1. Why are all strawberries in supermarkets red and bright?
1.1. Even if they aren’t red and ripe, after sitting on the shelf for a while, they will turn red even if they aren’t ripe.
2. Do larger strawberries taste better?
2.1. Larger strawberries generally have less flavor, which was exchanged for larger size in selection
2.1.1. So over the last hundred or so years, people have been breeding strawberries for various important traits; size and yield - those are obvious ones, maybe color, disease and insect resistance, flavor. And as you select and try to improve one, oftentimes one of the others has to be sacrificed slightly to make progress.
2.2. Breeders select for size, not flavor
3. How are strawberries grown?
3.1. They can be planted in the ground, where they will grow as plants. Over time, they will produce runners which look and act like vines, but actually grow into new plants at their ends. This allows the strawberries to reproduce all over a garden.
4. What chemicals are used in strawberry production?
4.1. Is it legal?
4.1.1. The most powerful fumigant, methyl bromide, is supposed to be phased out slowly because it eats away at the Earth's ozone layer.
4.1.1.1. Some alternatives are coconut coir, which replaces soil, eliminating the need for pesticides. But the alternatives aren’t always reliable and affordable, and the commercial growers are skeptical.
4.2. While organic growers don’t use fumigants, nurseries do. They inject chemicals into the soil and seal the fumes in with sheets of plastic. The chemicals are pesticides.
5. Do people prefer larger or smaller strawberries?
5.1. Americans generally think that bigger is better.
5.1.1. https://www.npr.org/2012/05/17/152944880/bigger-means-better-not-with-strawberries