{"id":309883,"date":"2024-03-18T08:25:21","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T07:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=309883"},"modified":"2024-03-18T08:25:24","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T07:25:24","slug":"matt-mcgrath-of-the-bbc-goes-climate-banana-crazy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=309883","title":{"rendered":"Matt McGrath of the BBC Goes Climate Banana Crazy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Photo picture of Green Bananas Hanging on Banana Tree<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From The Daily Sceptic<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY\u00a0CHRIS MORRISON<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Banana prices to go up as temperatures rise, reports Matt McGrath<\/a> of the BBC. What a magnificent story \u2013 adding to the fake climate emergency narrative and helping out Big Banana all in one go. Alas, the uncharitable might note that the story is slightly spoilt by banana output having doubled over the last 20 years, helped, almost certainly, by a little extra warmth and atmospheric carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bananas are set to get more expensive as climate change hits a much loved fruit, says Pascal Liu of the World Banana Forum, a UN umbrella group<\/a> promoting the banana business. \u2018Experts\u2019 are reported to be concerned about the growing threats from a warming world and from the diseases that are spreading in its wake. McGrath helpfully adds that last week saw shortages in several U.K. supermarkets due to \u201cstorms at sea\u201d. There are reported to be concerns about a relatively new strain of Fusarium Wilt<\/a>, a plant disease that has been widespread in commercial banana plantations for over 100 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGrath quotes the Big Banana spokesman as observing that climate impacts pose an \u201cenormous threat\u201d to supply, compounding the impact of fast-spreading diseases. Prices in the U.K. \u201care likely to go up \u2013 and stay up\u201d. Which would appear to be very good news for those in the banana business. As the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) graph below shows, they have also enjoyed staggering high rises in recent yields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In common with other large scale makers of agricultural produce, the last few years have had difficulties with disruptions from Covid and the war in Ukraine leading to rises in the price of fertilisers and transport. More normal conditions seems to be returning with the FAO reporting<\/a> that the outlook for 2024 \u201clooks more positive than in the previous two years, provided that price variations in real terms will continue to be favourable\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we can see, British taxpayer-reliant McGrath is not just doing his bit to help push up banana prices for U.K. consumers, but he combines this noble work with his usual day job nudging citizens to accept the insane collectivist Net Zero policy. The new variant of Fusarium Wilt can be spread by flooding and strong winds, it is said. M.r Liu notes that the disease will be spread much faster \u201cthan if you have normal weather patterns\u201d. It is surprising that McGrath didn\u2019t point out that in its latest assessment report<\/a>, the UN\u2019s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) observed that estimates of the impact of human involvement in severe storms outside natural variation remained of \u201clow confidence\u201d. In addition to severe storms, the IPCC found little evidence of human involvement stretching out to 2100 in tropical cyclones, heavy rain and pluvial, and river and coastal flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No doubt a small lapse in rigour at the BBC\u2019s multi-staffed climate desk, given that McGrath is usually a keen student of the IPCC as a \u201csound scientific source\u201d. Accepting \u20ac100,000 from the green foundation of the large Spanish bank BBVA<\/a> in 2019, he noted that the media landscape was awash with \u201dfake news\u201d stories. He defended the \u201cprimacy\u201d of specialist journalists that draw on sound sources such as the IPCC. The green foundation, meanwhile, fawned all over him, noting \u201chis extraordinary capacity to communicate complex environmental issues and science to global audiences\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the McGrath article is just one of many that appear in legacy media outlets that attempt to insert alleged human involvement in the continually changing climate into general news stories. As regular readers of the\u00a0Daily Sceptic\u00a0<\/em>will be aware, these stories do not appear totally by accident. Green billionaire cash floods into operations seeking to influence journalists, politicians, scientists and even Hollywood\u00a0scriptwriters<\/a>\u00a0to catastrophise information promoting the climate collapse scare and the need for a Net Zero solution. Fake news is now endemic throughout the mainstream media. This despite signs that in the wake of the Covid experience, the general public across many Western countries is starting to lose faith in top-down controlling narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Speaking of tropical fruit, the BBC\u2019s amusingly described \u2018disinformation\u2019 correspondent Marco Silva is currently enjoying a six-month sabbatical with the green billionaire-funded Oxford Climate Journalism Network (OCJN). To \u201chit closer to home\u201d, course participants are told to pick a fruit such as a mango and discuss why it wasn\u2019t as tasty as the year before due to climate change. This will allow the subject of climate change to become \u201cless abstract\u201d. In a recently published essay<\/a>, two OCJN organisers said their course was designed to allow climate journalists \u201cto move beyond their siloed past\u201d into a strategic position within newsrooms, \u201ccombining expertise with collaboration\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Morrison is the<\/em> Daily Sceptic\u2019s Environment Editor.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Banana prices to go up as temperatures rise,\u00a0reports Matt McGrath\u00a0of the BBC. What a magnificent story \u2013 adding to the fake climate emergency narrative and helping out Big Banana all in one go. Alas, the uncharitable might note that the story is slightly spoilt by banana output having doubled over the last 20 years, helped, almost certainly, by a little extra warmth and atmospheric carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":309890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Banana prices to go up as temperatures rise,\u00a0reports Matt McGrath\u00a0of the BBC. What a magnificent story \u2013 adding to the fake climate emergency narrative and helping out Big Banana all in one go. Alas, the uncharitable might note that the story is slightly ","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691827663,691818389,691819134,691818056,691819743,691827664,691818154],"class_list":{"0":"post-309883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-bananas","9":"tag-bbc","10":"tag-climate-alarmism","11":"tag-climate-change","12":"tag-climate-propaganda","13":"tag-matt-mcgrath","14":"tag-net-zero","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-Banana-plant.jpeg?fit=1600%2C1067&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1iC7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":398447,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=398447","url_meta":{"origin":309883,"position":0},"title":"Wrong, TIME