Trade Unions: Challenging Corporate Abuse

Trade unions throughout Latin America have been supporting ex-banana workers seeking compensation for the devastating health effects of being exposed to the pesticide DBCP (commercial name: Nemagon). In 1979 DBCP was banned in the U.S. however companies, such as Dole Food, continued to sell and use the chemical in banana plantations. This caused physical and mental damage, including sterility, amongst tens of thousands of workers across 
the banana exporting world.  Nicaraguan courts have recently ruled in favour of compensation claims by several groups of workers. According to one of the lawyers “this opens the possibility for justice for all the Nicaraguan victims fighting to survive the multiple diseases caused by Nemagon”. The companies have so far always challenged any legal rulings against them and not paid up. Read the DBCP Case Study.

In Honduras trade unions have successfully fought to end the use of plastic bags treated with the toxic insecticide, chlorpyriphos.

Following a case bought by a trade union in Costa Rica, the government fined Dole for a major pesticide spillage that polluted several water-courses.

Choose Caribbean

Bananas in the Windward Islands are generally grown on small family farms that use more sustainable methods of production and fewer chemicals than conventional 'dollar' bananas grown on large-scale plantations.  Over 3500 of the Windward Island banana farmers are registered as Fairtrade producers and there are plans for island production to soon be 100% Fairtrade.

Organic Bananas

No pesticides are employed in organic production. Weeds are manually controlled, pests are tackled using non-chemical methods and the soil is fertilised with organic matter. Over 2% of all exported bananas are now certified organic, with the majority coming from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Peru. In the UK, over 5% of bananas consumed are organic. Organic labeling guarantees high standards of animal husbandry and environmental protection, but not minimum social standards or a fair price. See organic section.

Fairtrade

Choosing Fairtrade bananas has a direct and positive impact on the lives of producers, workers and their communities. Farmers are guaranteed a minimum price, based on the actual costs of production, which covers basic food, housing, health and education needs. A social premium is also paid on every box of Fairtrade bananas and is used for social and environmental improvements. These include investing in manual weeding tools and most importantly education to support farmers working to reduce their dependency on pesticides. One in three Fairtrade labeled bananas are also certified organic – these are so popular that demand consistently outstrips supply! Read more at Fair trade.

Other Voluntary Standards

Many of these, such as the EUREPGAP standards used by most British supermarkets, are concerned with the quality of the fruit not the environmental impact of production. ISO 14001 is an environmental management standard which is not about measuring or  preventing damage either. The Rainforest Alliance Better Banana Project developed standards that claim to cover both environmental and social issues, whilst the SA 8000 standard is focused on “social accountability”.  However, banana workers and their unions have raised serious concerns about how effective these criteria are, in particular the monitoring and verification systems in which workers are rarely involved. Strong and effectively implemented national and international legislation, including the adoption of ILO Convention 184 on Health and Safety at work, would be a better guarantee of the protection of the environment and health of workers. Read more in the Environmental And Social Certification section.

Campaign Leaflet Available From Banana Link

Environmental Impacts Information Leaflet Banana Link 2006

Further Reading

Trespass Against Us: Dow Chemical And The Toxic Century by Jack Doyle, Common Courage Press 2004

The Search For The Perfect Banana, Thomas Lustig for Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SNF), Stockholm, 2004

The Environmental Impact Of The Banana Industry A Case Study Of Costa Rica by Yamileth Astorga

The latest issue of The International Journal Of Banana And Plantain contains an interesting article on the banana commodity chain in Madagascar.

Pesticides

For more information on organic farming and the problems associated with the use of pesticides visit
http://www.soilassociation.org.uk/
http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/index.html
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Index.html

Comprehensive Database on Pesticides containing a wealth of toxicological information based on official data and classification systems.

Pesticide Action Network North America:  search under bananas for documents online about pesticide usage and the human and environmental impact

Environmental Protection Agency (US Government Site) - gives information on human health effects that may result from exposure to chemicals 

The WHO/FAO Data Sheets on Pesticides. 

The WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by hazard and guidelines to classification 2000-2002. 

The Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade - 'By extending to all countries the ability to protect themselves against the risks of toxic substances, it will have "levelled the playing field" and raised global standards for protection of human health and the environment.'  

Documents available online Factsheets on specific pesticides used in banana production
• Methyl Parathion

• Aldicarb

• Chlorpyriphos

• Paraquat

• Tridemorph

• Glyphosate

Foro Emaús is a network of environmental, community, religious, and labor organizations that confront the social and environmental problems of conventional banana production in Costa Rica. Their website contains detailed information and documents.

including:
Bananas for the World-and the Negative Consequences for Costa Rica, published by Foro Emaus, 1998

Secret Accounts of a Banana Enclave, published by Foro Emaus, Costa Rica 1998.

Photos

www.greengold.org.uk: working conditions on plantations with selection of accompanying photos