open dyslexic mode

PLANTAINS! 🍌 An amazing fruit loved by many, with a complex past. This piece is a part of Hayley’s series “Colombian Riches,” which tells the stories of popular goods exported from Colombia. This painting “Plátanos” is a bold and simple reminder (influenced by Andy Warhol’s banana) to take a deeper look at what we consume, to consider its history and its future, and to love its scars.

Interesting facts: Plantains originated in SE Asia and were brought by Spanish and African slave traders to the Caribbean on slave ships, to be used as a cheap and filling food for enslaved people. Today plantains are one of the most abundant staple fruits of Latin American cuisine, and a profitable export good. They’re prepared in dozens of ways, sweet or savory, mashed or fried…but unfortunately the huge popularity of plantains over the years has caused companies like Chiquita and Dole to take advantage of agricultural workers in Colombia and other S. American countries by not paying them, underpaying them, or using children to work for them. The only way to stop supporting this modern slavery is to make sure to buy fair trade plantains! Most local coops have fair trade options!

Like we said, this fruit’s history is complex…lots of joy and pain mixed together, like most things in life. Here’s to a brighter future for people in plantain production, and in all food production. 💛

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