- Western wellness influencers once dubbed coconuts as the new 'it' superfood.
- As coconut demand soared, producers tried to keep up. But it's dangerous work.
- We visit Sri Lanka to see how farmers risk their lives to fulfill the West's obsession with coconuts.
Western wellness influencers once dubbed coconuts the new "it" superfood. Even though nutritionists couldn't agree if they deserved the hype, people kept gobbling them up.
But what did the soaring demand mean for coconut producers? Well, harvesting coconuts is dangerous work. Farmers risk their lives climbing 80-foot palm trees to get the fruit. And processors brave saws to remove the pesky shells.
We visit Sri Lanka to see how coconut farmers bear the burden of the West's superfood obsessions.