The Disturbing Business of Bananas

The disturbing business of bananas - a documentary looking at the dark history of the banana industry & The United Fruit Company. This involves the coup in Honduras, the banana massacre, and overthrowing the democratically-elected Guatemalan leader.

The banana industry is responsible for massacres, revolutions, wars, and secret deals with the CIA. At one point, the world’s largest banana company practically acted like a government in Central America, controlling most of their land and infrastructure. They were responsible for overthrowing presidents who tried to give workers more rights, and installing leaders who helped the banana companies make more money. Honestly, after this video, you will never look at a banana the same way again. This is the disturbing true story of the banana business.

In episode 1 of this banana business series, we looked at the rise of Sam, the banana man - how a penniless immigrant made a fortune selling ripe bananas, and worked his way up to becoming a major player in the banana business. But in this episode, we’re going to look at what happened next, as once Samuel Zemurray became involved with a company called United Fruit, the story takes a much darker turn. If you enjoy dark business documentaries about powerful corporations, the disturbing history of the banana industry is for you.