Green Beans
A Jolly Green Snack
Introduction:
Green beans, also known as Phaseolus vulgaris, string beans, french beans, haricot verts, common beans, and snap beans, are a classic american vegetable with a long and winding history. From their origins in South America to their place on our Thanksgiving dinner tables, green beans have been a constant staple thanks to their great nutritional properties, hardy nature, and great taste. But how did they get from there to here? Where do our green beans come from? How do you grow them? This question and more will be answered as we travel the path the green bean takes from seed to snack!
I grow green beans in my garden. The one thing I know about harvesting them is that you need to train your eyes to see the beans. At first it all looks like leaves, until you see one bean and then another and another. If you want clarity, too, you have to look hard. You have to look under things and look from different angles. You'll see what you need to when you do that. A hundred beans, suddenly. (Caletti)
Green bean origins
Like many other beans, the green bean has had its origins traced back to South and Central America. While it was likely domesticated around 7,000 years ago in the Andes and in Mesoamerica, around the advent of agriculture, it has existed in those regions for up to 100,000 years. Green beans were not the only beans domesticated at this time, either; lima beans, tepary beans, runner beans, and year beans were also involved. Green beans, or common beans (from Phaseolus= bean/wild bean and vulgaris =common), are more cultivated by far today but all of these beans contributed to Andean and Mesoamerican diets. Nowadays, green beans are the 10th most common food crop.
(Bailey)
Growing green beans
Part of the success of the green bean as a global crop can be attributed to its ease of growth. You can grow green beans anywhere in the US and most places in the rest of the world, so long as you have warm soil and adequate water. It is recommended that you plant your green beans after the last spring frost so they can grow all summer. The soil must be warm enough for the seeds to germinate, at least 50°F, and temperatures below that or above around 90°F will delay growth at any stage in the plant's growth. The plant typically produces beans within about 60 days, depending on the variety.
There are two types of green beans: pole and bush. Bush beans grow in bush-like structures close to the ground, need no support, and are lower maintenance. Pole beans grow up as a climbing vine and require support (like a trellis), are less hardy, and produce more beans. Between these two varieties there are also several kinds of beans that can come in yellow, red, and even purple!
Green beans can grow in several soil types so long as they are warm and have adequate drainage. Bush beans should be planted about an inch deep and two inches apart, or deeper in drier or more sandy soil so they receive enough moisture. Pole beans should be planted in a similar manner but with a trellis rigged up first. They require minimal fertilization since they are nitrogen-fixing, so mulch is more important since it holds in moisture. To get the most beans for your buck, sow more green beans every two weeks during the summer!
Commercial green beans are usually bush varieties as many bush beans will grow their beans all at once, making for more efficient harvest. However, in a more local setting, like a small farm or a you-pick field, pole varieites that put out their green beans steadily over time are best. Picking green beans is inefficient so, unless it is a you-pick field, harvesters are used insted of manual labor.
(Boeckmann) (Harper et al.) (Boyhan et al.) (McNary) (HowStuffWorks)
Green Giant Company®
When you think of commercial green beans, the first thing that may come to your head is the trademark "Ho ho ho!" of the Jolly Green Giant. Though they started off in the peas business, Green Giant now produces canned and frozen vegetables of all sorts including, of course, green beans.
The Green Giant brand started in Le Sueur, Minnesota as the Minnesota Valley Canning Company in 1903. Several years later in 1925, after the cultivation of a new, big green pea variety of the same name, the Green Giant himself was created and introduced to the brand. Despite his arrival on the scene, it wouldn't be the Green Giant Company until 1950. It was a standalone company until 1979, when it merged with Pillsbury. From there it was sold to General Mills in 2001, then most recently to B&G Foods in 2015. Despite all these moves and changes, one thing has remained steady: the Green Giant. He's easily one of the most recognizable brand mascots, and likely plays a large part in the success of the brand. (greengiant.eu)
Fun fact: the guy who designed the Green Giant also designed Tony the Tiger, the Marlboro Man, the Keebler Elves, and the Pillsbury Doughboy!
The Green Giant through the years (greengiant.eu)
Since its shift to a B&G brand, Green Giant has both flourished and languished. The frozen Green Giant products show the highest growth in net sales of all the B&G brand products for 2018, but the shelf-stable (canned) vegetables show the highest loss in net sales. This can likely be contributed to changing consumer values about nutrition shifting focus from high-sodium canned vegetables to the wide variety of frozen products, like their successful new frozen veggie spirals and various vegetable dietary replacements, like riced cauliflower and veggie tots.
