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EPISODE · Feb 18, 2026 · 14 MIN

Why Bananas Used to be Better

from History Dispatches · host Matt and McKinley Breen

One of the most ubiquitous and highest selling foods in the United States is the banana. From the big box Walmart, to your local mom and pop grocery store everyone sells them. But the banana we eat today is very different from less than a century ago. And that is because the banana we used to eat almost went extinct. This is the story of why bananas used to taste so different. Sources https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/history-of-the-gros-michel-banana https://www.planthealthaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Panama-disease-FS.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavendish_banana https://www.britannica.com/science/Panama-disease History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 18, 2026

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