Shade-grown coffee from Starbucks. Sustainably grown wood from EcoTimber International. Now a “better banana” is on the way from Chiquita, the latest U.S. company to market green goods from Latin America. After more than eight years of work, the Rainforest Alliance announced last month that it was certifying all 127 of the banana farms Chiquita owns in Latin America as complying with its Better Banana Project. Chiquita, which produces one-fourth of the world’s bananas, says it has spent $20 million on the effort. The Rainforest Alliance, a U.S. environmental group, created the Better Banana Project in 1992. Under the voluntary program, growers are certified if they cut their use of agricultural chemicals, improve worker safety, reduce waste, promote wildlife conservation, control water pollution... [Log in to read more]
