#275 – Okay
Friday, October 9th, 2009The 3rd update for the week comes in on a Sunday evening. It’s taking me some time to get back into the flow of things but hopefully the pages are worth the wait. I’m quite proud of them myself.
It’s well known that most banana multi-nationals are scumbags (to put it lightly) and it’s even more well known after the documentary Bananas!*, that Dole tried to stop.
It documents the trial of Dole vs some poor Nicaraugan plantantion workers that became sterile after being exposed to the already banned pesticide DBCP. I’m angered! And the trial only took up cases of sterility (because it’s much easier to prove), nevermind the deaths and cancer that DBCP has caused. The facts are sickening and Dole has aggressively tried to silence this film and sue it’s makers. So yeah. Please buy only Fair Trade bananas. Thank you.
October 11th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
okay
just kidding <3
gosh I really like how you draw the stomach for some reason ;;;
October 11th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
American multinational companies have been raping the third world for centuries now. It’s why Hawaii is a state, it’s why America continues to exert its influence in Latin America and it’s despicable. I look forward to seeing this film.
I also look forward to the end of ALM!
October 11th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
I highly recommend the movie Food, Inc. if you’d like to know more about the atrocities of the food business in America (and I don’t mean restaurants). It’s horrendous what we allow others to do to us. I hope you don’t have these kinds of problems where you are!
October 11th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Maria in panel three may be my favorite rendering of her in the entire series, and the panel composition as a whole is just great.
I hate banana’s so I will make sure to not buy them, but sense you brought this up, I would like to say the NO ONE should buy Florida oranges, according to a 2005 issue of National Geographic, most of them are picked by indentured servants (i.e. slaves).
October 11th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
And also everyone should look for the abuse made by european energy and water companies over the price of their services in develping countries and the rotten tactics they do to maintain their monopoly.
October 11th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Waiting for these updates makes life a bit more exciting.
October 11th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
AKAIK we only really eat local bananas from Queensland in Australia.
My family probably goes through about 20 bananas a week. They’re a staple food in my house.
October 11th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Did anyone look up the aftermath of this movie and the judge ruling, before or after they decided to believe everything the movie stated?
I’m not picking sides, because I wasn’t there (obviously), but I am just saying it’d only be fair that you hear BOTH sides of the story before you believe just one.
Anyways, I love Maria in the third panel. x) She looks so peaceful and graceful and should we all be worried? Because I’m worrying. T_T
October 11th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Your comic is always worth the wait Renee! Great work, the build-up is spectacular!
October 11th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
I think this is my first time to ever comment.
I’ve been [not-so] patiently waiting for updates, and now you’re back.
And this is the most beautiful strip you’ve posted yet.
I’m not sure why I think so.. just.. gaah.. so perfect.
October 12th, 2009 at 12:05 am
oh god now I’m worried something is wrong with the baby!!!!! As if it were a real physical baby on the line here! It really feels like it . Fantastic cliffhanging here. I feel just as confused as maria.
October 12th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Okay. I don’t buy bananas anyway so that shouldn’t be too hard.
Also, please let the baby be okay. D:
October 12th, 2009 at 12:34 am
This sh*t is bananas
October 12th, 2009 at 12:36 am
It’s twins!!!
Right? Everything is going to be happy in the end?
October 12th, 2009 at 12:44 am
Wow! I hope it’s just too late for her to get the drugs. Or twins
October 12th, 2009 at 1:36 am
Queensland Australia. A shout out to all Aussies who lke their banana’s local and pesticide free.
Gee, Europe must suck.
October 12th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Bahahaha at indentured slaves.
Other name for that is illegal mexican immigrants. Who aren’t supposed to be in the country anyway. They get paid slaves wages yes, but thats what you get for country hopping illegally.
October 12th, 2009 at 2:36 am
omg! I’m not liking that reaction the doctor had… I hope Maria and the baby will be okay! :-\ and that Anders gets there in time.
On a general comic note its been well worth the wait Rene!
October 12th, 2009 at 2:43 am
Why is everyone always so eager to point fingers at America? We’re like the universal scapegoat for everything. :\
October 12th, 2009 at 2:55 am
Yes, we are. And for a LOT of good reasons. We’re like Gulliver among the Liliputians. one misstep can unintentionally wipe out an entire village.
