Handbook of Vanilla Science and Technology

Another important element required for gaining consumer acceptance of Fair Trade products is credibility. Most consumers want assurance that higher prices paid for Fair Trade Certified products are truly going to the farmer. There is skepticism among consumers that this is in fact the case. One way to build credibility is to establish a direct connection between the consumer and the farmer. For example, Dole Food Company sells its bananas with a farm code on the label, identifying the farm where thebananas were grown. The consumer canvisit the “Planet Dole”website, enterthe code, and take a virtual tour of the farm, meeting the farmers and learning more about their products and their lives. Perhaps the same could be done with vanilla.

7.9 CONCLUSION

The vanilla industry is highly dependent on impoverished farmers in developing countries. When vanilla beans are in short supply and prices rise, they plant more. When there is a surplus of beans and prices fall, they get discouraged and abandon their vines. This creates a boom and bust cycle, which ultimately has a negative impact on worldwide demand for natural vanilla and threatens the survival of the industry.

Fair Trade would provide farmers with a sustainable price for vanilla beans in good times and bad. It would stabilize the market by keeping production in line with demand and accommodating continued growth. Certainly the size, culture, and structure of the vanilla market present formidable obstacles to implementing Fair Trade on a widespread basis. But, can we afford not to try?

8 Origins and Patterns of Vanilla Cultivation in Tropical America (1500-1900): No Support for an Independent Domestication of Vanilla in South America

Pesach Lubinsky, Gustavo A. Romero-González, Sylvia M. Heredia and Stephanie Zabel

8.1 Introduction

 The pan-tropical genus Vanilla Plumier ex Miller [Orchidaceae] comprises an estimated 100 to 107 species of monopodial, terrestrial, and hemi-epiphytic herbs with branching stems, half being endemics to tropical America (there are none that occur in Australia) (Porteres 1954; Ackerman 2002; Cameron and Soto Arenas 2003; Mabberley 2008). Leaves of Vanilla can be fleshy, leathery, or absent; the flowers are showy and generally ephemeral (lasting fewer than 24 hours), and the fruits are elongate, deciduous berries with many exceedingly small seeds (Cameron and Soto Arenas 2003; Lubinsky 2007). In contrast to the vast majority of orchids, the seed coat in Vanilla is hard and generally dark brown or black (Childers et al. 1959), one of many special traits (like a pan-tropical distribution and aromatic fruits) characterizing this basal orchid lineage, estimated to have diversified over 65 million years ago, roughly contemporaneous with large-scale continental break-up (Ramirez et al. 2007). Low rates of natural pollination, ephemeral flowers, natural hybridization (Nielsen 2000), and the rarity of the plants themselves have contributed to a largely incomplete and still confusing taxonomy of the genus, which is poorly represented in the world’s herbaria. There is a standing need for a comprehensive revision of this economically important genus, for students of natural history and breeders alike.

The two species of Vanilla, whose cured fruits are presently commercialized for flavor and fragrance, are Vanilla planifolia Jacks. and V. tahitensis J.W. Moore. Genetic studies support the hypothesis that both cultivars originated in Mesoamerica (Bory et al. 2008; Lubinsky et al. 2008a,b), even though V. tahitensis has actually never been found in the wild (Lubinsky et al. 2008b). The natural distribution of V. planifolia, an extremely rare species, is restricted to the lowland tropical evergreen forests of eastern Mexico and the Caribbean watersheds of Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras; it remains controversial whether V. planifolia is also native to South America (Cameron and Soto Arenas 2003; Hagsater et al. 2005). Besides V. planifolia and V. tahitensis, it is estimated that there are 25 to 30 other neotropical species, which possess aromatic fruits (Cameron and Soto Arenas 2003; Lubinsky 2007).