Chiquita & UFC
The Chiquita brand, which was born from the United Fruit Company (UFC), is a predominant fruit and produce business that controls much of the banana market. The UFC, founded around 1899, practiced discriminatory and manipulative practices, exploiting their workers to a sickening degree. Furthermore, through Lindsey Morey’s article titled, “Blood For Bananas: United Fruit’s Central American Empire,” she explains how the UFC used “emotionally-loaded advertising,” romanticized Central America, and pitted different ethnicities together in the workforce so as to avoid conflict and anger directed at the main company. It was evident that they favored white workers and punished different groups in a variety of ways based on their demographics. Additionally, UFC bought out a myriad of local farms in order to clear out land for their expansive plantations. The United Fruit company became so powerful that it actually ended up influencing various governments around Central America; it’s terrifying that such an authoritative company can exert political power and impact a nation. According to the Food Empowerment Project, laborers for the UFC were “rarely paid overtime, and wages, even in those cases where they are in accordance with the legal minimum in the region, are not sufficient to cover the cost of basic needs.” As UFC was exposed for the numerous incidents of exploitation, Chiquita rose as a predominant manufacturer of bananas. As documented by the International Labor Rights Forum, “at one Chiquita-owned plantation in particular, Finca Santa Rita, workers have suffered wage theft, anti-union retaliation, grueling labor conditions, and ‘have struggled for years to resolve conflicts with management and gain secure recognition of their membership.’” Chiquitas labor practices are certainly an issue, but their propaganda and marketing strategies are also controversial. There have been incidents where Chiquita has purposefully sexualized Latin American women and reinforced dangerous stereotypes and characteristics of Latin American people. The Food Empowerment Project made a compelling argument that, “like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, Chiquita’s logo is another way in which non-white bodies have been objectified and exploited.” In all, Chuitita has not escaped its fair share of controversies and has continued to exhibit some of the same inexcusable behaviors as its mother company, UFC.
Alternatives
Are you looking for bananas that are not produced by Chiquita? Check out these other options:
Photos
Isidore, Chris. “Merger to Make Chiquita World’s Biggest Banana Company.” CNNMoney, 10 Mar. 2014, money.cnn.com/2014/03/10/news/companies/banana-merger/index.html.
Lauterwasser, David B. “The Red on Yellow — Chiquita’s Banana Colonialism in Latin America.” Medium, Medium, 4 Sept. 2017, medium.com/@FeunFooPermaKra/the-red-on-yellow-chiquitas-banana-colonialism-in-latin-america-1ca178af7616.
Lauterwasser, David B. “The Red on Yellow — Chiquita’s Banana Colonialism in Latin America.” Medium, Medium, 4 Sept. 2017, medium.com/@FeunFooPermaKra/the-red-on-yellow-chiquitas-banana-colonialism-in-latin-america-1ca178af7616.
Sources
“Sample Research Project | Roots of Contemporary Issues | Washington State University.” Wsu.edu, 2014, https://history.wsu.edu/rci/sample-research-project/#:~:text=Chiquita%20Brands%20and%20Fyffes%20were,the%20banana%20market%20%5B1%5D.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Empowerment-Project/9151801106. “Peeling Back the Truth on Bananas - Food Empowerment Project.” Food Empowerment Project, 2021, https://foodispower.org/our-food-choices/bananas/
Watch Me Grow. “Banana Land: Blood, Bullets & Poison Documentary.” YouTube, 3 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoRmtQht8-E
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Empowerment-Project/9151801106. “Peeling Back the Truth on Bananas - Food Empowerment Project.” Food Empowerment Project, 2021, https://foodispower.org/our-food-choices/bananas/
Watch Me Grow. “Banana Land: Blood, Bullets & Poison Documentary.” YouTube, 3 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoRmtQht8-E