A staple part of the diet of over 400 million people worldwide and a staple of Dada Life shows, bananas are quickly becoming a precious resource. Tropical Race 4 disease is spreading throughout Asia and Africa and if it reaches Central and Southern America, bananas could be in permanent danger. In light of this issue, Dada Life has decided to raise awareness for this issue the best way they know how, having people dress up like fruit (bananas preferred, duh) and show up to their show, The Voyage, in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for most people dressed as fruit.
“Looking after banana farmers is one way that we can help them protect their crops against the disease,” Olle’s partner Stefan Engblom continued. “At the moment they don’t get much money, which means that they can’t properly fight the spread of the Tropical Race 4 disease.
“We decided to partner with Fair Trade USA because they make sure that farmers get more money to invest in their crops and in their communities. All the bananas we use at our shows – and it’s a lot for two guys – they’ll all have to carry the Fair Trade Certified sticker. We want to spread the word as well, get our fans involved, make sure that they start looking out for Fair Trade bananas too.”
“The Fair Trade Certified logo signifies that your banana was grown according to strict social and environmental standards, and that farmers earned additional money for their hard work,” said Jenna Larson, spokeswoman for Fair Trade USA, the leading certifer of Fair Trade products in North America. “We’re honored to work with Dada Life to educate fans about the power of their purchase, and the Fair Trade farmers behind the peel.”
Here are some banana related facts while you make the purchase of your Voyage tickets in San Bernadino, CA for July 18th. Make sure you dress as a fruit, probably a banana, and come ready to enjoy yourselves and help keep our banana supply safe and plentiful. After all, what would we do with the image of Dada Life and carrots? Horrible…
Banana Facts:
-Bananas make up over 50% of America’s fresh fruit consumption
-The annual global banana industry is worth $44.1 billion
-Bananas are the most traded fruit worldwide, and the fifth most traded agricultural product
-The US imports approximately 31% of all bananas traded internationally, with the EU importing another 28% – well over half of all worldwide imports
-Bananas are a key food staple for over 400 million people on the planet
-70% of the world’s bananas are grown in South and Central America
-Bananas are currently under threat from the deadly Tropical Race 4 disease which has ravaged farms in Asia and more recently in Africa – http://qz.com/164029/tropical-race-4-global-banana-industry-is-killing-the-worlds-favorite-fruit/
