Bananas

I've been reading a book called 'Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World' by Peter Chapman (published by Canongate Books Ltd). It's basically a history of the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Fruit) - but is actually very readable and even funny! In many senses it also serves as a history of Central America - as the company has had such a huge part to play in the 'development' and politics of several Central American countries - and particularly Guatemala. They were the reason why the phrase 'Banana Republic' was coined; they owned / appropriated vast amounts of land here, payed virtually no tax, and their workers a pittance, and when the government questioned the morality of this, the Company successfully led or manipulated a military coup in 1954, in order to maintain the grip they had on the country (and this seemed to be one of the factors which led to the civil war starting in 1960 and which lasted 36years). Add to that an invasion of Honduras, strong involvement in the Bay of Pigs Crisis, CIA operatives, a brief visit from Che Guevara, a Wall Street takeover gone bad, and the suicide of the Company's CEO in 1975, and it leaves you with a rollercoaster read - all the more disturbing because it's true.
More worrying still is that the United Fruit Company became the template for corporate politics, and it's practices continue to be the echoed in todays world of globalization and multi-national corporations.
If you have yet to be convinced about Fair Trade and Organic bananas, you'll definitely be persuaded after reading this book. I'd highly recommend it.

PS. Apparently if you wipe the inside of a banana skin on a mosquito bite, then it stops itching!