Written by Thilde Vesterby
This is not a post about what’s right and wrong, because there is really no argument against the fact that using dangerous pesticides in banana plantations is totally bananas. The post is about how the connectedness of today’s world enables poor banana farmers to speak up about how they’re treated by a major American company – with a little help from a film crew and social media.
In the film BANANAS!*, twelve Nicaraguan banana plantation workers are suing Dole for concealing the dangers of a pesticide that they claim made them sterile. The documentary shows a ground-braking legal battle against Dole and sheds light on the global politics of food.
Thanks to social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter the news about the trial is travelling around the world leaving Dole Food Co. in big trouble. The corporation’s responds is a letter to the Swedish parliament members saying that the documentary’s accusations are false. Whether the accusations are true or false the case shows how fast news travels and how powerful and important social media is – both for the banana farmers and for Dole. Follow the film and the case on Facebook and Twitter, read more about the whole thing on the website – and judge for yourself.
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