Today I turned 39 (for the second year in a row)! Any guesses how I celebrated? Party? No, covid. Piñata? Nope, although my kids would have loved that. Special drink? Not yet (margarita coming later!)

The one thing I wanted for my birthday today was a banana! It has officially been 1 full year since I ate a banana. A few years ago I could not even fathom life without bananas. Bananas are delicious and such an easy snack and natural sweetener. I’ve loved them my whole life.

However, in my efforts to double down on local and seasonal eating, I made a pledge to give up bananas for a year. I started my pledge purely to help limit eating foods that are not in a 150 mile radius from my home, however I quickly found out there are so many more reasons to cut back on the bananas.

The Banana Problem

The problem I see with bananas is two-fold

1 – Environmental impact: Heavy pesticide use, long shipping distances, and habitat destruction just to name a few. Bananas are a tropical fruit and, therefore, rarely grown in America. Even if you are able to find bananas produced in this country, they will likely still travel hundreds of miles to reach you. Most bananas that you eat come from Central or South America. They have to be shipped and then stored in “Banana houses” where they are cooled to stop pre-mature ripening.  So much waste in fossil fuels all around.  Additionally, banana production results in one of the heaviest pesticide applications of any produce.

2 – Unfair work practices: The “race to the bottom” created by supermarkets to fight to have the lowest banana price has led to a terrible social problem affecting whole countries, their people, and economies. Child labor, worker abuses on banana plantations, and unfair trade practices are the result. I just can’t be a part of that.

How I cut out bananas for a year

About a week ago I admitted to my kids that I have not purchased bananas for a year and they were floored! Honestly, they didn’t even notice. Here is how I made it so invisible to them:

• I put some thought into this before I started. Fruit is popular in my house so I needed to make sure we had a local alternative year round.
• We had great fun over last summer picking strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and black raspberries. So much so, that I was able to freeze a ton of berries! This helped so much to be prepared in the winter months for smoothies and oatmeal toppings. We have just a few left to last us until mid June when strawberry picking season starts again.
• We also loaded up on locally grown peaches and froze a few bags full. The peaches worked well to serve over ice cream or with whipped cream for desserts.
• Apple picking was another adventure. I was able to store a bushel in my “root cellar” (aka extra refrigerator).  Whole apples replaced bananas as grab and go snacks. Baked apples with cinnamon and applesauce made for good desserts and school lunch options. My stored apples lasted until January when I realized I didn’t store them quite good enough and had to dehydrate the rest.
• I tried some new muffin recipes where I substituted dates instead of bananas as a sweetener. Dates are also tropical fruits, but the labor practices are not quite as bad and they do not require the same cold storage techniques as bananas.

The Return of the Banana

Ever since I let the kids in on my little secret, they have been begging me to buy bananas, and just this once I was happy to do it.

The good news is that I was able to find Certified Organic Fair Trade bananas from Equal Exchange to use for my birthday celebration. Equal Exchange is an awesome company that sets high standards for sourcing their products. They work with small farmers and ensure fair labor practices as well as frequent audits to make sure the farmers are good environmental stewards.  This means the cost to me it is a bit higher (usually $0.89-$0.99 per pound compared to the supermarkets competing for $0.29-$0.49 per pound). But for something that will now be a “treat” to me it is worth the splurge!

So, today for my birthday, I broke my no banana pledge, not once, but twice. First, my kids made me a banana cake from scratch. Then I made myself a family favorite, bananas foster. So good!!

Here are some great resources if you want to read more about the banana problem and make your own informed decisions:

https://foodispower.org/our-food-choices/bananas/

Global Issues for Breakfast: The Banana Industry and Its Problems FAQ