Most bananas sold in the UK come from large scale plantations in Latin America, and increasingly West Africa. Pollution caused by intensive pesticide use, soil erosion and deforestation are just some of the devastating environmental impacts of this type of monoculture production as companies seek to increase productivity and thus profit. The social impacts of this race to the bottom are appalling – migration, gender discrimination including sexual harassment, cancer and even death from unprotected agrochemical use, the rapid increase in subcontracting undermining worker’s rights and the failure to respect core labour standards including the freedom to organise. 

What's Going on in Costa Rica?  The Need for International Solidarity. 

Read the following sections to learn more about the reality for workers.