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Go Bananas While You Still Can

Go Bananas While You Still Can

Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by Windows 98 on Sun May 14th 2006 at 7:12pm
Windows 98
757 posts
Posted 2006-05-14 7:12pm
Post #121372
Windows 98
member
757 posts 86 snarkmarks Registered: Apr 25th 2005 Occupation: Student Location: USA
Go bananas while you still can. The world's most popular fruit and the fourth most important food crop of any sort is in deep trouble. Its genetic base, the wild bananas and traditional varieties cultivated in India, has collapsed.

Virtually all bananas traded internationally are of a single variety, the Cavendish, the genetic roots of which lie in India. Three years ago, New Scientist revealed that the world Cavendish crop was threatened by pandemics of diseases such as that caused by the black sigatoka fungus. The main hope for survival of the Cavendish lies in developing new hybrids resistant to the fungus, but this is a difficult and time-consuming task because the seedless modern fruit does not reproduce sexually and has to be bred from cuttings.

Now the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that wild banana species are rapidly going extinct as Indian forests are destroyed, while many traditional farmers' varieties are also disappearing. It could take a global effort to save the bananas' gene pool.

In fact many of the genes that could save the Cavendish may already have been lost, says NeBambi Lutaladio, a plant scientist at the FAO's headquarters in Rome, Italy. One variety that contains genes that resist black sigatoka survives as a single plant in the botanical gardens of Calcutta, he says.
Source
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Nickelplate is my dad
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by Stadric on Sun May 14th 2006 at 9:30pm
Stadric
848 posts
Posted 2006-05-14 9:30pm
Post #121377
Stadric
member
848 posts 585 snarkmarks Registered: Jun 3rd 2005 Occupation: Slacker Location: Here
NOOOOOO!!!

What will I substitute for a phone now?
Also change the texture of the dock. Docks are rarely tile. -Facepunch
As I Lay Dying
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by OtZman on Sun May 14th 2006 at 9:46pm
OtZman
1890 posts
Posted 2006-05-14 9:46pm
Post #121379
OtZman
member
1890 posts 218 snarkmarks Registered: Jul 12th 2003 Occupation: Student Location: Sweden
Ohnoez. What will the world be without bananas. =(
What the Snarkpitters listen to!
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by French Toast on Sun May 14th 2006 at 11:21pm
French Toast
3043 posts
Posted 2006-05-14 11:21pm
Post #121388
French Toast
member
3043 posts 304 snarkmarks Registered: Jan 16th 2005 Occupation: Kicking Ass Location: Canada
No more peanut butter banana sandwiches :sad:
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by FatStrings on Mon May 15th 2006 at 3:15am
FatStrings
1242 posts
Posted 2006-05-15 3:15am
Post #121390
FatStrings
member
1242 posts 144 snarkmarks Registered: Aug 11th 2005 Occupation: Architecture Student Location: USA
or just peanut butter bananas
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by Naklajat on Mon May 15th 2006 at 4:36am
Naklajat
1137 posts
Posted 2006-05-15 4:36am
Post #121395
Naklajat
member
1137 posts 384 snarkmarks Registered: Nov 15th 2004 Occupation: Baron Location: Austin, Texas
No more peanut butter banana sandwiches :sad:
qft (twice in five minutes too)

o

Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by wil5on on Mon May 15th 2006 at 9:43am
wil5on
1733 posts
Posted 2006-05-15 9:43am
Post #121398
wil5on
member
1733 posts 570 snarkmarks Registered: Dec 12th 2003 Occupation: Mapper Location: Adelaide
What about Australian bananas? Once they grow back theyll be fine.

Dont they also grow bananas in South America? And Africa?
"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"
  • My yr11 Economics teacher
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by BlisTer on Mon May 15th 2006 at 11:48am
BlisTer
801 posts
Posted 2006-05-15 11:48am
Post #121403
BlisTer
member
801 posts 1304 snarkmarks Registered: Jun 10th 2004 Location: Belgium
Don't worry, close to me there's the world biggest collection of banana species. It started as the hobby of a nutty travelling professor with an obsession for bananas, or so i heard. So they wont become extinct any time soon.

