WEBVTT - How did the Avocado Conquer the World? 0:00:00.000 --> 0:00:02.080 I guess what, Mango, what's that? Well, well, I know 0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:04.320 you like to turn to me to keep up with 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:06.600 like the coolest things going on in the world, or 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:09.639 like trends happening, So I wanted to let you in 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:12.360 a little secret. Have you heard about the coolest way 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:17.360 to use an avocado right now? So I'm not really 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:20.200 off on super hip avocado trends. Like I saw a 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:24.720 restaurant ridiculed online for serving this deconstructed avocado toast which 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:27.880 was just half an avocado on one side of play 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:29.920 and then a piece of toast on the other. And 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:31.880 they didn't even do the work of smashing them together. 0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:35.800 It was just like overpriced laziness. But I don't know 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:38.120 what what what trend are you talking about? It's actually 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:40.479 not a dish. So the coolest thing you can do 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:43.440 right now with an avocado is to propose with one. 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:46.520 And I'm not kidding about this. So the not Cosmo 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:49.360 and all these other places have declared that the avocado 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:54.120 proposal it's here, Mango, it's here, So I'm excited, but 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:56.720 I don't know what it is. Tell me all right, 0:00:56.760 --> 0:00:59.760 So basically, people are slicing an avocado in half, taking 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:02.520 out a pit and then sticking a little ring in 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:04.600 so it stands up right there. Actually, this is kind 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:06.560 of grossing me out, but I'm trying to go with it. 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:09.039 And so then the moment is right and you just 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:11.720 queue up cold play, You get down on one knee, 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:14.520 you take that avocado out of your back pocket. I 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:16.200 don't know why they're suggesting to keep it in your 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:18.959 back pocket, and then you crack it open like a 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:22.119 ring box. And as the not puts it, quote, if 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:25.440 you love the farmer's market, this might be your dream proposal. 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:30.400 I like that it's the official proposal of like farmers markets. Yeah, 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:32.600 I've always looked for one of these. Well, today's show 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:35.640 is all about the creamy green fruit from Why you 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:38.600 Should Thank a Mailman for your guacamole obsession to win 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:42.000 avocado theft became so trendy, So we're about to get 0:01:42.080 --> 0:02:06.600 knee high on avocados. Let's dive in. Hey their podcast listeners, 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:08.840 welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:11.640 always I'm joined by my good friend Manges Ticketer and 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:14.280 on the other side of the soundproof glass, demonstrating the 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:18.040 absolute worst way to peel an avocado. I Honestly, I 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:19.880 can't even look at I know, I don't think you're 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:23.960 supposed to use a vegetable peeler on a Tristan Well anyway, 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:25.799 I'm gonna turn my head. But that's our friend and 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:29.480 producer Tristan McNeil. So I realized, you know mego, this 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.720 is a slightly grim way to start the show. But 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:35.919 I was reading about this recent wave of avocado related injuries, 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:39.320 or what they call avocado hand and people are doing 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:42.560 serious damage to their hands by trying and of course failing, 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:45.960 to cut into their avocados. So that's pretty crazy. Like 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:49.040 I hadn't heard about people injuring themselves on avocados. But 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:52.160 it does feel like the same as when bagels became 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:54.959 really popular in the nineties and suddenly like every local 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.520 news story was about people cutting themselves with bagels and 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.880 how to appropriately slice a baby eagle. It doesn't seem 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:04.280 that difficult, but I mean, I guess you don't get 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:08.400 avocados pre sliced. What's the solution. Well, it's actually become 0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:11.240 a big enough problem that there's this British plastic surgeon 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:13.920 and he's been pushing for warning labels to be added 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:17.800 to avocados in the UK and apparently, yeah, seriously, apparently 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.760 he treats an average of four patients a week, four 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:25.040 patients a week for avocado based injuries. So, I mean, 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:27.440 it may seem weird to put a sticker and that 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:30.120 may actually sound silly, but you can't really blame him 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:33.400 for wanting to do something about this epidemic of avocado fails. 