
Why Johnny Harris Was WRONG About the Banana’s Future

Subscribe: to find out the secret that lies beneath the Great Salt Lake: banana is one of the world’s most popular fruits. From its origins in South-East Asia to grocery stores across the planet, its story is one of conflict, colonialism, and crop monocultures. Because most of the bananas we eat today come from the same plant: the Cavendish. And now disease threatens to wipe out this hybrid completely.
Is there any way to save the banana? It seems there could be: GMO technology. But many consumers – especially in Europe – are concerned about genetically modified crops. What are the risks and benefits, and could bananas change the way we manage food? Join producer Philip on a crash course in “banana-ology”.
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VICE News: Bananas As We Know Them Are Doomed | YouTube Harris: How the US Stole Central America (With Insider: Why The World’s Most Popular Banana May Go Extinct | Why The Banana Business Of Chiquita And Dole Is At Risk | Bananas Australia - Make those Bodies Sing. YouTube 5BgWrobc-sA
(3) The History Guy: How Bananas Changed the World. Dictionnaire pittoresque d'histoire naturelle et des phénomènes de la nature 1810 |
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/51901
(5) Flore d'Amérique, dessinée d'après nature sur les lieux. Riche collection de plantes les plus remarquables, fleurs & fruits de grosseur & de grandeur naturelle 1843 |
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/104547
(6) Bakry et al. 2009: Banana Family Tree | https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EiXRi3pXYAAsI6p?format=jpg&name=large
(7) Alexander von Humboldt Foundation: Emmanuelle Charpentier - Alexander von Humboldt Professorship 2014 (EN) | YouTube 85ZUjs-tY90
(8) Nobel Prize: Nobel Lecture: Emmanuelle Charpentier, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 | Panama disease-resistant Cavendish bananas | nature CRISPR might be the banana’s only hope against a deadly fungus | https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02770-7
(11) Pew Research Center: Widespread skepticism about the safety of genetically modified foods 2020: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/11/many-publics-around-world-doubt-safety-of-genetically-modified-foods/ft_2020-11-11_gmfoods_01/Credit: Terra Mater
