Bound for extinction. Get ‘em while you can.

Um, yes, actually. How weird is that? According to an article in Popular Science, the Cavendish, the only banana most people are aware of is under attack:

In 1992, a new strain of the fungus—one that can affect the Cavendish—was discovered in Asia. Since then, Panama disease Race 4 has wiped out plantations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Taiwan, and it is now spreading through much of Southeast Asia.

Experts are saying there’s not a whole lot that can be done, given the Cavendish’s remarkable genetic uniformity, the product of a few decades of perfecting “quite possibly, the world’s perfect food.” No more banana splits? Bananas Foster? Are you kidding? Even weirder, it’s turns out it’s deja vu all over again for the poor banana.

Until the early 1960s, American cereal bowls and ice cream dishes were filled with the Gros Michel, a banana that was larger and, by all accounts, tastier than the fruit we now eat. Like the Cavendish, the Gros Michel, or “Big Mike,” accounted for nearly all the sales of sweet bananas in the Americas and Europe. But starting in the early part of the last century, a fungus called Panama disease began infecting the Big Mike harvest. … Growers adopted a frenzied strategy of shifting crops to unused land, maintaining the supply of bananas to the public but at great financial and environmental expense—the tactic destroyed millions of acres of rainforest. By 1960, the major importers were nearly bankrupt, and the future of the fruit was in jeopardy.

In a related note, it’s beginning to dawn on me that I’m a culinary infant. Gurgling and squawking, oblivious to my environment and totally helpless in the kitchen. Not only did I not realize there was more than one type of banana (I do love fried plantains however)

Popular Science Article: “Can This Fruit Be Saved“