Ooh, yeah, and then we can put the pepper here, and eggplant can go at the other end…

Oh, you’re right, Squeaks! We have some red peppers here, too. Let’s put them right here next to the strawberries...

Awesome. Oh, hey!

Today is a really tasty day here at the Fort. For lunch today, we’re making a whole rainbow out of food.

Because food that’s fun to look at… is also fun to eat!

All these colors make for a bunch of yummy tastes.

Fruits and vegetables come in every color of the rainbow, and I am super excited to eat this rainbow.

Oh, good question, Squeaks. Why does food come in a whole rainbow of colors?

Oh no, nobody painted the foods to look like that.

Fruits and vegetables grow in all kinds of colors… so that animals will eat them!

I know, it does sound a little strange.

If you were a plant, why would you want an animal to eat a piece of you?

Well, to answer that, let’s take a look inside these fruits and vegetables.

Mmm, let’s start with this yummy red tomato... Whoa. And this orange pepper....Mmmm, and this melon is green on the outside, and orange on the inside.

So, what do they all have in common?

Well, sure, they are all tasty… but look at the insides.

Do you see what I…seed?

Exactly! They all have seeds on the inside.Which means they’re all fruit!

Different structures, or parts, on plants have different functions, or jobs.

And all the parts of fruits have very important jobs to do.

Even if we usually call it a “vegetable”...if it has seeds, a plant scientist would call it a fruit.

Like pumpkins, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants… they’re all fruits! And their job is to hold seeds.

Now, some vegetables come from other parts of a plant. Like, check out this spinach.

Does its structure look like leaves of a plant to you?

That’s because it is! The function of leaves is to help plants get energy from sunlight, and use it to grow.

Different parts of a plant, or different structures, do different jobs!And those fruits don’t look delicious by accident.

They actually need to look yummy to animals… because the plant needs help to take its seeds somewhere new, where they can grow into baby plants.

And when an animal eats a fruit, something amazing happens.The animal’s tummy breaks down the fruit.

But some kinds of seeds can pass right through their tummies and come out the other end…inside the animal’s poop!

In fact, some seeds have a special outside shell that protects them from being broken down by the animal’s tummy.

And some seeds have to go through an animal’s tummy, to be ready to grow into a new plant when they come out!

Oh, great question, Squeaks! Why do plants need animals to take the seeds somewhere new?

Well, plants need water, sunlight, soil, and space to grow.

If seeds just fall off the plant and land on the ground, there might not be enough sunlight for them down there.

And the parent plant is already using the water and soil and space right there.

But if a seed travels somewhere new, that plant family has a better chance to keep on growing.

Because the seeds can find a new, great place with lots of water and sun.

Seeds can’t walk around, but they CAN catch a ride… inside an animal’s tummy!

So by eating a fruit, animals are spreading seeds to new places, and helping new baby plants to grow!

Oh, you’re right! Not every plant has colorful fruits, because some plants spread their seeds in other ways.

Like, have you ever blown on a dandelion? Dandelions use the wind to carry their fluffy seeds far away!

They don’t depend on animals to eat them. But many plants do need animals.

Which means that a fruit growing to be really snazzy-looking and colorful so that animals are tempted to eat it, is actually helpful to the plant.

Because some plants need animals to eat their fruit.

Seeing a really bright red apple, or a yummy orange and red mango, or a deep purple eggplant, sure makes me hungry.

And different colors look tasty to different animals! That’s because some kinds of animals see color differently than most people do.

In fact, scientists have studied how animals see fruits. For example, lemurs are animals that live on an island called Madagascar.

And scientists have found that the fruits on Madagascar look extra-special-yummy through lemur vision.

That’s because the job of the fruit is to spread seeds, and the lemurs are their helpers.

So the scientists found that fruit will grow in a way that looks colorful and tasty to the animals that eat it.

Speaking of food looking tasty…I think I’m ready for lunch. What’s on the menu, Squeaks?

Oh, a tomato, pepper, and cucumber salad, and blueberries for dessert?!

Oh man, I can’t wait.