Give your pineapple a second life

and DO THE TWIST...

AUTHOR: Coco - The Vegan Pirates

This delicious and juicy tropical fruit, with its sweet and a bit acidic flavor, offers good dietary fiber and provides a source of vitamin C, plus some iron and calcium.

Pineapples are easy to get and served on many occasions. But let's first focus on the facts - some of them sadly will leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Costa Rica exports more pineapples worldwide than any other country. Over 40% of the total exported pineapples come from here - with about 60,000 hectares dedicated to the production, particularly in the country's flat lands in the north. But unfortunately, this Million-dollar business, with its extensive monocultures, is causing severe negative impacts on local communities and our environment.

Therefore, production in Costa Rica has been criticized for years, and both public health as well environmental problems are linked to the contamination by pesticides used on farms. Especially in areas with high levels of agriculture and rainforest disturbance, animals with genetic abnormalities caused by pesticides are reported - for example, sloths, born with only one toe, or mantled howler monkeys who developed yellow patches on their fur.

Pineapples need many sun hours and like to grow on a gentle slope. Keep all leaves outside the soil and compact the soil around the stem a little bit to have a firm foundation. If your soil isn't perfect, you'd better put the stem in water for a couple of weeks until some roots have grown. After 10-12 months, the plant should have grown big (about 50 cm in diameter). And in the middle, a beautiful little blossom should appear that will then develop into your next pineapple fruit!