Welcome to Finca Perdiz in Limon, Costa Rica

“Only a change in consumer demands for a more sustainably produced fruit will push the industry to end the continued devastation of the biophysical and social environments of Central America.” – Carrie McCracken

 

Welcome to the main office of Finca Perdiz, a Del Monte owned and run banana plantation in Limon, Costa Rica.  The sign reads “Del Monte Quality,” which must be in reference to a nice-looking banana, because it cannot possibly mean quality of life, quality treatment of their workers, or a quality environment.  A sign on the office door to the right says “No visitors allowed.”  Today we are going to ignore that request and begin a virtual banana plantation tour.

This banana field (and many others on the property) is where the pickers spend the majority of their days.  The ground is littered with discarded banana stalks that are still topped with the remnants of plastic insecticide bags.  The trunks are former banana stalks that were cut down because each stalk only produces one bunch of fruit.  The blue strings hold up the banana plants, because they cannot stand on their own.  There are no birds, no insects, and very little sunshine.  The earth smells rotten, and the soil has a washed-out tone.  It is clear that the minerals in the earth and the life of the land have been stripped away by the banana monoculture.

 

Here we see one of thousands of blue, plastic insecticide bags that hang on the banana bunches in the field to protect them from insects.  They contain chemicals that are harmful to touch.  They also pollute the environment when left in the field.  In previous years, this plantation used to discard all the bags in their fields.  They would blow into the surrounding irrigation systems and the insecticides would pollute the local watersheds.  Today, however, this plantation recycles the bags and uses them to make plastic siding to hold the banana boxes in place for shipping.  Nevertheless, as we were driving to the plantation, I saw hundreds of discarded insecticide bags littering the side of the road, right next to local resident’s houses.  The recycling process obviously is not mainstream.

These are the banana stalks after the banana bunches have been removed.  They still have remnants of the insecticide bags.  This part of the bag is not recycled.  These stalks, bag and all, are disposed of by being thrown back into the fields.  So much for environmental protection.

But according to the Corporate Citizenship section of the Fresh Del Monte website, “Del Monte Fresh Produce Company recognizes its obligation and responsibility to protect the environment.”  They may recognize their responsibility, but they are certainly not fulfilling their obligation.  Insecticide-polluted fields and watersheds and devastation caused by monoculture practices are cases in point. 

Photos in this post by Rhianon Gutierrez