Yes, we have no bananas, we have no bananas today. It's no longer funny.

[alfredo]

http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/54710/



The banana we eat today is not the one your grandparents ate. That one - known as the Gros Michel - was, by all accounts, bigger, tastier, and hardier than the variety we know and love, which is called the Cavendish. The unavailability of the Gros Michel is easily explained: it is virtually extinct.

Introduced to our hemisphere in the late 19th century, the Gros Michel was almost immediately hit by a blight that wiped it out by 1960. The Cavendish was adopted at the last minute by the big banana companies - Chiquita and Dole - because it was resistant to that blight, a fungus known as Panama disease. For the past fifty years, all has been quiet in the banana world. Until now.

Panama disease - or Fusarium wilt of banana - is back, and the Cavendish does not appear to be safe from this new strain, which appeared two decades ago in Malaysia, spread slowly at first, but is now moving at a geometrically quicker pace. There is no cure, and nearly every banana scientist says that though Panama disease has yet to hit the banana crops of Latin America, which feed our hemisphere, the question is not if this will happen, but when. Even worse, the malady has the potential to spread to dozens of other banana varieties, including African bananas, the primary source of nutrition for millions of people.

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Oh No!

I love my daily banana! It's a food I can't do without! :cry:

[alfredo]

7. They used to call me Banana because I ate so many.

[Warpy]

2. The disease adapted to monoculture

and will likely to continue to do so, along with other plant diseases.

I'm old enough to remember the Gros Michel bananas. They were great. The Cavendish are mealy and tasteless in comparison. However, there are still dozens of small varieties, and anyone with access to an Asian, Caribbean or Hispanic grocery can often find them.

The ruby reds are my own favorite. They're tiny, only about four inches long, but they pack a real flavor wallop.

We're likely to start seeing the disappearance of a lot of favorite foods, though, as climate change takes hold.

[alfredo]

4. A small change in the climate can weaken their defenses, allowing

such illnesses like we see with honey bees.

[stubtoe]

5. Worse than monoculture. Bananas are clones.

I'm kind of amazed this clone (Cavendish) lasted 50 years between disease outbreaks.

[alfredo]

6. there's a lot to say for preserving heritage plants.

[TCJ70]

3. A science teacher I had in high school told us...

...that we probably wouldn't have bananas anymore within the next century. Guess he wasn't too far off.

[CoffeeCat]

8. I have never eaten a banana!

Isn't that funny?

[alfredo]

9. Try a banana milk shake. A banana peanut butter milk shake is

ass kicking. A banana peanut butter, chocolate milk shake is a glorious sin.

A peanut butter banana sandwich is a nice way to start the day. It is best on real whole wheat bread.

They are ripe when dark freckles appear on their skin. They are very nutritious.

[bbernardini]

10. Maybe not, but you know what IS funny?

When you ask my son of 17 months what a monkey eats, he says "NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!"

[grace0418]

11. Even though I'm not that crazy about bananas, this is horrible news. Many cultures use

bananas as a diet staple (leaves as well as fruit).

I do adore fried plantains however. YUM!

[CRK7376]

12. Banana is a nasty and vile food

Harry Chapin got it right in his 10,000lbs of mashed bananas...I loathe that fruit. Not a fan of banana bread/pudding/cake and what a horrible way to mess up a perfectly good PBJ sandwich....Oh well, to each his/her own...My kids and wife like them and they love to tease me about my hatred of bananas, vienna sausages etc...

[lonestarnot]

13. Bananas are the happy fruit. Why do you think Chimps are always happy?