| Dare you eat bananas? | |
|---|---|
| Jun 14, 2007 01:55 |   |
 | It is reported that the price of the bananas has hit an all-time low in the major production base, Hainan Province. The price per a kilo is 0.2 RMB. According to the statistics, the direct loss of those banana farmers is 822 million yuan. Why does the price frop so seriously? A rumour which said that banana contains SARS virus and can cause cancer is the damned 'criminal'. Can you believe it? Those banana farmers have other ways to deal with the unsold bananas except feeding their livestocks or let them decay in the fields. Rumour is the most frightening thing.  |
| Jun 14, 2007 01:57 | #1 |
| No.2 Pigs are eating happily but the farmers feel so sad.  |
| Jun 14, 2007 02:59 | #2 |
| No SARS in Banana. It's a bad rumour. |
| Jun 14, 2007 05:01 | #3 |
| Really a terrible rumor. Actually, the price of banana is not that low. The problem is that farmers cannot earn money, but the merchants. |
| Jun 14, 2007 20:40 | #4 |
| i feel really bad for the hard working famers |
| Jun 15, 2007 21:06 | #5 |
| Yes, the farmers are so poor, they are often exploited by the merchant. The fact is that whatever they plant, they would sustain losses. |
| Jun 15, 2007 21:15 | #6 |
| I eat bananas nearly every day, both in the US and while in China. It is amazing how fast ignorance of fact and science can sometimes be passed along and be so easily believed. These rumors are all baseless !! Virus’s surround us in life. They are a part of nature. Yes, it is true that certain plants can host a virus; however, none has ever had an effect on humans. Moreover, the SARS virus is not one that is capable of being hosted by a plant. In the case of the SARS virus, which is spread primarily through air-borne droplets, such as from a person’s cough or sneeze, it does not survive very long when exposed to the atmosphere. Its origins were from animal to human; first thought to be the Civet Cat and now the most current thought is the origin was with the wild bat. Unfortunately, the media, in their never-ending quest for headline fodder, e.g., “Killer Bananas” is ever so quick to pick up on stories such as this and just dump them out there for the public to sort out. The bottom line here is; bananas like most other fresh fruit, are very good for us and provide important nutrients for our body. Aside from this unfortunate and untrue tale, it is always wise to wash the exterior surfaces of any fruit or vegetable prior to eating it. It is possible in any country for [bacterial] contaminants to adhere to the surface of the item, anywhere along the processing chain from farmer’s field to the consumer’s hand. Many bacteria are less fragile than most virus’s and can remain active for longer periods of time depending on the temperature and other environmental factors. I always thoroughly wash all fruit and vegetables before I consume them, both here in the USA and wherever I travel. BTW, I just love the availability and the high quality of the fresh fruit that I find in abundance in Southern China !! One of my favorites is the red/purple colored Dragon Fruit, with the sweet white flesh and little black micro-seeds. Another, is the fresh ripe Pineapple from Hainan Is. |
| Jun 16, 2007 05:02 | #7 |
| It is Realy great pity. Banana is my favorite fruit. |
| Jun 16, 2007 12:04 | #8 |
| price per a kilo is 0.2 RMB? It's too expensive in Shenzhen. Let do the Banana business. |
| Jun 18, 2007 01:25 | #9 |
| This issue revealed the problems in the food safety management. First, how to prevent such remours attacking the fragile industry. Such accidents happened last year in Hainan. People was misled to believe that the watermelons contained some chemicals to let them seem ripe and red. As a result, a great loss was made. Second, how to prevent those medias to make false reports to mislead the consumers and cause harms to the agriculture. Just as Roger said, the media are always in quest for the headline fodders. Some related regulations should be made to regulate or punish those irresponsible reports makers. Third, why people were easily misled by the remours is worthing considering. It shows that people care about the food safety very much and there must have been some serious problems existed in the industry and they were not handled properly. Otherwise, the situation would not have been so serious. At last, strongly advise the media to make correct reports. Headlines and profits are not the only thing that you are in quest for. Be responsible for your readers. |
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