Banana trouble...

I still subscribe to Popular Science after all these years, and although there are things that irk me about the magazine, including their butchering of the science of statistics, once in a while they have an excellent article that reminds me why I subscribe.

This month's edition has an article about bananas. Apparently, the Cavendish banana that is available in US supermarkets is in trouble - an epidemic has killed the trees that bear them in other parts of the world, and although our suppliers (Central America, Carribean) haven't been hit yet, experts predict it will happen in 5 or 10 years at most, and they're desperately trying to save the Cavendish or create a new, hardier breed.

This has happened once already, interestingly enough. I'm too young to remember them, but the US's previous banana-of-choice was a breed nicknamed "Big Mike", and they supposedly tasted better than the Cavendish. The fall of the Big Mike and rise of the Cavendish reversed the fortunes of several countries. (Check out the origin of the term "banana republic".)

Bananas are tricky, because they have to be picked while green and in the supermarkets right as they ripen. It takes time to transport them, so a fruit that ripens too quickly won't work very well. Also, transporting them may cause some bruising - so they have to have a fairly thick skin.

The article mentions that Americans eat more bananas per capita than any other fruit (the apple is second), and it's important to me because I eat a lot of bananas. It's definitely worth the read:

Can This Fruit Be Saved?