By Colleen Rothe

Each week I try to find something really usable and relatable to the Dispatch readers. This week I was really feeling the pressure, because nothing was coming to me.

As usual, the grocery store is ripe with ideas for consumer awareness and advocacy. And when you consider that many of us have entered into a virtual house arrest, because gas prices are keeping us from doing any “unnecessary driving,” the grocery store is one of the few places we’re still traveling to at least weekly.

The only real fruit in my youngest son’s diet is bananas. He’ll occasionally eat grapes, if they are frozen, or apples, if I slice them and let him dip them in caramel. So naturally, the banana wins out as his choice – and mine. So, I buy a lot of bananas. They are currently – for the organic variety – running $1.09 a pound. If you buy the non-organic bunch, it’s going to cost you $.99 a pound. That’s about 30 to 40 cents more than in January. The reason for the price hike is really simple.

Like many things, the supply chain for bananas is not very diverse and can be impacted by very little. Currently, that “very little” is some pretty horrible weather. So the grocer in my town has begun alerting folks to supply issues – lack of, lower quality, and higher prices.

In mid-February, Ecuador was hit by severe rain and flooding. The entire country is still in the midst of a national emergency. More than 30 percent of its agriculture crop has been lost – the worst hit is the banana crop. All banana companies have been affected by this and it is a world wide global concern that appears to be affecting all growers and the entire market.

Dole, Co., North America’s number one banana supplier, sources mainly from Ecuador; therefore, grocers across the United States and Canada are in a very capricious situation with regards to supply and price for the next several months. Considering that a banana plant takes six to eight months to fruit, we will likely see this type of unpredictability to the world’s favorite fruit.

You might be saying, “Well, I’ll just get my fruit fix from something else.” But the banana is unique. Its benefits are innumerable. It’s no wonder that following the banana shortage during World War II – due mostly in part to transportation fuel shortages – the banana plantation was king in the tropical regions that support banana production.

Bananas contain three natural sugars: sucrose, fructose and glucose. Combine those natural energy chemicals with fiber and it’s a no-brainer why competitive athletes reach for bananas first.

However, good fiber and instant energy isn’t the only benefit that bananas provide. The fruit can help prevent illness. It’s said that eating a banana a day helps diminish the effects of depression. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin. Serotonin is the chemical that makes us calmer and feeling content. Additionally, the banana contains B6, which regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood. If you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, a banana a day may keep the winter blahs away.

The banana is high in iron, stimulating the production of hemoglobin in the blood and is known to help those suffering from anemia.

Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is allowing Dole® and its competitors to claim that bananas help reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke, because our tropical fruit favorite is so very high in potassium, yet low in salt.

One of my roommates in college used to make a banana milkshake to cure her hangovers. I have no evidence that it really works; but because the banana can do all of the above, it doesn’t really defy logic that it would make a good post-party, morning-after cure. Personally, I find it the best cure for my occasional heartburn. Also, when I was pregnant, I would reach for a banana as opposed to the saltine crackers to ward off morning – or the sometimes all-day – sickness.

Around the world, the banana’s skin is used to treat things like mosquito bites and plantar warts. Its leaves are used for waterproofing roofs and in steaming foods.

All this nutritional and other beneficial use for one small fruit, but that doesn’t even begin to touch on the economic impact bananas have had on the countries that grow it.

Weather is always a force in agriculture – last year it was apples. This year, it’s the banana. But, like everything else in life (except petroleum futures), things are cyclic. Apple growers had a rough 2007; they are coming on strong already this year. Good rain and an above-average snow pack are helping apple orchards get a jump start on what’s anticipated to be an excellent season. That expectation also comes with a potential price decline.

So, come fall you will probably pay a little less for apples, but you’ll most likely pay more for bananas. Between the two fruits, you’ll balance out – somewhat.

Yes, we have no bananas; an apple a day still keeps the doctor away, and keeps the American growers in business.