You can find out more about it in this article: http://www-cgi.cnn.com/TECH/science/9807/24/t_t/banana.science/index.html

excerpt: "Test tubes kept at ultra-cool temperatures at INIBAP's Belgium facility contain tissue cultures from 1,100 varieties of bananas from around the world"
These words are my diaries screaming out loud
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by reaper47 on Mon May 15th 2006 at 5:01pm
reaper47
2827 posts
Posted 2006-05-15 5:01pm
Post #121416
reaper47
member
2827 posts 1921 snarkmarks Registered: Feb 16th 2005 Location: Austria
I doubt bananas will be extinguished any time soon. Still a nice warning not to f**k with nature.

Anyone seen the Futurama episode where fry finds a 1000-year-old can of tuna? :biggrin:
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by Windows 98 on Mon May 15th 2006 at 6:25pm
Windows 98
757 posts
Posted 2006-05-15 6:25pm
Post #121424
Windows 98
member
757 posts 86 snarkmarks Registered: Apr 25th 2005 Occupation: Student Location: USA
It was anchovies not tuna
http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/8521/windows981dk.jpg

Nickelplate is my dad
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by Nickelplate on Tue May 16th 2006 at 5:46am
Nickelplate
2770 posts
Posted 2006-05-16 5:46am
Post #121449
Nickelplate
member
2770 posts 346 snarkmarks Registered: Nov 23rd 2004 Occupation: Prince of Pleasure Location: US
Gosh Dang it!

I really love bananas... WHY DO YOU PEOPLE HAVE TO F WITH BANANAS?!?!

:cry:
I tried sniffing coke, but the ice cubes kept getting stuck in my nose.
http://www.dimebowl.com
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by Elon Yariv on Tue May 16th 2006 at 10:25am
Elon Yariv
130 posts
Posted 2006-05-16 10:25am
Post #121456
Elon Yariv
member
130 posts 63 snarkmarks Registered: Mar 4th 2006
...I can't believe it... :sad:

Why did they have to do it... Plus why take the seeds out of the banana? just because some people are just too lazy to spit them out, or evoid eating them?

It's just like the mangos... they took the fibers out of them. :sad:
Why ruin what that was once good!!
Elon Yariv
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by reaper47 on Tue May 16th 2006 at 12:59pm
reaper47
2827 posts
Posted 2006-05-16 12:59pm
Post #121463
reaper47
member
2827 posts 1921 snarkmarks Registered: Feb 16th 2005 Location: Austria
It was anchovies not tuna
Damn, I knew it was anchovies. Why did I write tuna? It's rather popular here not to eat tuna because of something. Maybe it's also endangered or the dolphins get caught in the nets. I don't remember. I don't eat tuna but it's mostly because I don't like the taste of it anyway. There's better fish.
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by Naklajat on Tue May 16th 2006 at 2:14pm
Naklajat
1137 posts
Posted 2006-05-16 2:14pm
Post #121468
Naklajat
member
1137 posts 384 snarkmarks Registered: Nov 15th 2004 Occupation: Baron Location: Austin, Texas
I really love tuna. Not canned, but grilled (rare) or made into sushi :smile: It's a really good fish, up there with shark :biggrin:

o

Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by Toast King on Tue May 16th 2006 at 3:09pm
Toast King
139 posts
Posted 2006-05-16 3:09pm
Post #121470
Toast King
member
139 posts 83 snarkmarks Registered: Mar 20th 2006 Location: South Africa
Doesnt matter to me, considering all our countries bananas are grown here .<html><head><link rel="stylesheet" href="themes/standard.css" type="text/css"></head><body topmargin=2 leftmargin=2>
Hahaha! Im using the INTERNET!
Re: Go Bananas While You Still Can Posted by reaper47 on Tue May 16th 2006 at 5:55pm
reaper47
2827 posts
Posted 2006-05-16 5:55pm
Post #121474
reaper47
member
2827 posts 1921 snarkmarks Registered: Feb 16th 2005 Location: Austria
Doesnt matter to me, considering all our countries bananas are grown here .
Dude, those are the ones this issue is about. The same variety is used all around the world. If it weren't for a few samples of original banana plants kept as a Noah's Arch principle it could easily happen that the whole (genetically imbreeded) population of uber-bananas dies in one swoop because of a yet unrelevant weakness in their genetic base. They're all vulnerable to the same disease. It's like programming a virus in a world without firewalls and scanners. They can't get immune because they're more or less clones, the same plants. I find that thought rather scary.

Also the best fish are plaice, trout and (according to my dictionary) "Gilthead seabream".

PS: I forgot: cuttlefish and grilled Marides (greek style, they're so small you eat them with head and back fin... mmmm... best fisch I know :smile: )