Go Bananas

I agree that the companies motivation for growing bananas was profit, and often at the expense of the worker's health.  When analyzing the effectiveness of various fungicides and remedies for plant diseases, cost and effectiveness were the only concerns.  That fact that workers were turned blue, like characters from Willy Wonka, was not significant to the companies.  Carol states that elites viewed the workers as backward.  This judgment, based on racism and poverty, justified the mistreatment of the workers.  Would this have happened if they were American workers in California? Last week we discussed how the fruit companies provided a needed transportation and communication link between Latin America and the United States. The problem with relying on a third party to provide basic infrastructure is that when they leave, so does the infrastructure.  The banana companies removed the railroad tracks when they withdrew from certain areas of Honduras, leaving communities isolated and without employment.  The benefits the company reaped from their plantations did not result in long term investment for the country or its people.