Consumer Choices, Global Effects:
The Example of the Banana 
In a
wealthy consumer society like ours, goods are so inexpensive and plentiful that
their true costs—in environmental and social terms—are too often
overlooked. It has been estimated that
the average American consumes more than 120 pounds of resources daily.1 Consider, for example, something as common
as a banana. Bananas are one of the
most popular fruits in the U.S.—we consume 6.4 billion pounds annually. They are tasty, cheap, and plentiful. Chances are, you will buy or eat a banana at
least once this week. Have you ever
wondered why bananas, being a tropical fruit, are always so readily available
and relatively inexpensive? You might
be surprised to know what it takes to get that delicious, cheap, yellow
commodity into your hands—the price paid by the environment and by the people
that depend on the banana industry simply to survive. From the workers picking bananas in the field; to the pesticides
in the water table of a tropical, developing nation; to the trade inequities
between exporting and importing nations—the act of purchasing a banana has
environmental, social and economic implications that extend far beyond the
reach of the local supermarket.1Ryan, John and Alan Durning. Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things. Seattle: Northwest Environmental Watch, 1997 p. 4
