What Does Ethylene Have to do With Food?

Every now and then I’m reminded of how sheltered I am in my agrarian bubble where everyone is onboard when it comes to local, seasonal food produced by small farms, many using some type of regenerative practice and who aspire to deliver products that meet both our philosophical values as well as our customers’ demands. Recently, a customer passed along this full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal and asked what I thought.My first reaction was that there was no way anyone would find a fresh American peach in the midst of a polar vortex. Sure, you can find fresh peaches at gourmet grocers, but the label will be from Chile and they won’t taste like much. Any hankering for local peaches can still be satisfied while shopping at Central Farm Markets’ winter markets, but you’ll find them in a jar or a can…not fresh in a mitten.After reading the text, I tried to decide if it was the peaches making the ethylene or the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM). Ethylene is a colorless, flammable hydrocarbon gas given off by fruits such as peaches, apricots, avocados, bananas, melons, mangoes, papayas, pears, plums and tomatoes that promotes ripening. Alternatively, there are ethylene-sensitive foods which should not be kept with those foods that produce ethylene. They are apples, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, green beans, leafy greens, potatoes, squashes and watermelons.Farmers have long understood the mechanics of ethylene production in plants. Ancient Egyptians and Chinese utilized both the plants’ production of ethylene and external sources such as incense to hasten the ripening of figs and pears. Today, ethylene is the most widely used organic compound by the chemical industry in the world.But let’s be honest about the ethylene the advertisement is talking about. Given that the AFPM shelled out nearly a quarter million dollars for that full-page ad, they’re not making plastic bags, milk jugs and food wrappers out of rotting fruit. The majority of ethylene is created out of the distillation of oil and gas by a process called steam cracking. The process has been in use since the late 1800’s and utilizes heat and pressure to break down large hydrocarbons into smaller ones.Having worked in the petroleum industry for many years prior to farming, I am well aware of the energy and technology needed to get crude out of the ground and into my gas tank. Maybe that’s why farming has quelled the overwhelming hugeness of it all as I strive to use as little as petroleum as possible knowing well the environmental costs.But there is no escape from ethylene, even at the farmers market. Meat in plastic vacuum-sealed bags, plastic containers, fuel to get there, the tables, coolers, tent, the boots keeping my feet warm, my iPad and credit card transaction stand. And if you think I’m just being cheap when you request a bag and get a single-use plastic bag now on a second lifetime, you’re wrong. I still believe that every little step I take to reduce petro-chemical dependency is a step in the right direction. That’s why I farm.