Table of net sales increases/decreases for B&G products 2018 (B&G Annual Report 2018)
Digging into the commodity chain for Green Giant green beans was a practically Herculean task. Since it is such a big company, owned by an even bigger company, Green Giant vegetables are sourced from all over. The best I could discover from the Green Giant website was this little quote, stating that “Our canned vegetables also undergo the canning process near where they are grown: in Minnesota, Idaho, Wisconsin, New York, the Netherlands, and Peru." I had hoped for more in-depth information, so I dug a little deeper and pulled up the B&G Foods Annual Report for 2018. This had a little more information, especially relating to manufacturing and distribution, but was still severely lacking in farming information. The quote below sealed my fate.
Vegetables for the Green Giant brand are primarily purchased under dedicated acreage supply contracts from a number of growers prior to each growing season with the remaining demand being sourced directly from third parties. We purchase certain other agricultural raw materials in bulk or pursuant to short-term supply contracts. Most of our agricultural products are purchased between April 1 and October 31 (B&G Annual Report 2018)
Based on this information I decided to just pick a farm in Wisconsin, which has a manufacturing facility and is very close to a distribution facility as well as producing the most green beans in the US. The farm I chose is Ledgeview Gardens LLC. They are a small family farm based in De Pere, WI and are on their way to being certified organic. They grow all organic and have a hydroponics system in which they grow lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. They also, importantly, grow green beans.
B & G Foods Manufacturing/Warehouse Facilities
The farm end of things is hard to guess at but the commercial side of things is easier. Luckily, the B&G Annual Report 2018 had a handy list of its various facilities and their locations. Above I have mapped out all of the locations listed as Manufacturing/Warehouse facilities. These represent all of the B&G brands, so it could be that only one of these locations houses the green beans. Since Wisconsin is one of the listed green bean farming locations and has nearby facilities, I will bank on the Stoughton, WI manufacturing/warehouse and the Joliet, IL distribution center as the homes of the green beans. In the manufacturing/warehouse facilities the green beans are stored, frozen or canned, packaged, and shipped to the distribution centers which send them all across the country to local superstores. (B&G Annual Report 2018)
B & G Foods Distribution Centers
Beyond Green Giant
If we have time, here are some fun graphics detailing green bean production across the US and outside of it.
Green Bean Production in the United States-Copy
Productin Quantities of Beans (green) By Country (average from 1980-2017)
Production/Yield quantities of beans (green) in the world from 1980-2017
Top 10 Green Bean Producers (average from 1980-2017)
Green Bean Yield of China vs. United States of America
Personal Connection
The reason I chose to look at green beans is because my mom's interview involved lots and lots of different foods and green beans is one that came up often enough that we both noticed it. A big part of my mom's interview was the fact that her family experienced varying stages of poverty through her life. Her dad, my grandpa (Nonno), was a Vietnam vet who eloped with his wife, my grandma (Nana), when she was nineteen. Nearly all of mom's stories revolved around how gross the food her mom made was, partly due to lack of skill and partly due to lack of good ingredients. Green beans, though, seemed consistently good since Nana would cook them in bacon grease and add powdered garlic/garlic salt, like her mom did, like my mom does, and like I do now. It's practically a family recipe at this point. So, green beans.
From left to right, my mom, Nana, Nonno, and uncle Jason sending my mom off for college
In Conclusion...
Final Map of Green Beans
References
Almanac, Old Farmer’s. “Beans.” Old Farmer’s Almanac. Accessed December 3, 2019. https://www.almanac.com/plant/beans.
B&G Foods. “2018 Annual Report”. Accessed December 1, 2019. http://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NYSE_BGS_2018.pdf
Caletti, Deb. The Secret Life of Prince Charming. 2009.
“Commercial Snap Bean Production in Georgia | UGA Cooperative Extension.” Accessed December 3, 2019. https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1369&title=Commercial%20Snap%20Bean%20Production%20in%20Georgia.
Cookstr.com. “Grilled Quail on Baby Lettuce with Green Beans and Exotic Mushrooms,” February 23, 2016. http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/grilled-quail-on-baby-lettuce-with-green-beans-and-exotic-mushrooms.
“FAOSTAT.” Accessed December 3, 2019. http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC/visualize.
Futurity. “Genome Confirms the Origin of String Beans,” June 12, 2014. https://www.futurity.org/genome-beans/.
HowStuffWorks. “Green Beans,” March 22, 2007. https://home.howstuffworks.com/green-beans.htm.
Farmer’s Weekly. “History of the Green Bean Crop,” May 19, 2011. https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/farm-basics/how-to-crop/history-of-the-green-bean-crop/.
Magazine, Kansas Living. “Growing and Harvesting Green Beans,” August 30, 2016. https://kansaslivingmagazine.com/articles/2016/08/30/growing-and-harvesting-green-beans.
Green Giant. “Our Story.” Accessed December 3, 2019. https://www.greengiant.eu/our-story/.
Penn State Extension. “Snap Bean Production.” Accessed December 3, 2019. https://extension.psu.edu/snap-bean-production.
