Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Bananas

I heard on the BBC the other night
that banana farmers are becoming sterile
from the pesticides used on the fruit.
Research is now proving this case.

The corporations already knew this
but they figured
it was a reasonable cost to pay
to keep the bananas bug-free.

Linda heard this news too.
She said Dmitri lives on a banana plantation.
All his sperm have been killed
as if they were fruit flies or aphids
or thrips. Thrips, for those who don't know
have "piercing (rasping)-sucking mouth parts
that damage flowers, fruit, leaves and stems.
Several different species feed on bananas."

I keep thinking about this story.
I wonder how they calculated the costs.
Healthy bananas vs. sterilized men.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

bananas rhyme with havana....