banana – News Stories About banana - Page 2

Scientists Ready to Test 'Super Banana' on Humans

Fruit could save lives through vitamin A

(Newser) - Vitamin A deficiency kills hundreds of thousands of children worldwide; hundreds of thousands more go blind, says a researcher. That's why his team has developed a "super banana" it aims to grow in Uganda by 2020. Cooking bananas are an East African staple, so Prof. James Dale and...

Chiquita Deal Births World's Biggest Banana Firm

World's Biggest
Banana Firm Is Born

Mar 10, 2014 11:29 AM CDT

World's Biggest Banana Firm Is Born

Chiquita, Fyffes merge

(Newser) - Yes, they have more bananas: Fruit supply companies Chiquita of the United States and Fyffes of Ireland announced today they had agreed to merge to create the world's biggest banana supplier. The two companies said the merger would create a banana behemoth that ships more than 160 million crates...

Nicaragua Puts
3 on Trial Over
2-Banana Theft

Feb 21, 2014 2:12 PM CST

Nicaragua Puts 3 on Trial Over 2-Banana Theft

Bananas were worth 32 cents each, and the trial will cost $600

(Newser) - A court's decision to hold three men for trial for the attempted theft of two bananas is drawing surprise and ridicule from lawyers in Nicaragua. The bananas stolen are valued at 32 cents, while the trial is expected to cost at least $600. Prosecutors said in preliminary proceedings yesterday...

Fungus Threatens
Most Common Banana

Dec 12, 2013 3:25 PM CST

Fungus Threatens Most Common Banana

If it spreads to Latin America, the Cavendish might be doomed

(Newser) - Banana fans, meet your enemy: Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.cubense, but you can call it Foc for short. It's a banana-killing fungus present in Asia and Australia and more recently in Mozambique and Jordan. If it spreads to Latin America—which accounts for about 80% of banana exports—supermarket...

Climate Change to Make Bananas Vital Food Crop

Climate Change's
New Vital Crop: Bananas

Climate Change's New Vital Crop: Bananas

Warming to force farmers to switch away from spuds

(Newser) - As the planet gets warmer, farmers are going to have to give up on certain crops and people are going to have to get used to radically changed diets, according to a new report. Agricultural experts predict that harvests of maize, rice, and wheat are set to fall in many...

Scientists Decode
Banana Genome

Jul 12, 2012 1:07 PM CDT

Scientists Decode Banana Genome

Breakthrough could help keep millions fed in developing nations

(Newser) - They got the tomato in May, and now researchers have sequenced the banana genome, too. It's no mere scientific exercise—the feat could have huge implications in the developing world, explains the Los Angeles Times . Bananas are a vital source of food for hundreds of millions, but they're...

Bananas the Key to
More Fuel-Efficient Cars?

Mar 29, 2011 4:31 PM CDT

Bananas the Key to More Fuel-Efficient Cars?

Their fibers can create a light, strong nanocellulosic plastic

(Newser) - It may sound a little bananas, but it turns out that, well, bananas could help create more fuel-efficient cars. Brazilian scientists have come up with a way of using fibers from that fruit, as well as pineapples and coconuts, to make a lighter, stronger plastic. In fact, it's 30% lighter,...

Marketers Ditch
Fast Food for
Produce Aisle

Apr 30, 2009 12:10 PM CDT

Marketers Ditch Fast Food for Produce Aisle

(Newser) - Wary of being associated with fast food, Disney and others are leaving Happy Meals behind and targeting young buyers—well, their parents—by branding everything from eggs to apples, the Big Money reports. Disney properties like Mickey Mouse, Miley Cyrus, and Zac Efron appear on packaging as well as the...

OPINION

Jun 18, 2008 9:32 AM CDT

Yellow, Popular, and Not Long for Our Shelves

Ripening prices, disease will make bananas exotic again

(Newser) - With prices pushing the $1-per-pound mark, the banana's days as an American staple fruit are numbered, Dan Koeppel writes in the New York Times. “That bananas have long been the cheapest fruit at the grocery store is astonishing,” he notes of the exotic, quick-to-rot fruit, which is cheaper...

Zimbabwe Arrests Dozens in Price Wars

Jul 9, 2007 3:28 PM CDT

Zimbabwe Arrests Dozens in Price Wars

Businesses flout strict cost-control laws as inflation passes 3,700%

(Newser) - Police in Zimbabwe have arrested 1,328 businesspeople, including 33 top executives, for violating official price controls installed to curb uncontrollable currency devaluation. The new regulations demand that many goods' prices be cut in half in response to inflation that has now risen to more than 3,700%.