Food
Foods That Have Gone Extinct (or Almost Did)
Did you know that the Gros Michel banana, once the dominant variety globally, nearly vanished from our shelves due to a deadly disease?
In the mid-20th century, the Gros Michel was the banana of choice, renowned for its creamy texture and rich taste.
However, it was decimated by the Panama disease, a soil-borne fungus that spread rapidly and wiped out plantations across the tropics.
This catastrophe led to the rise of the Cavendish banana, which now accounts for nearly all commercial banana production.
While not extinct, the Gros Michel is extremely rare today, serving as a reminder of the vulnerabilities in agricultural monocultures and sparking discussions on the importance of genetic diversity in crops.
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