Abstract
This article addresses the dispute involving the different meanings of the banana in the city of Rio de Janeiro, especially in the Pedra Branca Massif - an area that in the past was part of the city’s Rural Zone. More recently, the banana from this location received the Gastronomic Wonders of Rio de Janeiro Award, however, this same banana is accused by environmentalists of being an exotic plant and its producers accused of invading environmental protection areas. From another perspective, the banana for its producers is a market-oriented culture. However, it is also the market (organic/agroecological) that, by making the local banana known, also projects the banana producers, the memory of the place and the local food culture. Based on the analysis of discursive bodies - oral and written - about the banana tree, we try to build a context (set of texts) that reveals the social tensions of this territory.
Keywords:
Social meanings; Agri-food systems; Markets; Sertão Carioca; Rio de Janeiro