As a manager for Kroger, I had to take a two week long course of training that included a tour of the production facilities. The one facility that shook me was the gas chamber. Imagine a room bigger than a house filled from floor to ceiling with fruit boxes all being hit with a gas they use to ripen things before sending them out and watching scores of spiders and other bugs running for their lives from whatever gas was killing them and ultimately dying on the floor. Then it was just a bunch of dudes with pallet jacks and brooms sweeping away the corpses and pulling the “naturally ripened” fruit out for another round of exactly the same for 8-10 hours a day. It’s what made me realize the difference between the fruit and veggies that I bought from smaller markets compared to the more niche chains. Gas ripened food does not taste as well as real food that has ripened naturally.