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:35.840 That's so weird. Like I mean, I feel like you 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:37.920 can cut an avocado with a butter knife. You don't 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:41.600 need something super sharp to do it. Well. While prepping 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.080 for today's show, one of my biggest takeaways was that 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:46.920 most Americans have always been pretty clueless when it comes 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:50.320 to these leathery fruits. And this confusion actually goes all 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:52.760 the way back to the early twentieth century. That's when 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.600 avocado production was first taking root in the US. But 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:57.720 before we get into the state side history, I do 0:03:57.800 --> 0:03:59.960 want to go back a little further in time because 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:03.640 humans have actually been cultivating avocado trees for thousands of 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.920 years now. It goes as far back as five VC, 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:09.800 and this was mostly taking place in Central and South 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:13.400 America as well as Mexico, where the Aztecs were calling 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:17.039 the fruit, a word that they used for testicle, and 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:20.039 so that was based on what like the fruit shape. Yeah, 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:23.360 but but also because avocados typically grown pairs, which I 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:28.080 guess further the resemblance. But I get it, I get it. Yeah, 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.400 it's a great joke that kills at recess. But they 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:33.960 also used to be considered something of an aphrodisiac. But 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:36.440 that might have just been Europeans reading too much into 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:40.040 the words origin. Like apparently King Louis the fourteen nicknamed 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:43.160 avocados the good pair and French you know, pair the fruit, 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:45.359 not pair p A I R. But he called it 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:47.200 that because he claimed avocado has got him in the 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:50.480 mood and boosted his desire to mate. Well, Louis definitely 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:53.520 wasn't the last person to compare avocados to the shape 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:56.240 of a pair, because when avocados first started to catch 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:59.440 on in the US, people were actually calling them alligator pairs. 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:02.159 And makes sense. I mean, obviously that tough outer skin 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.120 and has that bumpy texture and green coloring. I mean, 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:07.880 he does kind of look like an alligator, but it 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:10.720 didn't really make for the most appetizing association, as you 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:13.320 can imagine. Yeah, I mean, I guess like biting into 0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:15.640 an alligator seems like a tough cell. Yeah, and that's 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:19.240 exactly what the California Avocado Growers Exchange found when they 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:22.719 were trying to expand their business just beyond that home state. 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:25.680 And they claim that grim association with you know, with 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:29.520 reptiles was kind of ruining the whole operation. And even 0:05:29.560 --> 0:05:31.760 worse it was, you know, of course, be smirching the 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:34.280 good name of the Laurel tree family to which these 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:37.400 avocados belong. And and this is serious because in n 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:40.599 seven the trade group released this statement and here's what 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:43.919 it says. That the avocado, an exalted member of the 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:47.120 Laurel family, should be called an alligator pair is beyond 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:50.360 all understanding. Yeah. I love that they thought this would 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:52.800 be the thing to change people's minds, Like, I know 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:54.680 how we'll get people on board. Let's the people to 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:58.800 everyone's love for Laurel trees. Yeah, that's all it took. Well, 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:01.000 I mean, it was maybe kind of a strange play, 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:04.320 but they did get smarter about the rebranding. The growers 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.880 slowly wean the public off of the alligator pair as 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:09.320 a nickname, and they first replaced it with a much 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:13.440 more appetizing butter pair, and then the somewhat redundant avocado 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:16.520 pair before they finally just got people to start calling 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:20.240 them avocados. But even once customers started calling them by 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:24.080 the right name, avocado is still faced a pretty uphill battle. 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:27.520 So why is that. Well, for one thing, if you 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:30.080 think about it, there, they're unlike any other fruits that 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:32.880 people were eating because they're not sweet, they're not really 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:35.920 good for cooking. They ripened off the tree. I mean, 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:38.000 people didn't really know what to do with them. Yeah, 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:40.000 it's finny to think that Mexican culture and cuisine just 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:42.800 took to it so quickly, but just one country north 0:06:42.839 --> 0:06:46.120 were so perplexed by this fruit, like it took so 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:49.280 much rebranding and marketing for us to catch on. I mean, 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:51.440 the process took most of the twentieth century to get 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:53.880 us on board. Yeah, that's true, but it actually is 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.360 kind of fun to look back and see how avocados 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:59.440 kind of gradually took on the characteristics that we most 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:02.400 associate it with them today. For example, the need to 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.159 grow avocados only in the mildest parts of the country, 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.520 you know, where you'd find the water and short supply. 