Bitter Fruit: Attractive supermarket displays of tropical fruit conceal ugly environmental and social costs

• Published in: Alternatives journal (Waterloo) Vol. 24; no. 4; p. 18
• Main Authors: Mendis, Asoka, Van Bers, Caroline
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Waterloo Alternatives Media, Inc 01-10-1998
• Subjects: Agriculture; Consumers; Exports; Farming; Food contamination; Fruit juices; Fruits; Imports; International; Pesticide application; Pesticides; Vitaceae; Canada
• ISSN: 1205-7398

In 1996 almost a billion dollars worth of fruit and fruit products was imported into Canada from the South. This represented 41 percent of fruit imports from all sources. Of imports from the South, bananas constituted 25 percent, grapes 10 percent and citrus fruits 13 percent. Other fruits such as melons and pineapples constituted 18 percent of imports while orange and other fruit juices accounted for 20 percent. Dried and canned fruits, and fruit preparations such as jams made up the remaining 14 percent. 5 Most of the exotic fruit imported into Canada from the South comes from Central and South America. Other significant sources include South Africa, Morocco and Thailand. In general, a country's fruit exports to Canada is dominated by a single commodity. For instance, in 1996 bananas imported into Canada dominated the fruit exports of Costa Rica (87 percent), Ecuador (95 percent) and Colombia (98 percent). In the case of Chile, 53 percent of its fruit exports to Canada were grapes and 94 percent of Brazil's fruit exports to Canada was orange juice. 6 Northern consumers can also play a critical role in halting unfair trading practices by adjusting their own purchasing habits, which can influence change faster than efforts to revise trade regulations. Part of the key is reducing dependence by strengthening local self-reliance. Canadian activist Brewster Kneen says communities should "feed the family and trade the leftovers..." 45 In addition to favouring locally grown and seasonally appropriate food, consumers can lower their cosmetic standards for fruit, purchase organically grown produce and buy only fairly traded products from afar. Although fairly traded and organic production are not synonymous, the emphasis on worker protection as a consequence of fairly traded production criteria leads to a less intense application of pesticides and fertilizers.