Diversity

The lovely yellow banana. Perhaps the most popular fruit in the world, it's success toppled nations and fueled the growth of argo-corporate empires. It isn't a surprise that producers would do everything possible to maximize their profits. If one variety of banana was more appealing (no pun intended) to the public then that's what they'll get. Plantations around the globe now all grow the same type of banana the Cavendish. The type has become so popular around the world that commercially it's all but the only game in town.
The homogeneousness of the banana has allowed suppliers to to remove any surprises from the production and marketing of the fruit. They know what the yield will be. How much pesticides to use, when to pick. They know exactly when to ship them and at what temperature so they're just ripe enough at the store. Just what every company (and consumer) wants - a sure thing.

Of course there's a price to be paid. Even though there are more bananas growing in the world today than ever before, our favorite yellow banana is possible on the verge of extinction.

Diseases now require weekly pesticide use for crops rather than monthly a few decades ago. A new strains of viruses pop up all the time. New fungicides are developed in a race to keep banana trade viable. Should R&D slip behind in the race and the Cavendish is wiped out, it will be the second time the primary variety of banana has disappeared. The old 30's song "Yes, we have no bananas"- The Gros Michel was wiped out by soil fungus in the first half of the 20th century.

There isn't any threat that the entire species of banana will disappear from the world. There still are hundreds of strains grown by hobbyist and in the wild. But in a decade or so it may become too expensive and difficult to grow bananas commercially and they very well may disappear from the grocery store shelves.

Is there a lesson in this?

Often in society we look for ways to be more efficient. Businesses streamline. Governments cut waste (that's what they say). Banks maximize investments. We all want to get the most out of our day. Maybe we could all focus a bit more on flexiblity.
What if IBM didn't invest money in areas other than their profitable typewriter business?
What might you find if you didn't take the shortest route home?
What if listened to those you didn't already agree with?

Of course there's a real good chance you'd just end up wasting your time and money taking the scenic route through life. Wandering though life very well may get you nowhere. But as the banana can tell us, rushing for perfection in all things will just get you nowhere faster.