Bananas

I like bananas and there are some banana trees on my walk to school next to this house that has a security guard. I know that we are going to visit 2 different banana plantations, one that is sustainable and one that is not and probably uses way too many chemicals to be good for the environment. Bananas are a big part of Costa Rica´s exports as well, just like coffee.Bananas!

They are actually the number one foreign currency earning industry for Costa Rica. The United Fruit company was one of the first companies to start growing bananas in Costa Rica, and they helped develop a train system throughout the country to transport their crops which also assisted with the helped grow the interior structure of the country.

There are 2 major companies that have been involved with bananas in the past, them being United Fruit and Standard Fruit Co. which is the newer of the two. Both grow bananas near the atlantic coast because the climate is more appropriate there.

Evidently, there has been some violence surrounding the banana crop in Costa Rica. Violence in Costa Rica you say? Que ridiculo! (How ridiculous! especially for a country that doesn´t have an army!) There have also been numerous strikes organized by the workers, a major one being the 72-day strike in 1985. After this very long strike, United Fruit had to close down because of the lost profits and frustrations with the workers.