My Food, My Way 23At one point during our visit with Eric, we sat in a windowless room
while he explained how his planation fit into the larger system. Their
bananas went to the United States and ports beyond. Each buyer had
their own list of requirements. Failure to meet all of them was grounds
for rejecting the entire shipment. At the top of the list were appearance,
size, and shape.
Countless bananas were being culled and discarded, he told us, be-
cause they were too long, too short, too big in diameter, too much
curl, or bore superficial blemishes like scarring. Their appearance had
nothing to do with nutrition, taste, quality, or food safety but every-
thing to do with what the system dictated that a banana must be.
Over time, consumers had come to believe that every banana should
be identical and perfect. The fact that nature doesn’t operate this way
was immaterial.
Eric worked in a system where competition for contracts was high
and profit margins were thin. His operation was smaller than many
other plantations, which meant his margins were even thinner—and
that amplified his fear of a shipment being rejected. He also worried
about workers’ pay, turnover, and productivity.
As if that were not enough, Eric faced mechanical breakdowns and
the flare-up of pests and diseases like black sigatoka (leaf spots that
spread quickly and can reduce yields by 50 percent or more). He was
also well aware of the environmental destruction from bananas written
into Costa Rica’s history, including entire regions so damaged that
they could no longer produce bananas at all.
In this system, buyers hold the leverage, he remarked, and are
never shy to point out how other plantations are ready and willing to
meet their terms. If not in Costa Rica, then Guatemala or Honduras.
Becoming part of the banana system was little different from farming
corn in rural America. Having invested up front thousands of dollars
per hectare before a single banana was produced, Eric had one option:
stay on top of costs.
Yes, he told us in response to our questions, he was very concerned
about risks to workers’ health and threats to the environment. But
until the system changed, operating differently was more dream than
reality. As I interpreted what he said for my uncles, I wondered how