The+banana+plantation

Today we went to the banana plantation and shipping facility at Earth University.It was a really interesting experience to learn how bananas are grown. I did not know that the banana plant is not actually a tree but rather an herb. In fact it is the largest herb on the planet. The bananas grow out of a beautiful pinkish reddish flower and when the guide peeled back part of the flower many of the underdeveloped bananas were visible. The bananas are grown on the large stalks and they are planted pretty close together. When it is time to harvest them the field worker cuts the bunches of bananas off of the stalk with a large machete, the bananas are hung on a long horizontal pole that is placed at the end of each banana row. The bananas are encased in plastic bags to keep the bugs off of them and also to create a micro climate of humid warm air (bananas like that). The workers cut the banana bags off of the stalk of the plant hang them on the hooks and a man in a small motorized cart comes and picks up all of the banana bags to take to the shipping facility. It was an amazing process. When   The bananas get to the facility they are sorted into premium,average and below average. The premium bananas are the ones with beautiful peels and good size,they are sent to markets in the U.S. and Europe, the medium bananas are  slightly bruised ,they are sent to orphanages and schools, the below average bananas are sent to companies that make baby food because they will be pureed and outside appearance does not matter.They pack them with sponge pads in between the bunches so that the fruit does not bruise.Another important thing has to happen before the banana are placed in the  boxes,they have to be washed in a citric wax to help protect the banana while they are in the cargo ships.Once they are washed two women were responsible for putting the stickers on the banana bunches. They had the fastest hands I ever saw! Earth University uses an environmentally friendly wash, unlike most big companies like Dole and Chiquita.The bananas are sold at Whole Foods as part of the Rainforest Alliance. This trip to the plant and fields opened my eyes to the importance of buying food products from environmentally friendly companies.I will look for these bananas in the market.

The second part of the excursion today was to the dairy farm and piggery which while it was interesting it was REALLY smelly. The farm was entirely self sustainable. They fed the pigs with all of the food leftovers from the university's cafeteria which they heated up with methane from the manure produced by the animals on the farm.After the scraps are heated they are then fed to the pigs. in addition to the food scraps they also add sugar cane and some cooking oil which helps keeps the pigs, or cerdos muy  gordos ! I took some great video and pictures that I will add as soon as I get back to Los estados unidos!