Tag: Panama disease

Did you know that the banana your grandparents ate was likely not the same variety you enjoy today? For decades, the sweet, rich-flavored Gros Michel banana dominated the commercial market until a devastating fungal disease nearly wiped it out, forcing the industry to switch to the more resistant Cavendish variety we know now.

Approximately 95% of bananas traded globally are the Cavendish variety. This shift from a previous, sweeter variety is the primary reason why are bananas different now, stemming from a devastating fungal outbreak decades ago.

Over 95% of bananas exported globally are Cavendish, but this popular fruit faces an existential threat from the fast-spreading fungal disease Tropical Race 4 (TR4), prompting the urgent question: what banana will replace the Cavendish? This impending crisis for the $25 billion industry has scientists pursuing solutions from genetic engineering to traditional crossbreeding.

Most people today have never tasted a wild banana, a fruit characterized by large, hard seeds and minimal flesh. This stark difference from the sweet, seedless fruit we enjoy raises a common question: Is a banana a bioengineered food? The answer is nuanced, involving a history of ancient selection, modern cloning, and future genetic engineering efforts.

The common Cavendish banana found in most grocery stores is not bioengineered, but rather the result of centuries of selective breeding and cultivation. However, this is changing, with recent approvals of genetically engineered banana varieties in some countries, leading to confusion for many consumers.

Did you know the Cavendish banana, the variety most commonly sold globally, has been propagated asexually for decades through selective breeding, not modern genetic engineering? This same non-GMO status applies to Chiquita bananas, which come from traditionally bred cultivars, not lab-engineered crops.