https://peertube.dngr.us/videos/watch/f802b525-d1a8-4b1b-8692-5b8c3c36f2b2 Help us preserve, scan and post more rare and endangered films on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCddem5RlB3bQe99wyY49g0g/join Website: www.PeriscopeFilm.com "Yes, Bananas" (1938) is a 1938 film made for the Pan American Union, an organization of nations founded in 1890, that promoted friendship, goodwill, and cooperation across the Americas. "Yes, Bananas" documents the journey of bananas from tropical plantations — likely owned by the United Fruit Company — to consumers around the world. It begins in the Caribbean and Central and South America, where dense jungle is cleared and soil is tested to prepare land for banana cultivation. Bananas are planted using rootstocks rather than seeds, and require precise spacing, regular clearing, and careful water management. Over 12 to 15 months, the plant matures and produces a single large bunch of fruit. The bananas are harvested green to ensure optimal ripening later, transported by mule and tram to trains, and then shipped in refrigerated vessels to ports, primarily in the United States. Upon arrival, bananas are unloaded, inspected, and transported in insulated railcars to ripening facilities where they reach their ideal golden color. Once seen as a luxury, bananas are now a household staple, used in various recipes and recommended even for infants as a nutritious first solid food. 0:00 – The film introduces the journey to the Caribbean, highlighting bananas as a valuable tropical crop cultivated in Central and South America, and the West Indies. 1:06 – Forest is cleared in the jungle to prepare land for banana plantations. Soil experts test fertility and survey teams map out planting areas. 1:29 – Workers use machetes to remove undergrowth; accurate measurements are taken to space plantings precisely using a 14-foot pole. 2:01 – Drainage ditches are dug due to high annual rainfall. While bananas need water-rich soil, too much moisture is harmful. 2:21 – Banana planting is done using rootstocks (not seeds), as the plant rarely produces seeds. These rootstocks develop shoots. 3:06 – Forest trees are cut down to allow sunlight to reach the plants. Even small trees can take multiple men days to fell. 3:31 – Regular clearing around 3-month-old plants is essential. After 6 months, healthy plants grow tall; poorly maintained ones lag. 4:00 – At 9 months, the fruit stem can be seen forming inside the plant. Only one bunch of bananas grows on each plant. 4:23 – The banana plant, although large, isn’t a tree. It has no wood and consists entirely of tightly wrapped leaves. 4:40 – After 12–15 months, fruit matures. The bunch grows to 65 pounds and bends the stem, indicating it’s ready for harvest. 4:57 – Radiogram is typed on a typewriter. Plantation managers use radio to coordinate harvesting with fruit ship arrivals for efficient scheduling. 5:06 – Harvesting teams of cutter, backer, and mule man collect bananas. The fruit is cut while green to avoid mealy texture. 6:29 – Bananas are transported via mule to tram stations, then loaded onto small-gauge railcars and later fruit trains to reach the docks. 7:09 – Trains are carefully loaded; banana leaves are used as padding and overripe fruit is sorted out during inspection. 7:43 – At the docks, 50,000 bunches are loaded onto refrigerated ships within 12 hours using conveyor belts and special loading machines. 8:30 – Ships are climate-controlled to prevent premature ripening. Temperatures are monitored constantly during the journey. 8:47 – Upon arrival at U.S. ports, fruit is unloaded using canvas shields to protect it from weather. Workers sort and classify the bananas. 9:36 – Bananas are transported in insulated railcars. These are heated in winter and cooled with ice in summer to preserve quality. 9:55 – At ripening centers, bananas are brought to perfect ripeness before reaching consumers. Quality is regularly inspected. 10:24 – Once considered a luxury, bananas are now a staple in homes, used in various dishes and recommended for babies by physicians. Motion picture films don't last forever; many have already been lost or destroyed. For almost two decades, we've worked to collect, scan and preserve the world as it was captured on 35mm, 16mm and 8mm movies -- including home movies, industrial films, and other non-fiction. If you have endangered films you'd like to have scanned, or wish to donate celluloid to Periscope Film so that we can share them with the world, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us via the weblink below. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyhJFIFBrxE Mirrored from Periscope Film (https://www.youtube.com/@PeriscopeFilm) Sun, 14 Jun 2026 05:40:42 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://peertube.dngr.us https://peertube.dngr.us/lazy-static/avatars/41a6fee9-7f57-42d0-a5fc-5db4f1af2e31.png https://peertube.dngr.us/videos/watch/f802b525-d1a8-4b1b-8692-5b8c3c36f2b2 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://peertube.dngr.us/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.