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The deals may risk reviving the image of el Pulpo; the beef will not be fed to hungry Latins, but will be shipped to the U.S.
For all the diversification, Black —an Orthodox Jew who follows strict dietary rules—is still high on bananas. He considers this relative of the lily family a cheap source of both protein and calories. United Brands earlier this year opened a 9,000-acre banana plantation in the Philippines with an eye to the Asian market. Company executives are also negotiating with a number of Eastern European governments in the hope of getting them to consider Chiquita bananas not a symbol of Yanqui imperialism but a part of Communist diets.