Fun Fair Trade Tropical Day Facts
• Fair Trade Certified™ bananas were a dramatic success in 2008. Thanks to strong consumer interest, imports jumped from 7 million pounds in 2007 to 
over 25 million pounds in 2008.
• Fair Trade is now more than coffee and bananas! Depending on the season, City Market offers dozens of fair trade groceries as well as fair trade avocados, pineapples, and mangos.
• “Fair Trade” is about more than just paying a fair wage. It means that trading partnerships are based on reciprocal benefits and mutual respect; that prices paid to producers reflect the work they do; that workers have the right to organize; that national health, safety, and wage laws are enforced; and that products are environmentally sustainable and conserve natural resources.
• Fair Trade products, like coffee and chocolate, are Fair Trade Certified ™ and carry a label or “seal.” Look for the logo to find fair trade products!
Avocados
• Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable.
• The avocado is also called an Alligator Pear because of its pear-like shape and it's bumpy green skin.
• A single Avocado tree can produce about 500 avocados (or 200 pounds of fruit) a year, although the usual average is about 60 pounds from 150 avocados.
• The oldest living avocado tree is found on the University of California, Berkeley campus and was planted in 1879.
• To tell if an avocado is really perfectly ripe, hold it in the palm of your hand and gently squeeze. Hard as a rock? Not ripe. Squishy? Overripe. Have as much give as chilled butter? Perfectly ripe.
• Avocados have the highest fiber content of any fruit and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, and folate.
• Avocados will not ripen on the tree. They must be picked from the tree to initiate ripening. The leaves supply a substance that prevents ripening. The best way to store avocados is to leave them on the tree; they will store for 7 months or more when left on the tree.
Pineapple
• First called “anana”, a Caribbean word for “excellent fruit”, the name “pineapple” came from European explorers who thought the fruit looked like a pinecone with flesh like an apple.
• Christopher Columbus was the first person to introduce pineapples to Europe. In 1493, during his exploration of the Caribbean Islands, he came across pineapples growing on the island of Guadalupe. He brought some of these pineapples back for Queen Isabella of Spain who loved the sweet tropical fruit. So did other Europeans. In fact, Europeans loved the taste of pineapple so much they tried to grow them in Europe, but the tropical plants did not fare well in Europe’s cool climate.
• You can grow a pineapple plant by twisting the crown of a store bought pineapple, allowing it to dry for 2-3 days, and then planting it.
• Unlike general assumption, the pineapple is not a single fruit, but a cluster of 100-200 tiny fruitlets.
Ginger
• City Market’s “Biker Dude” Ginger - Although it doesn’t fall into the ‘local’ category, City Market has established a direct farmer-consumer link with Hawaiian ginger farmer Hugh “Biker Dude” Johnson and we now regard him as “one of our farmers.” Mary Manghis, produce buyer at City Market, visited Biker Dude’s ginger farm in 2007, strengthening the link. “What we found,” Mary reported, “was not only the best place to stay and the best back roads to ride a bicycle on the island, but also an incredibly energetic and passionate ginger grower, Hugh, capable of spinning a good yarn and deserving of his mythic stature.” Visit www.hawaiianorganicginger.com to get more information about the Biker Dude and to see photos of his ginger farm.
• The ginger plant belongs to the same family as turmeric and cardamom
• Ginger is a plant native to India and China, the roots of which are used for many culinary and medicinal purposes.
• In 9th century Europe, powdered ginger was placed on the table alongside salt and pepper.
Mango
• More fresh mangos are eaten every day than any other fruit in the world.
• India grows more mangoes than all its other fruits combined. Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand are the other main countries in the world where mangoes are grown.
• Mango tree belongs to the same family as poison ivy and can get as tall as 100ft. • Mangoes have been cultivated in India for about 5,000 years, and were originally small, fibrous fruits, somewhat like plums, with a taste like turpentine. There are now over 500 varieties grown there.
Banana
• There are more than 500 varieties of banana in the world.
• A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as fingers. The word 'banan' is Arabic for finger.
• Banana plants are the largest plants on earth without a woody stem. They are actually giant herbs of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms.
