Bananas is an integral fruit on many diets all around the world, though the majority of people do not realize the production process that the fruit goes through. If everyone was truely informed of the banana industry, would their opinion of the fruit change? Through research, I discovered some interesting and unknown facts about the production of bananas all over the world.
Though 123 countries produce bananas, over 63% of all production is accountable to just 10 countries. America and Europe make up the largest market share for the demand of this crop. Like the demand, the ownership of banana production is also concentrated in these areas with big corporations such as Dole, Chiquita, Del Monte, and United Fruit Co. producing all but 13% of bananas. This means that the bananas are different from coffee in that there are very few individual or cooperatives in the banana industry.
Because of this more incorporated way of production, many time there are things that the plantations in places in CR lack or are not sufficient in. Many times, plantations are grown in countries that have less than par labor laws or even a low committment to human rights. In CR, where payment is already scarce, immigrant workers (Nicaraguans) are willing to work for less which decreases job security, and due to the problems stated above, the work conditions are often strenuous and may have other harmful effects, such as the spraying of harmful pesticides and fungicides while workers were in the field or even near their homes.. The type of work conditions on banana plantations found all around the world would not be acceptable in the places where most bananas are actually being sold (U.S. and Europe).
Though unionization and organization by banana plantation workers seems like a feasible answer, attempts have been unsuccessful. The tiny improvements that opotential unions would work for are, to many workers, not worth the chance of being fired or "blacklisted" from employment at other plantations. Due to the lack of a successful organizing of many banana workers, the conditions they work in have not improved, and there seems to be no way around it with the need of a job being so high.
Exports of bananas are continuely growing but the proccessing and packing process of bananas may also be disturbing to consumers. The spraying and gasing of unrippened bananas, in order to make sure they turn from bright green (when picked) to the yellow so many consumers are used too, is done just before the banana is loaded onto ships for delivery to market by sea.
Luckily, like with coffee, bananas are also a Fair Trade product. This means that some bananas are produced using Fair Trade guidlines which include that their production be sustainable. This means no use of pesticides, fungicides, and other dangerous chemicals which benefits workers, citizens of the countries where bananas are produced, and consumers. If the banana industry moved to an all Fair Trade system, the industry would be more efficient and ultimately achieve the goal of sustainable.
Friday, May 30, 2008
More on EcoTourism
A good definition of ecotourism that I found was "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." Those people that participate in ecotourism should follow some general guidlines to ensure that this goal is preserved. Those guidelines include minimizing impact, building awareness and being respectful while providing financial benefits for conservation. The biggest difference between regular tourism and ecotourism seems to be that ecotourism is sustainable and regular tourism struggles to be so.
Ecotourism focuses on local cultures, local wilderness , and learning new ways to live and interact on Earth. Ecotourism usually involves adventures to places where the environment and culture are the main attractions. Successful, sustainable ecotourism includes trips that reduce adverse effects of traditional tourism on the natural environment while also continueing to enhance the cultural ways of local people.
Ecotourism can be broken down into many different sectors. These sectors include and are not limited to, Holiday ecotourism, Academic ecotourism, Adventure ecotourism, and Educational ecotourism. During my stay in CR, I will be practicing Academic, Adventure, and Educational ecotourism.
CR has has an enormous amount of biodiversity which makes it a great country for further developement of ecotourism. Although CR is the most deforested country in Latin America, it also has the most protected land in Latin America. With tourism being one of the largest industries in the world, ecotourism has become an opportunity for developing countries like CR. One of the most important positive impacts that ecotourism has had on CR is that it has brought jobs and infrastructure to places that many believed may never have had the opportunity otherwise.
It is my belief, that because ecotourism is growing so quickly around the world, that soon it will be the job countries like CR to differentiate itself from other countries that offer ecotourism. Just like in any other industry, I feel it will be important for ecotourism in countries to product differentiate itself in order to continue to be sustainable and successful.
Ecotourism focuses on local cultures, local wilderness , and learning new ways to live and interact on Earth. Ecotourism usually involves adventures to places where the environment and culture are the main attractions. Successful, sustainable ecotourism includes trips that reduce adverse effects of traditional tourism on the natural environment while also continueing to enhance the cultural ways of local people.
Ecotourism can be broken down into many different sectors. These sectors include and are not limited to, Holiday ecotourism, Academic ecotourism, Adventure ecotourism, and Educational ecotourism. During my stay in CR, I will be practicing Academic, Adventure, and Educational ecotourism.
