USA, the fair trade banana company, has a few comments on this interesting banana post:

-There is no such thing as a cheap banana. The current banana system can basically be described as one where poor people in Latin America subsidize our banana consumption in the US with their physical and environmental health.

-I was surprised that there is not mention of fair trade, currently the only attempt to internalize the actual costs of production into the price that American consumers pay for their bananas.

-The biggest winners in the banana trade are the supermarkets that make large profits on America's most popular fruit.

-Organic and conventional bananas get exposed to ethylene gas as well as heat and moisture to wake them up from their refrigeration induced hibernation from their ocean transit.

-Plastic bags are used with organic banana production thought they are not impregnated with pesticides or they are impregnated with non-synthetic pesticide (like those derived from chili pepper or garlic). The plastic bags protect the skins from insects. Fair Trade certification stipulates that those plastic bags are collected and recycled and not allowed to get caught in steams.

-The greenness of organic probably owes mostly to lack of volume. Getting banana color right from a ripening/distribution perspective is all about continuous flow and volume (think of running water). The much much smaller volume of organic bananas means the stream of bananas is less regular and full. This makes it harder for the ripeners and distributors and retailers to get the color right all of the time.

-I believe strongly that organic bananas should be purchased for the sake of worker and environmental health at origin. However, as industrial organic has proliferated in the US it has also done so with tropical fruit. In the case of bananas, this means that folks are planting in higher altitude, dryer, more desert like regions to avoid the threat of moisture-loving airborne fungi and irrigating. These are incredibly fragile ecosystems that may be damaged by this sort of production and yet the bananas can be certified organic because no synthetic chemicals are used. Meanwhile there are growers in the traiditional lowlands regions who grow a "cleaner" IPM banana using less dangerous and lower quantities of pesticides. The black and white thinking of organic/not-organic is dangerous.

-Through decades of intense marketing, the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) and the Standard Fruit Company (now Dole) taught Americans that a banana is supposed to have perfect yellow skin and be just the right size and shape. This aesthetic canon is incredibly destructive and is the driving force behind the use of plastic bags and intense chemicals. Banana farmers know that if the peel is not perfect (regardless of how the fruit tastes) then then they can't export the fruit so they have very strong incentives to produce flawless looking fruit no matter the environmental cost. The most sustainable banana production I have heard about is a poly-culture farm in Costa Rica that grows bananas next to cacao, next to mangos and coffee. It is totally organic but they can't export any of their bananas fresh because of the way the skinds look so they sell them for puree for organic baby food. In addition to fairer trade, the most radical thing Americans can do would be to re-imagine the way a bananas is supposed to look in line with the way that bananas look in local markets in the south. Nobody, not even fair traders or banana Union folks, are attempting to raise these sorts of questions.

by jordanbaram at 8:33 AM on 11 Mar 2008

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