Banana Solidarity

I watched the programme Food: What Goes in Your Basket on Channel 4 this week and the piece on Fairtrade banana trading with St Lucia gave me occasion to reflect.  I adore bananas, but sometimes wonder if we should be buying from so far away.  Shipping is still incredibly carbon-heavy and most times of year there is plenty of European fruit to provide some choice.  But, like it or not, as a nation we have had a part in creating a global economy and while our monetary systems are still creating havoc with food prices, it’s important to show solidarity with growers on the other side of the world too.  Have a look at the programme – our bananas mainly come from the Dominican Republic but I’m guessing the simple co-operative process that gets them from farm to port is fairly similar.  Watch again on 4OD, and find out about the World Development Movement’s campaign on food speculation at www.wdm.org.uk.