STRAWBERRIES IN JANUARY ?

Over the holidays a dear friend sent me a wonderful present.  Not the proverbial “muffin basket” (of which I write so often), but a fresh fruit bonanza from Edible Arrangements that looked like a bouquet of flowers… beautiful and oh so tasty!

As we devoured the perfectly ripe melon and delicious strawberries, it got me thinking about how lucky we in Connecticut are to be able to enjoy fresh, out-of-season fruit in the depths of winter.  But how it makes its way to our supermarkets is not only a tale of botany but of logistics and long-distance transportation at some cost to our environment: nature assisted by fossil fuels.

Take for example:

STRAWBERRIES:   Mostly from Mexico, these are trucked but are prone to spoilage, hence the price.  Trade disputes and seasonal Customs duties have periodically increased costs, also affecting avocados and berries.  Climate impact:  relatively high.

ORANGES:            Mostly from California and Florida, this fruit is picked, washed, sanitized, sorted and packed within 24 hours of ripening on the vine.  Stored at 38 – 45 degrees Fahrenheit in refrigerated trucks it begins a four to six day drive cross-country.  At food distribution hubs the truckloads are broken into smaller lots for local delivery.  Climate impact:  moderate.

GRAPES:     Your favorite snacking fruit has come a long way… 5000+ miles from Chile.  After harvest the grapes are chilled to 32 degrees and packed in “reefers”, refrigerated shipping containers, for the 12 – 14 day ocean voyage to ports like Wilmington DE and Philadelphia for trucking to Connecticut.  Climate impact:  lower due to shipment by sea.

BLUEBERRIES:      These are grown in Chile and Peru, hand-picked, washed, graded and packaged for refrigerated shipment to the US by boat.  Climate impact:  lower per‑pound impact because sea freight is fuel‑efficient.

BANANAS:   This is the perfect fruit for long-distance delivery.  In Ecuador, Costa Rica and Colombia bananas grow on massive bunches weighing about 100 pounds.  Harvested while green and fully mature (but not ripe), they are washed, cut and packed into 40-pound boxes which must be stored at exactly 56 – 58 degrees and shipped in reefers with sophisticated monitoring of oxygen and CO2 levels.  After their 8 – 14 day ocean journey to the US East Coast they are trucked to huge ripening facilities where ethylene gas is slowly added.  In about a week they’re ready for local stores.  Climate impact:  relatively low.

PINEAPPLES:        Almost all come from Costa Rica and Ecuador, not Hawaii. Picked almost fully-ripe, they are packed and shipped in reefers at a steady 45 – 50 degrees.  From harvesting to our local stores it’s a 10 to 16 day journey.  Climate impact:  moderate.

MELONS:     Cantaloupe and honeydew are largely imported from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico in winter, with the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean sources supplying some specialty melons.  Climate impact:   moderate due to long distance reefer trucking.

LOCAL GREENHOUSES:           Not everything we enjoy in the winter is imported as some Connecticut greenhouse keep turning out leafy greens, some tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs year round.  Climate impact: Minimal transport needs are offset by substantial winter heating requirements, which can give greenhouse crops a higher overall climate impact than their short travel distance might suggest.

So the next time you’re standing in the produce aisle, marveling at strawberries that taste like July, remember you’re not just buying fruit:  you’re looking at the literal ‘fruits’ of a globe-spanning transportation system running on diesel, refrigeration, container ships, human beings and carefully timed logistics.  It’s a small reminder that our everyday conveniences quietly depend on a vast transportation network, one we rarely think about until those strawberries show up in the dead of winter.