Lindsey's column

The astounding story of the banana is not a short one.
Somehow, I got to thinking about the fruit last week, and I did some reading
up on the history.
Bananas are the main fruit on the world market, and they fuel the economies
in Latin America, the Carribean, Asia, and Africa.
It’s a $6 billion per year industry.
And that’s what got me thinking. So many people in the world rely on this
one beloved fruit.
But, what I didn’t know, and is darn interesting, is that the banana is the
product of genetic manipulation. It’s a hybrid of two South Asian wild
species, one is the shape of a lemon and is littered with seeds that look
like apple seeds, but it has the delightful flavour that we all know and
love. The other, holds that familiar shape and colour, but tastes like
poison even though it’s packed with nutrients.
Botanists thousands of years ago developed the large, tastey, but seedless
fruits, and cultivated them by suckering shoots and cuttings – which meant
every banana was and is genetically identical.
That puts the banana in a vulnerable state to disease and pests, and
researchers the world over are working to stay one step ahead of catastrophe
that would cripple the economies of several countries, and prevent me from
ever again tasting my mother-in-law’s delicious banana bread.
No way you say? Well, it has already happened. Before the 1950s, the Gros
Michel, or Big Mike, variety was the largest exported banana until the
Panama fungus started wiping it out. If you had one of these bananas back in
the day, you’ll probably recall the sweeter flavour and thicker peel than
the variety you can readily buy today.
The fungus started infesting the crops in the early 20th century, and in the
1950s, exporters started phasing the Cavendish cultivar into the world
market. But many banana companies and plantations waited until the last
minute to deal with the change-over, needing extra land to plant in a
disease-free area, and the Cavendish needed climate control, and extra
shipping protocol because of its thin skin and easy bruising.
Since the 1970s growers have been battling with a disease called black
sigatoka, and since the 1990s, a strain of pesticide-resistant Panama
disease that’s infecting the Cavendish plantations.
Some say it’s only a matter of time.
Some more interesting banana facts:
• Bananas are the largest flowering herbacious plant and are often mistaken for trees.
• Banana leaves can grow to three metres long and are used in pan-Asian and African cooking (but not eaten).
• The fruit bunches grow pointing up.
• The word 'banana’ comes from the Arabic word 'banan’, which translates to 'finger’.
• The song 'Yes! We Have No Bananas’ is about the Gros Michel cultivar devastation.
• People with a latex allergy may have a reaction to bananas
• Bananas provide a lot of vitamin B and C and potassium.