Magazine, Climate Change Isn\u2019t Dooming Your Bananas","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"28\/08\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent article in TIME Magazine, \u201cClimate Change is Coming for Your Bananas,\u201d claims that a warming planet is threatening global banana production, portending shortages and higher prices. This is false. Data and the history of banana cultivation all tell a different story, with yields and production numbers from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNZUROdFb-MxqC_VB6Na8Y-oLzVKqYAX-DzzxekkRBXu3yk0n-pnB3LgeDQoDxzSP5iJsIXDo8shg5cN-0RXlq5fZ038qD6-2TjE0tPCXd_KIQjmv1h0r3kWxEgpTy-TisytVMmHL8y-RSwqU_PNdf8iveVkw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNZUROdFb-MxqC_VB6Na8Y-oLzVKqYAX-DzzxekkRBXu3yk0n-pnB3LgeDQoDxzSP5iJsIXDo8shg5cN-0RXlq5fZ038qD6-2TjE0tPCXd_KIQjmv1h0r3kWxEgpTy-TisytVMmHL8y-RSwqU_PNdf8iveVkw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNZUROdFb-MxqC_VB6Na8Y-oLzVKqYAX-DzzxekkRBXu3yk0n-pnB3LgeDQoDxzSP5iJsIXDo8shg5cN-0RXlq5fZ038qD6-2TjE0tPCXd_KIQjmv1h0r3kWxEgpTy-TisytVMmHL8y-RSwqU_PNdf8iveVkw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNZUROdFb-MxqC_VB6Na8Y-oLzVKqYAX-DzzxekkRBXu3yk0n-pnB3LgeDQoDxzSP5iJsIXDo8shg5cN-0RXlq5fZ038qD6-2TjE0tPCXd_KIQjmv1h0r3kWxEgpTy-TisytVMmHL8y-RSwqU_PNdf8iveVkw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNZUROdFb-MxqC_VB6Na8Y-oLzVKqYAX-DzzxekkRBXu3yk0n-pnB3LgeDQoDxzSP5iJsIXDo8shg5cN-0RXlq5fZ038qD6-2TjE0tPCXd_KIQjmv1h0r3kWxEgpTy-TisytVMmHL8y-RSwqU_PNdf8iveVkw-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":378514,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=378514","url_meta":{"origin":309883,"position":1},"title":"Yes. We have no\u00a0Bananas","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"15\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cGoing Bananas\u201d is the title of a\u00a0new report\u00a0by Christian Aid, which purports to demonstrate that banana crops are threatened directly by climate change (droughts, floods, heat, etc) and indirectly (the spread of fungal disease allegedly caused by climate change). Naturally, because it pushes the climate crisis narrative, the Guardian has\u00a0given\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"banana crops\"","block_context":{"text":"banana crops","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=banana-crops"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0A-Guide-to-Robusta-Banana-Farming-in-India-2-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0A-Guide-to-Robusta-Banana-Farming-in-India-2-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0A-Guide-to-Robusta-Banana-Farming-in-India-2-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0A-Guide-to-Robusta-Banana-Farming-in-India-2-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0A-Guide-to-Robusta-Banana-Farming-in-India-2-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":378927,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=378927","url_meta":{"origin":309883,"position":2},"title":"Wrong, The Guardian, There Is No Evidence Climate Change Is Harming Bananas","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Guardian\u00a0was among a number of mainstream media outlets to carry a story claiming climate change is threatening wipe out banana production. No data supports this claim, rather it is based on speculation about future climate conditions 55 years in the future. Production and yield trends show that bananas are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"banana production\"","block_context":{"text":"banana production","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=banana-production"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/02687259.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/02687259.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/02687259.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/02687259.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/02687259.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":383449,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=383449","url_meta":{"origin":309883,"position":3},"title":"Climate Fact-Check May 2025 Edition","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"16\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Climate claims go bananas! Debunking claims that global warming is impacting crop yields, wildfires, hurricanes, droughts & floods.","rel":"","context":"In \"banana production\"","block_context":{"text":"banana production","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=banana-production"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0May-2025-fact-check.png?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0May-2025-fact-check.png?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0May-2025-fact-check.png?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0May-2025-fact-check.png?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0May-2025-fact-check.png?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":339998,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=339998","url_meta":{"origin":309883,"position":4},"title":"Lock Up Your Daughters! Climate Change Causes Rise in Child Marriages","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Heavier and longer summer monsoon rains are said to be fuelling a rise in child marriages in Pakistan, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). Human rights workers are warning such weddings are on the rise \u201cdue to climate-driven economic insecurity\u201d. Great story since it holds out a small hope that banning hydrocarbon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Agence France-Presse\"","block_context":{"text":"Agence France-Presse","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=agence-france-presse-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0child-marriages-4-1-1024x635-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C635&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0child-marriages-4-1-1024x635-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C635&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0child-marriages-4-1-1024x635-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C635&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0child-marriages-4-1-1024x635-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C635&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":352429,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=352429","url_meta":{"origin":309883,"position":5},"title":"Matt McGrath Still Does Not Get\u00a0It!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/11\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The absurd Matt McGrath still does not get it!","rel":"","context":"In \"BBC\"","block_context":{"text":"BBC","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bbc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0SEI_227982107.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0SEI_227982107.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0SEI_227982107.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0SEI_227982107.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0SEI_227982107.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=309883"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":309891,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309883\/revisions\/309891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/309890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=309883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=309883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=309883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}