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:11.720 That really meant avocados often cost more than other domestic fruits, 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:14.440 and of course, marketers were aware of how expensive their 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:17.600 product was becoming, and that's really why they started pushing 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.360 for avocados to be paired with other upscale foods like 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:23.040 grape fruit or lobster. And in fact, in the late 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.480 nineteen twenties, and I've not seen this before doing our 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.960 research for this week, but the California Avocados Society started 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:31.920 taking out ads in Vogue and The New Yorker and 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:35.600 they were proclaiming the avocados to be the quote aristocrat 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:39.280 of salad fruits. I like, the avocados need to come 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:43.600 in top hats and monocles, just like, but you know, 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:47.640 to me, that's less advertising than just calling them alligator pairs. Yeah, 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:50.440 but the fruits fancy status kind of stuck, and by 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:53.960 the nineteen seventies, avocados had developed this reputation as really 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:57.080 more of a luxury item. For example, in nineteen seventy four, 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:00.240 the price of a single avocado had soared as high 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:02.520 as a full dollar. Now, now keep in mind that's 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:05.840 the equivalent of almost five dollars in today's money. That 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.760 is crazy. So what about avocado's other big claim, like 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.280 the idea that they're one of the world's healthiest superfoods. 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:13.840 When did that really come about? Well, it really took 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.320 off in the nineteen eighties, and as you might remember, 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:19.120 this is when nutrition experts really started to crack down 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:22.960 on America's fat consumption. So low fat food started appearing 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.080 on store shelves, and every celebrity you could think of 0:08:26.160 --> 0:08:29.120 was pushing some sort of patented diet or crazy new 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:32.320 piece of exercise equipment, and you know, people begin looking 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:34.640 for more and more ways to reduce their fat and 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:38.560 take avocad has became a pretty popular target. But wait, 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:40.880 aren't avocad is full of like the good kind of 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:43.200 fat that kind of actually helps us reduce cholesterol. Like, 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.280 why would experts tell people not to eat them? Well, 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:48.880 at the time, nutritionists were worried that the American public 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:51.640 wouldn't be able to wrap their heads around that distinction 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:54.120 between the types of fats, you know, between the good 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:58.200 mono unsaturated fats and and the bad saturated fats. So 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:02.480 instead they just told people to avoid fats altogether. And 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:04.920 that's why, strangely enough, it actually fell to the avocado 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:08.920 growers to educate the public about the fruit's true nutritional value. 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:12.080 So in the late eighties, the California Avocado Commission, they 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:15.839 worked closely with researchers and funded all sorts of studies 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:19.240 on the health benefits of their product. And then the 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.079 growers spread the good news with a TV ad campaign, 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:24.920 and it started Angie Dickinson, and the ads were a 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:28.360 huge hit, but they were also pretty scandalous for the time. So, 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:30.720 so here's what the ad was. It showed Angie stretched 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.440 out in these gold stilettos and a white leotard and 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:36.839 she was eating half an avocado with a spoon. And 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:40.160 after she lays out how tasty and nutritious the avocados are, 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:43.480 she turns to the camera and asked, would this body 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:45.960 lie to you? I had, actually, I had forgotten where 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:47.560 I got that line from. I know I used that 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:49.800 line a lot, and I didn't remember that Angie had 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:53.160 created that. I mean, I guess the nutrition experts were 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:56.280 wrong to doubt the American public like, we can absolutely 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:58.880 understand the health benefits of avocados as long as they're 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:02.040 explained to us by a beauty movie star. So I 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:04.720 do feel like Kanye as I'm about to say this 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:07.400 because Andie Dickinson, you did a good job, and I'm 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.200 gonna let you finish. But Mr Ripe Guy is the 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:13.640 best spokesperson in the avocado industry. I can't say I'm 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:17.240 familiar with his work, So who is Mr Ripe Guy? 