ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates some of the challenges in the modern day agricultural system through the lens of several popular foods—bananas, cacao, coffee, sugar, palm oil, and tea—and an “emerging food”—avocados. Bananas are the most consumed fruit in the world, followed by apples. Some Asian banana-producing countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines are now suffering from the disease and, as a result, the Cavendish is disappearing in those countries. Monoculture agricultural systems are a way of producing large volumes of product at the lowest possible cost. Latin American countries are characterized by their cultural diversity and the food produced is determined by the culture and the tropical weather. Traditional or rustic cacao farms often have used shade trees in their farming practices, but the modernization of cacao farming and the use of select genetic varieties has led to a reduction in canopy cover in certain regions.
