# Is there really a chance bananas may go extinct? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2003, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-chance-bananas-may-go-extinct/153172 "2003-02-06T09:03:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-chance-bananas-may-go-extinct/153172/1 "2003-02-06T09:03:42Z")
From [here](http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/hlth_banana-13.html), or from [here.](http://globeandmail.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/exn/20030116/exn-bananas?section=exn) > [@](#): > > Despite its phallic shape, the modern banana apparently hasn’t had sex for years. > > Belgian Scientists say that bananas may go extinct in the next ten years, due to lack of genetic diversity, which makes them prone to attacks by diseases. How likely is this to actually happen? Is there any way to reverse this asexual nature and have the phallic shaped banana begin to breed again? Will we _have_ to rely on genetic engineering to continue to enjoy bananas in the future, or is the 10 year guess just scaremongering? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-chance-bananas-may-go-extinct/153172/2 "2003-02-06T09:27:03Z")
Wild bananas exist, but the fruits contain seeds. Cultivated varieties are mutants/hybrids that do not produce seeds, so they have to be propagated by cuttings (or offset shoots, which appear around the base of the main plant, but that’s the same thing really). As long as the wild species and varieties still exist, I see no reason why the work done to bring them into cultivation cannot be repeated - we wouldn’t end up with a variety that is _exactly_ the same as what we have now, but that might be a good thing. Personally, I think it’s a conspiracy to make us eat more bananas; I’m happy to oblige. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-chance-bananas-may-go-extinct/153172/3 "2003-02-06T10:47:00Z")
I could live without bananas (that’s all I have got to say on the subject) ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-chance-bananas-may-go-extinct/153172/4 "2003-02-06T12:39:27Z")
You know they grow upside-down, the stupid things. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-chance-bananas-may-go-extinct/153172/5 "2003-02-06T14:42:59Z")
Actually, it is a scaremongering conspiracy to support genetic modification research a guy (Frison) is doing in Europe, in my opinion. More info in previous threads [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=158194) and [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=157015). ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-chance-bananas-may-go-extinct/153172/6 "2003-02-06T14:44:08Z")
And, **Attrayant** , they grow right-side-up, you must be eating the upside-down. Silly.