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:20.679 I can't believe you're asking me that. No. This goes 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:23.839 back to the avocado struggle. So after surviving the anti 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.760 fat movement of the eighties, sales were still suffering to 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:29.800 the public's lack of knowledge about the fruit. So one 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:32.280 prime example is that people weren't even sure when to 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:35.199 eat avocados. People kept trying to eat them when they 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.880 were like bright green, because that's when they look the prettiest, 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:39.640 instead of waiting until the fruit to turn like a 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:42.840 murky brown color, and that's actually when it's most delicious 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:46.000 or the rightest to eat. But to combat the problem, 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:49.200 the Avocado Commission partnered with an ad agency and created 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:54.120 their very own mascot, Mr Ripe Guy and uh. In 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:58.160 true eighties fashion, this California character was basically just an 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:02.560 anthropomorphic avocado with a pair of sunglasses on. Wait, you 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:04.839 know what this reminds me of? And I collected all 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:07.400 of these from I can't remember whether it was McDonald's 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:09.800 or Hardise or what it was, but the remember the 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:14.320 California Raising definitely, so it definitely feels like California Raisin 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:16.880 rip off. But someone would show up in an avocado 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:20.080 suit at various events and uh, this was around the country. 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:23.080 They'd share tips as Mr Ripe Guy on how to 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:26.760 pick and prep avocados and just generally sing the fruits praises. 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:29.880 But the best part of the campaign was when the 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:34.280 Commission launched a nationwide search to find Miss Ripe and uh. 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.680 Women were encouraged to mail in video cassettes with themselves 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.840 explaining why they deserved this coveted honor and uh apparently 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:44.320 the winner would receive a free trip to Hollywood and 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:47.559 a walk on role on Baywatch Nights. I like that 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:49.760 it didn't even occur to them that maybe they should 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:53.360 win a lifetime supply of avocados. I feel like maybe 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:56.880 they didn't think through this campaign fully. Yeah, I mean, 0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:58.720 maybe they would have gotten more people to enter, but 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:01.480 in the end, at least one woman was interested in 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.480 what was on offer. The lucky winner was Robin Nardone 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:08.119 of Chicago, who I'm sure you remember and she told reporters, 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:10.760 gained to be Miss Ripe is like a dream come true. 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:14.320 I will bear the title proudly. M that's really sweet. 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:16.920 And of course everybody still talks about that episode of 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:20.480 Baywatch Nights that she was on, right, definitely, I'm curious. 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.600 So did these kinds of stunts pay off for avocado growers? Well, 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:25.880 it's hard to say exactly how much of the industry's 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:28.160 growth is due to Mr and Mrs Ripe Guy, but 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:31.760 there's no doubt that the avocado consumption has gone way 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:35.480 way off since the nineties. For example, by nine, the 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:38.319 average American was eating about one point five pounds of 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:41.560 avocado per year, whereas in two thousand sixteen that number 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:43.719 had actually grown to seven point one pounds per year 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:45.959 according to the U. S d. A. Yeah, and and 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.760 to put that in perspective, the hass Avocado Board reported 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:53.040 that four d eighty four million avocados were consumed in 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:55.600 two thousand, which sounds like a lot, right, But you 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:57.640 fast forward to two thousand twelve and the total had 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:01.040 risen to nearly one point five billion, which is basically 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:04.760 are increase over just a decade. I mean, that is 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:07.600 pretty amazing. It's also pretty amazing that it's taken us 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:11.400 this long to finally mention the H word. So I 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:13.520 do want to shift gears and talk about what is 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:16.600 undoubtedly the biggest name in the business, and that's the 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:19.640 hass avocado. I know we need to explore how the 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:22.360 variety came to dominate the market, as well as what 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:24.800 that monopoly might be causing us to miss out on, 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:27.280 which sounds good. But before we get into it, let's 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:44.160 take a quick break. You're listening to Part Time Genius 0:13:44.160 --> 0:13:47.520 and we're talking all things avocado, okay, mango. So we've 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:50.080 been charting the course of how misunderstood fruit like the 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:53.439 avocado wound up as one of the world's trendiest superfoods. 