Are you pondering, wondering at the nearly invisible chain of custody of your apple or banana or orange. I’m no agricultural xenophobe. I don’t want to ban fruit or vegetables from anywhere. But I recognize the costs some people pay to get these scrubbed and stunning fruits to my table. Organic? Non-organic? Local? Schmocal? Global?
Habari Gani?
Ujima. Collective work and economic responsibility. Let’s take this opportunity on the third night of Kwanzaa to reflect on the world’s millions of agricultural workers who labor in oppressive conditions on factory farms and endure the effects of virulent pesticides to provide the fruits and veggies for our tables . . . and unfortunately, in our trash cans.
“One toxic insecticide widely used in banana production is chlorpyrifos, a potent neurotoxicant member of the organophosphate insecticide family. Chlorpyrifos can harm workers, communities and the environment but is not generally detected on peeled bananas. Children are especially sensitive to chlorpyrifos toxicity. The chemical can disrupt brain development and impair cognitive functions, measured by intelligence tests, when the child is exposed during pregnancy and early childhood (Rauh 2011). Costa Rican researchers found that children living near banana fields where pesticides were used had much higher concentrations of chlorpyrifos in their bodies than children living where only 12 percent of farmers reported using pesticides.” —–Sonya Lunder, EWG.org
They’re nature’s portable snack. You can take them up a mountain, to the beach, on thew subway or bus without breaking your diet. But do you need to buy only organic bananas? Why buy organic bananas?
for more on bananas and pesticides, Bananas are pesticide intensive
for more on worker safety:
U.N launches Banana Worker Safety handbook
Celebrate Kwanzaa by trying to find a way to eat responsibly and not waste. Check out a diabetes-friendly recipe for banana bread to rescue overripe fruit. You’ll have to buy a bunch and patiently await the ripening because they MUST be really ripe for this recipe.
Use 1&1/2 cups of whole wheat flour with 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
Use an artificial sweetener blend like Truvia baking blend instead of sugar
Use 1/2 cup of canola oil for the butter
Add some chopped walnuts
- reheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together canola oil and sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf, comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
I LOVE BANANAS. I NEED BANANAS.
The brilliantly comprehensive, Pulitzer-Prize winning book, “The Warmth Of Other Suns”: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson details the crushing experiences of southern agricultural workers in the 20th century. After reading this book, I began to think that saying a prayer before eating is not a bad thing.
A prayer/a hymn for the picker and the picker’s children. A prayer for the oyster-shucker and the oyster-shuckers’ children, a prayer for the cane cutter and the cane cutters’ children. An orison for the banana worker and the banana worker’s children. A prayer for all those who harvest and box and pack our meals. All of us are comrades in global commerce.
for more on Breena Clarke’s books, go to www.BreenaClarke.com
River, Cross My Heart, an Oprah book club selection and a classic of African American fiction is now available for your e-reader.
“The acclaimed bestseller–a selection of Oprah’s Book Club–that brings vividly to life the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, circa 1925, a community reeling from a young girl’s tragic death.” Amazon.com
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