San Bernardino, CA – Electro superstar duo Dada Life and their tropes of banana-themed fans broke the Guinness World Record for Most People Dressed As Fruit on Saturday, July 18th.
Congregating at their annual music festival, The Voyage, at the San Manuel Amphitheatre in San Bernardino, 629 Dada Life fans dressed as bananas came together to break the record and raise awareness of the current plight facing everyone’s favorite yellow fruit.
Partnering with Fair Trade USA, the leading certifier of Fair Trade products in North America, the focus was on the Tropical Race 4 disease that is currently raging through Asia (and now in parts of Africa) – if it makes its way to South and Central America, it poses a real threat to bananas.
“We use bananas for everything, seriously,” says Olle Corneer, one half of world famous Swedish electro superstars Dada Life. “They’re on our rider, our fans come to gigs dressed as them, they’re even in our logo. Imagine if we can’t get hold of them any more, it’s a crazy thought.”
Bananas, which have always been an integral part of Dada Life’s shows, will now be required to carry the Fair Trade Certified sticker, signifying that the fruit was grown according to strict social and environmental standards which will help combat the spread of the virus.
“We decided to partner with Fair Trade USA because they make sure that farmers get more money to invest in their crops and in their communities. All the bananas we use at our shows–and it’s a lot–will have to be Fair Trade certified,” said Corneer.
“The Fair Trade Certified logo signifies that your banana was grown according to strict social and environmental standards, and that farmers earned additional money for their hard work,” said Jenna Larson, spokeswoman for Fair Trade USA, the leading certifier of Fair Trade products in North America. “We’re honored to work with Dada Life to educate fans about the power of their purchase, and the Fair Trade farmers behind the peel.”
Banana Facts:
· Bananas make up over 50% of America’s fresh fruit consumption
· The annual global banana industry is worth $44.1 billion
· Bananas are the most traded fruit worldwide, and the fifth more traded agricultural product
· The US imports approximately 31% of all bananas traded internationally, with the EU importing another 28% – well over half of all worldwide imports
· Bananas are a key food staple for over 400 million people on the planet
· 70% of the world’s bananas are grown in South and Central America
· Bananas are currently under threat from the deadly Tropical Race 4 disease which has ravaged farms in Asia and more recently in Africa – http://qz.com/164029/tropical-race-4-global-banana-industry-is-killing-the-worlds-favorite-fruit/
Source: Fair Trade USA
