There are more than 1,000 different types of bananas in the world. So why do we only have one type of banana in the grocery store? This episode is an exploration into the rich diversity of bananas and plantains — and why North American grocery stores only sell one type. We talk with biologist Rob Dunn, who wrote a book about this topic, Von Diaz, an esteemed food writer and cookbook author, Meenakshi J., a freelance journalist who wrote an article about sacred bananas, Vidya Balachander, the South Asia editor at Whetstone, and Vanessa Mota, a food blogger behind My Dominican Kitchen, for more.

Topics covered in this episode:


Min 0:43: Meet Von Diaz

Min 1:53: Differences between bananas and plantains

Min 4:29: Meet Rob Dunn

Min 8:03: Story of the Cavendish banana

Min 13:28: Meet Meenakshi J.

Min 14:16: Bananas as divine offerings

Min 15:40: Meet Vanessa Mota

Min 16:55: Dominican mangú

Min 18:30: Meet Vidya Balachander

Min 20:04: Cooking and eating with banana leaves

Min 24:26: Changing the food system



Climate Cuisine is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Climate Cuisine at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.

Guests: Rob Dunn, Meenakshi J. (@polkajunction), Von Diaz (@cocinacriolla), Vidya Balachander (@vidya83)