A lot of what we get blamed for are unintended consequences, but that doesn’t make it right!
October 12th, 2009 at 3:16 am
I just wanted to say a couple things:
1. Rene, this comic has been my favorite for a long time; I always look forward to your updates! I remember when it started 3 years ago, and was always checking back, even when I knew that the next update wouldn’t be until Sunday.
I think you’re doing a great job, and I’m really excited to see the end!
2. @Kim
That is probably the most unsympathetic thing I have ever read.
… :/
October 12th, 2009 at 4:12 am
wow. great comic! i love the last pic where she’s looking worried over her tummy. it shows jsut how confused and in pain she is. great job
October 12th, 2009 at 4:18 am
:O I only eat Banana’s from my local farmers market here in melbourne.
Thanks for the heads up!
I try to buy from farmers markets because
A) They are locals SUPPORT THE LOCALS!
B) They last longer
C) Taste better for unknown reason (Maybe because they are not put in cold storage for 3 months D:)
Also, I love your comic. Maria is so CUUUUUTE <3 Even when she is Preggers.
Glad you came back on the 5th. I read through the whole comic in about 2 days and I am addicted.
NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!
October 12th, 2009 at 4:27 am
I didn’t just go on WebMD and look up complications with pregnancy to try and diagnose Maria…Nope.
October 12th, 2009 at 4:40 am
Thanks, Kim. A web artist’s comment section is an excellent place to flaunt flagrant racism, as well as display open ignorance as to how poverty actually works.
October 12th, 2009 at 5:41 am
go queensland naaanahs.
wait… how many of us are there here?
October 12th, 2009 at 6:40 am
Mindy, thanks for pointing out that people should look at the whole story with this Bananas! film. The cases were actually thrown out, with prejudice, because of how freudulant they were.
October 12th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Also, GREAT comics!
October 12th, 2009 at 7:49 am
maria looks very scandinavian in picture 3 (all little miss spirit of iceland and what not), this is my favorite depiction of her, too john k! thank you for sharing a wonderful story with me, rene. i hope things are well for you.
October 12th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Well said Mindy. I work in the speciality coffee business and am completely OPPOSED to the Fairtrade organisation from what I’ve seen in the coffee industry.
The coffee bought at un-ethical prices is paid for by 4 big companies none of them are specific coffee companies. They’re a drugs company and brand comglomerates making softdrinks and instant (soluble) coffee primarily. These are the companies that exploit the workers and give non-fairtrade coffee a huge stigma.
Starbucks is not one of them, yes they’re a large buyer of coffee but not on the scale of these guys and their recent switch to 100% fairtrade is a complete gimmick.
The problem with fairtrade is 3-fold. 1. Its not sustainable, 2. It’s not a reasonable wage, its a minimum wage and 3. It does bad for itself. 1 & 3 are somewhat linked in that there is no reason for a coffee farmer to do anything with reguards to quality than produce as big of a yeild as possible as they have a guarentee’d rate at which the coffee will be bought per/lb. The quality makes no difference to how much will be paid.
So as the culture around getting a great cup of coffee contunues to expand the demand for good tasting coffee will grow and the willingness to accept sub-par coffee will shrink. Also FT focusses on a current social stigma and helps elleviate the social guilt that someone in a third world country is working in the sun all the live-long day picking cherries so you can get a cup of morning joe, as soon as the social focus changes FT will fall on its ass.
There are better programs out there and there are farmers who can be paid 10x the fairtrade price for their coffee if they have something special. An ethical coffee doesn’t have to be fairtrade.
How can you be sure? Simple; Find a small local roaster and talk to them don’t go to the supermarket
—
Oh sorry Rene I ranted and took over your comments :-S
October 12th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Just wanted to put my 2 cents in on Queensland banana’s! Wow, there’s a few of us on here isn’t there?
Poor Maria. hope the bub is okay
October 12th, 2009 at 10:27 am
I just have to second the “This sh*t is bananas” comment.
