Bananas in cold climes exist only when 2 things happen:

1) We push the massive cost of transport onto the climate (socialize the costs while privatizing the profits); and

2) We trade with everyone despite their political persuasions.

Do you have Iranian pistachios in the US? The taste and quality is much better than any other in the world. Do we say the US is failing because of that? How about Cuban cigars? How about Bolivian lithium - oh wait - we couped their government so that we could have as much of that as we want. Just ask Elon Musk - “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”

Russia today, like the Soviet Union, doesn't have bananas because the West uses siege warfare - i.e. economic sanctions - against any government that doesn't agree to be subservient to the West.

As BRICS turns into BRICS+ this too shall end. The Global South is an order of magnitude stronger politically and militarily than it was in 1992. Part of the problem with the West is that we refuse to accept that fact.

When push comes to shove, and it is getting there more quickly than I feared, China will side with Russia more closely before they pull away. Same with India. We already see this happening. Africa is slowly turning from the West. Soon it will be North America, the EU, Australia and Japan vs. the rest of the world. The way we currnently are trying to play we will lose that fight.

I grew up in the US where it is understood we should have everything from everywhere and it should be cheap. Bananas don't grow anywhere near Minneapolis or St. Petersburg. Apples do.

Greenhouse technology is also not what it was in 1992, but the bottom line is that not everything grows everywhere cheaply enough for everyone to have it.

Sustainable food production is a requirement for long term human civiliazation. We've been denying that fact for so long we believe, as in your article, that nonsustainable food production is a right and without it a society is failing.