The online educational organization How Does it Grow? just released a new video for the fall season about the common seasonal crop: pumpkins. This most recent video is one among many five-minute episodes telling the stories of how we produce, distribute, and eat food. Each episode focuses on a specific crop and tells its story from field to fork through a narrated video exploring its history and culture. The videos also include visits to farms and conversations with farmers and producers. How Does it Grow uses this visual storytelling technique to reach a wide audience, attracting a global audience of over one million viewers.
“How Does it Grow? Pumpkins” tells the story of the pumpkin, a crop the United States grows 500 million pounds of every year. The video takes the viewer to Duffield Farms in Sewell, New Jersey, where farmers grow almost 50 varieties of pumpkins, squash, and gourds. About half of the pumpkins they produce will never be eaten. Despite the bright orange exterior, the flesh of the pumpkins that many use for seasonal decoration is bland and the interior is made up of mostly seeds and fiber. The companies that make pumpkin puree for seasonal soups, pies, and other baked goods use entirely different varieties of pumpkins—watch the video to see them up close!