CR has has an enormous amount of biodiversity which makes it a great country for further developement of ecotourism. Although CR is the most deforested country in Latin America, it also has the most protected land in Latin America. With tourism being one of the largest industries in the world, ecotourism has become an opportunity for developing countries like CR. One of the most important positive impacts that ecotourism has had on CR is that it has brought jobs and infrastructure to places that many believed may never have had the opportunity otherwise.
It is my belief, that because ecotourism is growing so quickly around the world, that soon it will be the job countries like CR to differentiate itself from other countries that offer ecotourism. Just like in any other industry, I feel it will be important for ecotourism in countries to product differentiate itself in order to continue to be sustainable and successful.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
More on Coffee in CR
For the coffee industry, the development of Fair Trade Coffee resulted in many advances in the lives of small farmers everywhere and the improvement of their treatment. From Fair trade Coffee, producers receive a fair price at which to sell their products, usually a price that supports a living wage. Other benefits included the end of forced and child labor, the improvement of working conditions from both a safety and health prospective.
Overall, Fair Trade benefits small suppliers of coffee the most but is effective for the whole industry in determining a minimum acceptable price. It provided equal work opportunities for all those interested and also put all processes of production and trade in the public eye. Mostly, Fair trade Coffee ended a time in the coffee industry where small scale producers were exploited for the product at prices not high enough to support their way of life.
Today, the Fair Trade System (which includes the coffee industry), employees over 800,000 people and has organized cooperatives and unions in over 48 different countries. The problem today is that there is still coffee being sold outside the Fair Trade system which hurts all the producers of coffee from a price standpoint. In coffee, the end product is marked with the appropriate logo if it is a Fair Trade Coffee product.
By buying and supporting Fair Trade Systems of trade, the rest of the world can help support industries in developing countries that without this system would lack the structure needed for the industry to be successful for the producers.
Overall, Fair Trade benefits small suppliers of coffee the most but is effective for the whole industry in determining a minimum acceptable price. It provided equal work opportunities for all those interested and also put all processes of production and trade in the public eye. Mostly, Fair trade Coffee ended a time in the coffee industry where small scale producers were exploited for the product at prices not high enough to support their way of life.
Today, the Fair Trade System (which includes the coffee industry), employees over 800,000 people and has organized cooperatives and unions in over 48 different countries. The problem today is that there is still coffee being sold outside the Fair Trade system which hurts all the producers of coffee from a price standpoint. In coffee, the end product is marked with the appropriate logo if it is a Fair Trade Coffee product.
By buying and supporting Fair Trade Systems of trade, the rest of the world can help support industries in developing countries that without this system would lack the structure needed for the industry to be successful for the producers.
Pics From Manuel Antonio
From Bottom to Top:
Crocodiles on the trip to Manuel Antonio.
View from our hotel.
Bob, Jon, Morell, Myself, and Evan at Dinner.
Chase and I at dinner.
Stream running through Manuel Antonio National Park.
Pic of me while on our hike through Manuel Antonio National Park.
Off day visit to Manuel Antonio
On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27th and 28th, all 27 of us boarded the bus for a 5 hour drive to Manuel Antonio. The whole way it rained but we remained optimistic that it was going to be sunny at the beach! Turns out, that CR is in the middle of a tropical storm and can expect more rain to come. Even with the rain, the trip was a lot of fun.
After a 5 hour bus ride that included seeing crocodiles in the river we passed over, we arrived in Manuel Antonio around noon on Tuesday, and I headed straight for the beach. It was my first Pacific Ocean experience. The water was really warm and with the rain, it was an especially amazing experience.I spent about 4 hours on the beach until it was dinner time. We headed for a local restaurant just a little in town from our hotel. It was also happy hour which ended up being a good time. After dinner, we went back to our hotel for a little rest and relaxation.
Wednesday morning I awoke at 7am for breakfast and an 8am nature walk through Manuel Antonio Natural Forest. It was still raining but this walk was well worth it. We saw many good views, monkeys, a forest tree fall just in front of the trail we were walking on, and other creatures that inhabited the rain forest. After the tree fell, The wild life in the forest made many calls and it was amazing to hear all the monkeys call out into the rest of the forest.