• The banana plant reaches its full height of 15 to 30 feet in about one year. The trunk of a banana plant is made of sheaths of overlapping leaves, tightly wrapped around each other like celery stalks.
over 25 million pounds in 2008. • Fair Trade is now more than coffee and bananas! Depending on the season, City Market offers dozens of fair trade groceries as well as fair trade avocados, pineapples, and mangos.
• “Fair Trade” is about more than just paying a fair wage. It means that trading partnerships are based on reciprocal benefits and mutual respect; that prices paid to producers reflect the work they do; that workers have the right to organize; that national health, safety, and wage laws are enforced; and that products are environmentally sustainable and conserve natural resources.
• Fair Trade products, like coffee and chocolate, are Fair Trade Certified ™ and carry a label or “seal.” Look for the logo to find fair trade products!
Avocados
• Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable.
• The avocado is also called an Alligator Pear because of its pear-like shape and it's bumpy green skin.
• A single Avocado tree can produce about 500 avocados (or 200 pounds of fruit) a year, although the usual average is about 60 pounds from 150 avocados.
• The oldest living avocado tree is found on the University of California, Berkeley campus and was planted in 1879.
• To tell if an avocado is really perfectly ripe, hold it in the palm of your hand and gently squeeze. Hard as a rock? Not ripe. Squishy? Overripe. Have as much give as chilled butter? Perfectly ripe.
• Avocados have the highest fiber content of any fruit and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, and folate.
• Avocados will not ripen on the tree. They must be picked from the tree to initiate ripening. The leaves supply a substance that prevents ripening. The best way to store avocados is to leave them on the tree; they will store for 7 months or more when left on the tree.
Pineapple
• First called “anana”, a Caribbean word for “excellent fruit”, the name “pineapple” came from European explorers who thought the fruit looked like a pinecone with flesh like an apple.
• Christopher Columbus was the first person to introduce pineapples to Europe. In 1493, during his exploration of the Caribbean Islands, he came across pineapples growing on the island of Guadalupe. He brought some of these pineapples back for Queen Isabella of Spain who loved the sweet tropical fruit. So did other Europeans. In fact, Europeans loved the taste of pineapple so much they tried to grow them in Europe, but the tropical plants did not fare well in Europe’s cool climate.
• You can grow a pineapple plant by twisting the crown of a store bought pineapple, allowing it to dry for 2-3 days, and then planting it.
• Unlike general assumption, the pineapple is not a single fruit, but a cluster of 100-200 tiny fruitlets.
Ginger
• City Market’s “Biker Dude” Ginger - Although it doesn’t fall into the ‘local’ category, City Market has established a direct farmer-consumer link with Hawaiian ginger farmer Hugh “Biker Dude” Johnson and we now regard him as “one of our farmers.” Mary Manghis, produce buyer at City Market, visited Biker Dude’s ginger farm in 2007, strengthening the link. “What we found,” Mary reported, “was not only the best place to stay and the best back roads to ride a bicycle on the island, but also an incredibly energetic and passionate ginger grower, Hugh, capable of spinning a good yarn and deserving of his mythic stature.” Visit www.hawaiianorganicginger.com to get more information about the Biker Dude and to see photos of his ginger farm.
• The ginger plant belongs to the same family as turmeric and cardamom
• Ginger is a plant native to India and China, the roots of which are used for many culinary and medicinal purposes.
• In 9th century Europe, powdered ginger was placed on the table alongside salt and pepper.
Mango
• More fresh mangos are eaten every day than any other fruit in the world.
• India grows more mangoes than all its other fruits combined. Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand are the other main countries in the world where mangoes are grown.
• Mango tree belongs to the same family as poison ivy and can get as tall as 100ft. • Mangoes have been cultivated in India for about 5,000 years, and were originally small, fibrous fruits, somewhat like plums, with a taste like turpentine. There are now over 500 varieties grown there.
Banana
• There are more than 500 varieties of banana in the world.
• A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as fingers. The word 'banan' is Arabic for finger.
• Banana plants are the largest plants on earth without a woody stem. They are actually giant herbs of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms.
• The banana plant reaches its full height of 15 to 30 feet in about one year. The trunk of a banana plant is made of sheaths of overlapping leaves, tightly wrapped around each other like celery stalks.