October 12th, 2009 at 10:46 am
oohh so THATS why ASDA (owned by Wal-Mart) in the UK are selling bananas so damn cheap at the moment
October 12th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Aw, I feel so bad for Maria here
October 12th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
flipper baby flipper baby
I don’t eat banans *thumbsup*
October 12th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
This reminds me of my labor, kid was perfectly fine, but the epidural didn’t get there until I was wayyy to far along for it, everyone was telling me “I’m sorry sweetheart, the first usually takes longer than this” though I do remember screaming “GET THE HELL OUT” when my doc told the anaesthesiologist that he was too late.
My poor guy, hopefully he’ll never have to see me like that again.
October 13th, 2009 at 12:38 am
@ Rene on Bananas!
The meritorious claims are tragic as hell. Problem is that the lawyer on the case is kind of sketch, and the case got tossed by a US judge for fraud. He’s in trouble with the ABA now.
POLITICS OH NO! [sorry]
@Jason
Hawaii’s a state because the US conquered it. And it’d be pretty stupid to just give it away to the “tribes” on the basis of race, since the native population has basically been bred into extinction by Japanese immigrants.
(btw the Supreme Court basically had to make a special exception for Hawaii to get the tribes’ chiefs to stop exploiting them [the chiefs technically owned ALL the land], so let’s not start dreaming of “noble savages.”)
@The Spatula
You have to mass-farm or the poor will starve. Other than immigrants, the western world has a declining population.
@John K
“Indentured Servants” are not slaves; classically, the term meant that such a person would be indentured for a period of labor in order to pay the costs of getting to the US. It’s technically banned by the US’s Constitution, but if you go nuts with definitions then buying anything on credit could arguably be called indentured servitude. I do think that legal immigration [into the US, anyway] is too onerous and that the policies should be changed.
@fairtraders generally
Not buying produce from other countries makes them poorer, and poor people cannot afford fairtraded stuff. Competition keeps prices down, so unless you want a new OPEC, shut it with these suggestions that more regulations are NEEEEEDED.
October 13th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Another Queensland banana lover! When I’m not at uni I live up in the tropics near all the banana farmers, and some years I do banana picking! The pay for pickers of pretty much all fruits is really good in North Queensland, but it’s hard work so you earn it. Mostly backpackers and students (both high school and uni) pick, especially over the summer holidays
October 13th, 2009 at 4:14 am
Kim- did you know that there are south and central americans actually enslaved within the USA (specifically Florida)? And by “actually enslaved” I mean brought here by force, not allowed to have free movement and not paid (anything). Your ignorance hurts my brain.
Alex R- I agree, but still Fair Trade is raising awareness, even it is cumbersome and inapplicable to some great small farmer/roaster relationship, it is a start. And how many ethically traded coffee shops exist where you can be confident that the coffee you are drinking comes from farmers than are paid a living wage and don’t rape the environment? Fair Trade is a way that consumers can demand for environmentally and socially conscience products– hopefully the USFT will improve with the greater demand for their services.
Rene- Its good to have you back.
October 13th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Aw whats she need an epi for? She looks like she is doing just fine
October 13th, 2009 at 8:55 am
.A lot of these comments are speculating the idea of twins; I am begging you not to do that. Because it seems like in every show, movie, and book where a pregnancy is involved they always get twins or triplets. Writers do this to create drama for the characters but it’s been done so many times that it would strike a bad note with me and put a black mark on this otherwise flawless comic.
October 13th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Well on the topic of Bananas Dole is an evil corporation but those plantation cases took place over 30 years ago. Plus a lot of people have been claiming to work on the plantation to get money from Dole for possibly exposing them to harmful substances. I am more angered about Hawaii and pineapples. I hate bananas unless they have peanut butter on them but I really do want to see that documentary.
October 13th, 2009 at 9:28 am
I love how Maria looks so small compared to her looming belly in that last panel.
October 13th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Ha, all the Australians come out of the wood work once you mention bananas. I too am a Queenslander and only eat Aussie bananas, although it’s pretty easy for Australians to buy the vast majority of our fruit and veg locally.
More to the point, love this comic and will always wait for it! Please don’t let there be anything wrong with the baby!
October 13th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
She had ultrasounds, though, didn’t she? These days, no one in any industrialized country is caught by surprise by having twins. She’d know that already.
October 13th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I hate it when the doctor leaves you in that position…….
October 13th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Has anyone here read Gravity’s Rainbow?
October 14th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Hooray fair trade bananas! You are a lady after my own heart. People need understand how important this is!