It will also examine Chiquita's corporate social responsibility stage, its social responsibility in the food production industry, its issue maturity, and finally the future of ethics within Chiquita's operations. This paper will examine other aspects of Chiquita's practices and take a closer look at the topic of ethics in the workplace. While it is understandable, it is not ethical. filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and the CEO and CFO went to jail for lying about billions of dollars in yet another case of corporate accounting fraud. Since the country has recently emerged from a deadly civil war and the effects of terrorism are still prevalent, it is understandable how easily Chiquita fell into these unethical practices. The book on this alleged fraud case is still. In Colombia especially, Chiquita has done a lot of harm. It has paid bribes to Latin American government officials, exploited local workers, and engaged in business with terrorists (Schotter and Teagarden). Unfortunately, these issues have influenced Chiquita International and the company has engaged in less than ethical practices over the years. Due to their popularity and how dependent the world is on them, the banana industry can cause an array of economic, social, environmental, political, and legal issues. In fact, they are one of the biggest profit makers in supermarkets (Schotter and Teagarden). As the third leading staple crop in the world behind wheat and coffee, bananas are critical for economic and global food stability. Because they have become such a common grocery item, it is easy to forget that bananas are actually grown on another continent. As one of the first tropical fruits to be internationally traded, over the years bananas have become a cheap way to bring "the tropics" to North America and Europe. Formerly known as United Fruit Company, Chiquita has been in business for over one hundred years and was a pioneer in the globalization of the banana industry. In fact, it is the leading distributor of bananas in the United States. Chiquita Brands International is an American producer and distributor of produce, with bananas being its main product.