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:56.160 And so now we're getting to what's probably my favorite 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:58.360 part of the story, which is the contribution of a 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:02.520 Californian maleman named Rudolph Has. And while this story isn't 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.160 widely known, I'm willing to bet that the name sounds 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:08.240 familiar to most of our listeners, and for very good reason, 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.920 because hass avocados are hands down the most popular avocado, 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:14.480 not only in the country, but in the entire world. 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:16.680 In fact, there's a good chance that most people have 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:20.600 only ever eaten the hass avocado. And that's because percent 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:23.280 of the avocados sold in the US and about eighty 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:27.240 percent worldwide are hass avocados. I'm honestly not sure I 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:29.560 could even name a different kind of avocado. Well, here's 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.120 what's crazy, though, is that there's actually more than nine 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:35.960 hundred varieties of avocados. You know, some of these things 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:39.600 have very different shapes and textures and flavors than that 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:42.800 single type that we're used to. But thankfully, the one 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:45.560 type we do have is a pretty good one. Hass 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:48.720 avocados have a strong flavor, they're packed with healthy oil, 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:51.080 so it's not like we're getting the short into the 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:53.560 stick on this. And and there's a reason has is 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.560 the most popular name in avocados, even if that popularity 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.200 does result in in a real lack of diversity on 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:02.000 the store shelves. So speaking of the name, this is 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.320 sort of embarrassing. But I used to think that Hass 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:06.240 was just the name of the family farm or like 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:09.040 the company that grew them, you know, like Dole or Chiquita. 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:12.280 But I didn't know it was actually a fruit variety. Yeah, 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:15.000 and I don't think most people do know that, but 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:16.880 so so to get back to that, let's get back 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.760 to Rudolph Hass And he was a postman by trade 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.880 in the nineteen twenties and then got into horticulture after 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:26.240 he saw this magazine ad that showed an avocado tree 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:28.240 with dollar bills growing out of it. I mean, that 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:31.400 sounds pretty convincing. So he was hoping to make some 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:34.440 money on the side and started buying up seeds and 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:37.240 raising these resulting trees at his family home. And this 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:40.240 was just outside of l A, So he was grassed 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:43.520 from the larger plants to multiply that crop. But there 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:47.000 was one seedling in particular. He described it a stubborn 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:50.920 baby tree grown from a Guatemalan seed of unknown parentage, 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:53.440 or that's how one local newspaper put it. That it 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:56.480 wouldn't accept a graph no matter how hard Hass tried. 0:15:57.080 --> 0:16:00.040 He considered cutting it down, but instead he just to 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:03.040 decide and let it grow unattended as as somewhat of 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:05.800 an experiment. And this turned out to be the best 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:09.000 decision of hass his life, because when the tree finally 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:12.160 bore fruit, it's avocado has tasted better than any other 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.440 of the varieties available. Well, I mean, first of all, 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:17.640 I just love that the world's most popular avocado as 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:21.480 a result of like dumb luck. But also I I'm 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.680 really curious about these other varieties that predate the hass, 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:27.080 like what were the go to avocados of the time 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:30.760 and what made the hass one so much better. Well, 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.680 at the time, the prevailing avocado was called the fuerte, 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:37.680 which means strong and Spanish. And admittedly, the fuerte looks 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:39.840 more appetizing than the hass. You know, you don't have 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:43.000 that bumpy, thick, black skin of the hass. The the 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:45.920 fuerte avocado has more of a smooth and kind of 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:48.760 a thin skin, and it actually turns a green color 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:51.760 as it ripens. But you know, when you think about taste, 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.720 hass avocados are way richer and nuttier and creamier than 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:58.680 the fueertas, And so this gave them a big advantage 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:01.520 in Rudolph Hass his mind. But of course taste wasn't 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:04.000 the only thing they had going for them. Another big 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:06.920 advantages that the hass avocado trees were easier to grow 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:10.280 than the fuerte trees. They also have longer harvest seasons 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:13.760 than other avocados, and they can produce larger quantities of 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:16.880 fruit after just a couple of years. But there's one 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.560 thing that's maybe even more important than all of those things, 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:22.800 and that's that these avocados are easy to handle and 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:25.639 and even ship long distances. And and that's thanks to 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:28.399 that alligator thick skin that we were talking about before. 