Finally, later that afternoon, we headed back to San Jose. I arrived around 8pm exhausted and after dinner was asleep by 10. Overall, I was very pleased to have a short break from studies and San Jose and to have the chance to see another part of CR and experience the Pacific Ocean.
After a 5 hour bus ride that included seeing crocodiles in the river we passed over, we arrived in Manuel Antonio around noon on Tuesday, and I headed straight for the beach. It was my first Pacific Ocean experience. The water was really warm and with the rain, it was an especially amazing experience.I spent about 4 hours on the beach until it was dinner time. We headed for a local restaurant just a little in town from our hotel. It was also happy hour which ended up being a good time. After dinner, we went back to our hotel for a little rest and relaxation.
Wednesday morning I awoke at 7am for breakfast and an 8am nature walk through Manuel Antonio Natural Forest. It was still raining but this walk was well worth it. We saw many good views, monkeys, a forest tree fall just in front of the trail we were walking on, and other creatures that inhabited the rain forest. After the tree fell, The wild life in the forest made many calls and it was amazing to hear all the monkeys call out into the rest of the forest.
Finally, later that afternoon, we headed back to San Jose. I arrived around 8pm exhausted and after dinner was asleep by 10. Overall, I was very pleased to have a short break from studies and San Jose and to have the chance to see another part of CR and experience the Pacific Ocean.
Pics from Arenal, LaFortuna, and Monteverde
From Bottom to Top:
Stephanie, myself, Prof. Platt, and Bob in the 152 degree hot spring.
Arenal Volcano.
Nate and I at the hydroelectric damn.
Horseback riding to Lafortuna Waterfall.
Me and hardened lava from Arenal volcano.
Nate and I in our equipment ready to go zip lining through the jungle.
And though you cant really tell, that is me on the Tarazan swing!!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Arenal, LaFortuna, and Monteverde
We arrived in Arenal on Friday night. The first sightseeing part of our trip was to visit the Baldi hot springs which are naturally heated by the Arenal volcano near by. Here were able to go down water slides, get into pools that where 150 degrees, and have dinner. Almost everyone got into the extremely hot spring, especially compared to other years where the proffessors claimed that barely anyone got in past their knees. I was pretty excited because I was able to go under with my whole body including my head.
The next day, we had breakfast at our hotel and proceeded to a Hydro electric plan. At the ICE plant, we were able to see where they damned the water up as well as the turbines and other parts of the electricity generating process. It was very interesting and something I had never seen before. When leaving the tour we saw a 3 feet iguana which was the pretty much first exotic animal I had seen while in CR so far. The next stop in our day was LaFortuna water fall. After about a 20 min hike down what seemed like a vertical mountain side, we were rewarded with the view of a large water fall that I guessed was at least 10 stories high. we were able to swim in the pool of water that the fall dropped to. The current was very strong and the water was cool and felt amazing after getting hot on the hike down. The worse part about the visit to the waterfall was the walk back up to the bus which was tiring. We then took a hike on the trail of the Arenal Volcano. WE were able to walk over colled lave and saw some amazing views as we hiked higher up the volcano. That night we ate at the Steakhouse restaurant. When we returned to our hotel, the power was out so we lit candles to find our way around. It was actually kind of relaxing not to have power to watch tv or read or anything else. We were also lucky enough that night for it to be clear enough for us to see molten lava running from the top of the volcano.
Sunday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and left by jeep to cross the Arenal Lake which 40 years ago was a city but was destroyed by the volcano and later flooded by damns. While crossing the lake there were many beautiful views of the volcano and the scenery around us. after crossing the lake we boarded more jeeps for the final part of the trip to Monteverde. When we reached Monteverde, it was time to ZipLine. We traveled over 13 lines through the cloud forest , rappeled 50 feet, and Tarzan swung. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done and hope I get to experience it again. The fact that I was able to travel through the canopy of a Rain Forest still amazes me! After the ZipLining, we traveled to where were staying which was the Monteverde National Park. The night consisted of a walk through the jungle. we were able to see many insects but the highlight of the walk was a couple of from and the Orange Ringed Tarangela.
Monday morning was our travel day, but we woke up at 6am for a morning Bird watch in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Luckily we were able to see many birds including the male and female Quetzal, the most popular bird to try and view in CR. We Arrived back in San Jose around 1pm. We hit up a local flee market to try and find some good stuff for cheap.
Tomorrow we head for Manuel Antonio at 7am. Here, we will be able to enjoy our first beach experience in CR.
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