The United States may be the world’s biggest banana republic.
Bananas are Americans’ favorite fruit. We eat more than 26 pounds of them per person each year. Apples come in a distant second, at less than 17 pounds.
Perhaps that explains why the produce guy at your local grocery store whistles to the tune of “peelings, nothing more than peelings.” In a few short years, however, he may hum a new melody: The old Tin Pan Alley song, “Yes, We Have No Bananas.”
That’s because a nasty fungus now threatens to wipe out the global stock of Cavendish bananas--a sweet variety that Americans savor. The fungus gives rise to the deadly Panama disease. Despite its name, Panama disease has not yet hit Latin America, the place from which we import most of our bananas. But it has ravaged plantations across Southeast Asia and there’s probably no stopping it from making its way into our hemisphere.
“How much time is left for the Cavendish?” asks Popular Science magazine in its current issue. “Some scientists say five years; some say 10.”
One thing is certain - Time is ticking out. The trees that grow Cavendish bananas are genetically identical. That means they’re equally vulnerable to Panama disease. If we do nothing, fungus will kill them all.
Cavendish bananas are not the only types of bananas out there. Anybody who has eaten a plantain knows that bananas are a diverse fruit. The Cavendish is known for its sweet and creamy flavor; plantains taste starchy, like potatoes.
The Cavendish wasn’t always available. In the first half of the 20th century, most Americans ate the Gros Michel banana. But when an earlier disease annihilated it, conventional breeding methods developed the Cavendish.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing easy about breeding a substitute.
You’ve probably heard the old joke: What’s the difference between a yellow banana and a brown banana? Answer: A few days.
One of the great strengths of the Cavendish banana is that it doesn’t ripen too quickly as it travels between countries. The bottom line is that the Cavendish benefits from several traits that make it an outstanding food. Flavor is just one of them. Replacing it won’t necessarily be easy or cheap.
It may not even be totally successful. Some old timers insist that today’s Cavendish bananas just aren’t as yummy as the Gros Michel.
So even if Panama disease drives the Cavendish to extinction, some new banana may take its place. But will it be as good? When an all-star pitcher goes on the disabled list the new guy called up from the minor leagues doesn’t automatically throw with the same velocity or control.
And how long before Panama disease mutates into a newly lethal form?
This is where biotechnology can play a useful role. In the 1960s, when the Gros Michel was in its final days, scientists didn’t have access to the agricultural tools that we take for granted in the 21st century.
Today, the banana genome is almost fully decoded--and we may be able to give the Cavendish what it needs to fight off Panama disease. One researcher already has figured out how to defend bananas from a leaf-spot disease called Black Sigatoka (a name that should belong to the villain in a superhero movie). He simply transplanted some genes from radishes, which are naturally resistant to Black Sigatoka.
Similar ingenuity may help the Cavendish survive Panama disease, perhaps forever. It wouldn’t be the first time biotechnology has saved a tropical fruit: Several years ago, a similar effort rescued Hawaii’s papaya industry from a looming disease disaster.
It’s entirely possible that conventional breeding methods will come up with at least a temporary solution to the problem of Panama disease. But we could also find ourselves in a New Coke predicament, with food-industry honchos telling us that they’ve invented something newer and better, when we consumers know the truth.
As for me, I like to stick with the tried and true, which means Cavendish bananas as well as scientifically proven methods of biotechnology.
If we say no to biotechnology, it may not be long before the banana splits.
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The United States may be the world’s biggest banana republic.
