In terms of complexity and reach, the supply chains of banana and pineapple are quite different to that of coffee. The fruits are simply grown and then sold, other than in the case of flour that is made for banana bread or banana chocolate chip cookies. On the other hand, coffee beans must be picked, sorted, roasted, and then ground. This process involves more factors and oftentimes is not done by only one company. In both situations, the plant waste generated is typically used as compost and goes back into the farm. It seems that the coffee, banana, and pineapple plantations that we visited typically all have a focus on sustainability that they sometimes value over pure profit. On the pineapple farm, they only use fertilizer from natural raw materials. While this is more expensive for them, taking care of the land is something they value like some coffee producers do shade-grown plants. Doing their part to preserve what they depend on for their livelihoods is something I find inspirational from the Costa Rican people. At the banana plantation, they showed how they value sustainability by highlighting that every part of the harvested plant is used as compost.

As we have learned, sustainable land use does not just apply to natural ecosystems. The treatment of workers and the local community are also factors at play when creating a business that is going to last. Workers are paid a solid amount for their work at both fruit farms. While wages are not as high for coffee pickers, they are often provided with housing and childcare to support their families. All three mainly employ Nicaraguans, as Costa Ricans typically do not want to perform this difficult physical labor. As a result, the immigrants are adding to the community, rather than taking jobs. Just as with the coffee, pineapples and bananas are faced with the threat of climate change. Pineapples are a very temperature-specific crop and bananas need a lot of water. As the dry season in Costa Rica continues to get longer, crop yields are at risk of decline. Varying temperatures can also foster fungal diseases that hurt outputs. These issues cost the companies money as they look to develop solutions. The banana farm had to implement additional irrigation technologies in order to get the crops through the dry season.

If I were a plantation worker, I would prefer to work on a pineapple farm. I think pineapples are the best tasting of the three and the wages seem to be the most fair. The plantation we visited was also surrounded by forest and felt more natural than some of the coffee farms and the banana plantation. I believe the job could provide stability as well, because Costa Rica provides an enormous portion of the world’s pineapple, so the demand for labor in the country is not going anywhere anytime soon.