Accounting for Taste: Export Bananas, Mass Markets, and Panama Disease

Abstract

In an article published in BioScience in 1996, ecologists Gregory S. Gilbert and Stephen P. Hubbell described the agroecological impact of Panama disease, a fungal pathogen (Fusarium oxysporum f. cubense) that infected export banana farms in the American tropics during the early twentieth century: At least ioo,ooo acres of bananas were destroyed and abandoned. Facing bankruptcy, banana companies were forced to move into virgin forest for new plantings in order to escape the ravages of disease. Eventually, disease-resistant varieties came into common use and Panama disease is no longer a major commercial threat.' The authors' view of the damage caused by the pathogen echoed earlier assessments made by scientists and industry officials.2 Gilbert and Hubbell's discussion of Panama disease, embedded in a broader study of plant diseases and tropical forest conservation, draws an important and often-neglected connection between the abandonment of diseased banana farms and the accelerated clearing of lowland tropical forests. Unfortunately, the ecologists stopped short of exploring the historical process-the eventually part-that led to the adoption of new varieties. As a result, they missed a chance to consider the significance of this process for those concerned with the conservation of biological diversity. The export banana trade in the Americas formed around a single variety: Gros Michel fruit (Musa acuminata) dominated U.S. markets between the 189os and 1960. Gros Michel bananas were large, aesthetically pleasing, and shipped well. However, the plants proved to be highly susceptible to pathogens, including Fusarium oxysporum f. cubense. Beginning in the 189os, the pathogen spread throughout virtually every export-banana-growing region in Latin America and the Caribbean. The dynamic created by the epidemic accelerated rates of deforestation in humid, lowland tropical regions, destabilized local economies, and indirectly heightened the incidence of malaria among plantation workers.3 Panama disease prompted both the British colonial government and the United Fruit Com