As it turns out eating bananas imported from the other end of the world is not so bad on the carbon foot print calculator. Although they are refrigerated during transportation and this consumes energy, bananas are shipped from one place to the other unlike many other foods that are air freighted, and this is 100 times less polluting than going by air. Bananas are also, however, the second most sprayed crop in the world after cotton. As well as getting regular doses of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, the bunches are often wrapped in pesticide-coated plastic bags while still on the tree. Five of the chemicals used on bananas are classified as extremely hazardous by the World Health Organisation, and three are not approved for use in the UK. On large plantations, which are mostly run by the four corporations that manage 80 per cent of world banana trade, more money is spent on agrochemicals than on workers’ wages (Times Online, 27 Dec 2007). The health hazards to workers of using these chemicals have been proven (higher cancer rates, infertility, etc.), and the intensive mono-culture of bananas on a large scale deplete large areas of soil from their nutrients in less than two years, requiring plantations to expand continuously and contributing to deforestation. You got it, banana is not the greenest fruit on earth. So as a consumer, what should you do? The answer is to buy fairtrade and/or organic bananas. Organic banana production is chemical free and in most cases done in a sustainable way. Fairtrade bananas are sourced from small producers and ensure living-standard wages are paid to workers. Small plantations are also much more likely to involve sustainable planting and lower pesticide use. Best of course is to buy bananas that are both fairtrade and organic if you can find them, thereby protecting the environment and helping workers make a better living. Banana are a cheap good, making the extra cost of going fairtrade and/or organic rather small. Next time you shop, remember this.As it turns out eating bananas imported from the other end of the world is not so bad on the carbon foot print calculator. Although they are refrigerated during transportation and this consumes energy, bananas are shipped from one place to the other unlike many other foods that are air freighted, and this is 100 times less polluting than going by air. Bananas are also, however, the second most sprayed crop in the world after cotton. As well as getting regular doses of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, the bunches are often wrapped in pesticide-coated plastic bags while still on the tree. Five of the chemicals used on bananas are classified as extremely hazardous by the World Health Organisation, and three are not approved for use in the UK. On large plantations, which are mostly run by the four corporations that manage 80 per cent of world banana trade, more money is spent on agrochemicals than on workers’ wages (Times Online, 27 Dec 2007). The health hazards to workers of using these chemicals have been proven (higher cancer rates, infertility, etc.), and the intensive mono-culture of bananas on a large scale deplete large areas of soil from their nutrients in less than two years, requiring plantations to expand continuously and contributing to deforestation. You got it, banana is not the greenest fruit on earth. So as a consumer, what should you do? The answer is to buy fairtrade and/or organic bananas. Organic banana production is chemical free and in most cases done in a sustainable way. Fairtrade bananas are sourced from small producers and ensure living-standard wages are paid to workers. Small plantations are also much more likely to involve sustainable planting and lower pesticide use. Best of course is to buy bananas that are both fairtrade and organic if you can find them, thereby protecting the environment and helping workers make a better living. Banana are a cheap good, making the extra cost of going fairtrade and/or organic rather small. Next time you shop, remember this.