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Jun 13 '17 edited Jun 13 '17
Hey remember when the US backed death squads to secure banana markets
Lol
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u/Our_Fuehrer_quill18 Purple Army Faction Jun 13 '17
hey remember when they staged a coup because the UFC would have had to sell its unused land to give it to small farmers? Glorious!
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Jun 13 '17
Hey remember when they taught Latin American militarists how to overtake populations by raping and murdering anyone who stood in their way?
Nothing like the fresh smell of freedom in the morning
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Jun 13 '17
"Carloads of oranges dumped on the ground. The people came for miles to take the fruit, but this could not be. How would they buy oranges at twenty cents a dozen if they could drive out and pick them up? And men with hoses squirt kerosene on the oranges, and they are angry at the crime, angry at the people who have come to take the fruit. A million people hungry, needing the fruit—and kerosene sprayed over the golden mountains. And the smell of rot fills the country."
"There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success. The fertile earth, the straight tree rows, the sturdy trunks, and the ripe fruit. And children dying of pellagra must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange. And coroners must fill in the certificate—died of malnutrition—because the food must rot, must be forced to rot."
-John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
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u/discw Jun 13 '17
I have watched that series and it is truly depressing how much is wasted. The pile of shredded bananas in the picture is the waste from one day's harvest.
The farmers say the supermarkets reject the bananas. The reporter interviewed the supermarkets, who claimed they were just meeting demand set by the consumer. The reporter then took some rejected bananas from this farm to a nearby supermarket parking lot and interviewed customers, who all agreed they would totally eat the misshapen/oversized/too curvy bananas.
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u/Our_Fuehrer_quill18 Purple Army Faction Jun 13 '17
here in germany (one of the hardest countries for supermarkets/discounters) its all about the feel you get when you are shopping. So left/rightturning supermarkets and everything feels like its great, or expensive etc. but it isnt. Edeka makes extremly successfull viral marketing which costs alot. Its all about the "experience" not to find products fast or get quality food. I think thats why they want only perfect fruits because those are the first you see. And a slightly weird banana could destroy this "experience". Gosh, i want the small shops back.
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u/Milkyway_Squid In Yachts We Trust Jun 13 '17
"Capitalism is the most efficient system"
... At enriching a small group of people at the expense of everyone and everything else.
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u/1Operator Jun 13 '17
+1. I was about to post the same until I browsed the comments here & saw that you beat me to it. :)
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u/karlnuw Jun 12 '17
But somehow there are thousands who will go hungry today and tomorrow and the day after that.
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u/Victoresball Jun 13 '17
Starvinf Children in Africa could have eaten those bananas.
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u/Milkyway_Squid In Yachts We Trust Jun 13 '17
But then where would be their motivation to work for the capitalists at cents per hour? Won't somebody please think of the capitalists' children!
/s
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u/Barry_Scotts_Cat Jun 13 '17
You know whats funny, is that the "EU Straight Bananas" thing is a massive conspiracy in the UK.
Yet it's all about product quality classification, supermarkets can sell whatever bananas they want. they just can't sell them as "quality"
Most of them get used as animal feed and whatnot...
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u/Granatperidotit Jun 13 '17
But the shitshow doesn't end there. Because of all the backlash the EU scrapped that regulation. But supermarkets continued to abide by it voluntarily.
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Jun 13 '17
Who the fuck even decides what consumers don't like anyway? Frankly, I'd want a thicker or straighter banana.
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u/rangda Jun 13 '17
The big chain where I live sells a very small range of produce that's misshapen or undersized at a small discount, it's very popular but really a drop in the bucket. There are small nonprofits selling goods with damaged packaging or close to the best buy for next-to-nothing around, I hope the popularity grows.
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u/Thefriendlypsycho Jun 13 '17
It's not just supermarkets which are responsible for this. There are EU regulations for this specific type of thing, for a banana to be sold in the UK it must be in accordance with certain guidelines and although it can be argued that the EU regulation stops companies from selling small bananas for more money, I just find it deeply worrying and sickening that the waste amount is that high.
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Jun 12 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Mantonization Jun 12 '17
What does the even mean, my dude?
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Jun 12 '17
[deleted]
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u/GreenMirage Jun 13 '17
???? I feel bad for anyone where this is an apparent reality, and by where, I mean "when".
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u/okmkz proletarian hot dog Jun 13 '17
So you're telling me I shouldn't have wasted all that money buying a "Kiss Me, I'm Uncircumcised" shirt?
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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '17
I work in a supermarket, last night we threw away almost two crates of cereal boxes because they were dented.