The hidden costs of Canada's banana market
Originally posted on: Rabble.ca Posted on: September 14th, 2010 Original link: http://www.rabble.ca/news/2010/09/hidden-costs-canada%E2%80%99s-banana-market The Hidden Costs of Canada's Banana Market Rabble.ca By Kevin Edmonds September 14th, 2010 Murder. Paramilitary death squads. Exploitation. Torture. Child Labour. Toxic chemicals. At first these words are not readily linked to a soft, sweet and innocent fruit, a staple in the majority of our homes, but rather to the actions of a tyrant operating in a forgotten corner of the world. Unfortunately, the truth is much darker and violent than most Canadians can imagine. In 2009, Canada imported US$334.2 million of bananas, 95 per cent of which come from low cost suppliers in Central and South America such as Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Columbia, Honduras and Panama . Out of these bananas, only one per cent of them are certified as ethically produced fair trade bananas. T