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:32.800 So when Rudolph Hass realized that he stumbled upon something special, 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:35.959 he patented his tree in nineteen thirty five and started 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:38.560 working with a local grower to promote this new variety. 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:40.960 You know, it's funny when you're talking about the passability 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:44.439 of these avocados. You think about other fruit like the 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:47.879 red Delicious or the Cavendish bananas, and they are always 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:51.680 sacrificing flavor for that durability, and it's amazing to think 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:55.040 that the avocado doesn't do that. But uh, I don't 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:57.400 think I realized you could actually patent a tree. Well 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:00.959 I didn't either, and apparently neither did anybody else, because 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:03.359 you know, sadly the patent was all but ignored by 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.159 its competitors. In fact, this is how Rudolph's granddaughter, Cindy 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:11.040 Miller explained the ordeal in an article about her family story. 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:14.040 She writes, since it was the first pen ever issued 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:17.400 on a tree, it got no respect. Growers would buy 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:20.240 one from Mr Brokaw, who had the exclusive right to 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:23.720 produce the nursery trees. They would then regraph their whole 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:27.160 grove with the budwood from that one tree. For that reason, 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:30.359 Rudolf has made only five thousand dollars and royalties on 0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:33.760 his first patent. That's pretty insane, like five grand for 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:37.640 coming up with the world's tastiest avocado. It's crazy. Yeah, 0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:39.639 it's a it's a weird story, but there is a 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.520 silver lining for that name. So the avocados that bear 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:45.720 his name have become ubiquitous with the fruit, and today 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:48.240 millions of his trees can now be found all over 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:50.960 the globe. And maybe the craziest part about this whole 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:54.200 thing is that all of those trees are genetically descended 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:57.360 from that single mother tree that has planted on his property, 0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:00.400 and that was nearly a hundred years ago. In fact, 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:04.200 it's estimated that about eight of all us avocados or 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:07.200 descendants of the hass avocado mother tree. I mean, that's 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:10.160 just so weird to think about. And the original tree 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:12.879 actually lasted quite a while too. It was on that 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:15.640 Hass property until it finally lost the battle with something 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:18.000 called root rot disease, and that was back in two 0:19:18.000 --> 0:19:21.720 thousand two. But according to Alice Obscura, you can still 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:24.520 make a pilgrimage to see the preserved woods from the 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:27.520 tree at the broke on Nursery and Ventura, and there's 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:30.480 even a plaque there to market its original location in Lahabra, 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:34.520 which I think that takes care of my summer vacation 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:39.040 plans for that. But you know, uh, Hass having his 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:41.359 patent undermine like that kind of reminds me of something 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:44.919 weird I noticed while researching, and that's the sheer volume 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:47.880 of crime that the fruit attracts. Like I wouldn't think 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:51.000 this before, but you know, you mentioned earlier that avocados 0:19:51.000 --> 0:19:53.560 were worth the equivalent of what like five dollars each 0:19:53.600 --> 0:19:56.920 in the nineteen seventies, and at the time, that high 0:19:57.040 --> 0:19:59.919 value sparked a wave of avocado that's throughout the ord 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:04.160 words of southern California. And this was hardly an isolated incident. 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:07.320 So just last year, three men were arrested in California 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:10.240 for selling over three hundred thousand dollars worth the stolen 0:20:10.240 --> 0:20:14.320 hass avocados. I mean, that's insane. And when avocado prices 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:16.480 spiked in New Zealand back in two thousand and sixteen, 0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:20.200 farmers were hit with over forty large scale thefts within 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:23.120 a six month period. Wow. I mean, I had no 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:26.320 idea that avocado crime was so prevalent, But if you 0:20:26.320 --> 0:20:28.159 think about it, I mean, it does make sense. I 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:30.840 remember back in our episode on cheese, we talked about 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:33.600 how cheese is the most shoplifted item in the world, 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:36.879 and that's because it's relatively a small item, it's always 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:39.160 in demand, and and it does tend to cost more 0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:41.240 than other food. So it feels like we've got the 0:20:41.280 --> 0:20:44.359 same thing going here with the avocados exactly. And and 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:46.919