The shadows. Its dark mysteries have gone unsolved, unseen. The cave closes in; the path narrows. There is only one thing left. Carrots. One is big, one is small. One bite-sized carrot, one multiple-bite-sized carrot. The question is, how is the little one made? Is it grown that way, maybe found like gold? Or maybe, what is big becomes what is small.

The ground-level facts start with what a baby carrot is. Unfortunately, it is not something grown, but rather made from something that is. Baby carrots are cut down and processed after originating as a full-size carrot. This process is delicate; it requires the highest quality machinery. This hand-crafted item is known as the “Baby Carrot Line”. This machine is not to be taken lightly. The carrots begin their adventure in an area referred to as the “EasyCut 1”. Once in, they cannot escape. They will find their top and tails cut off, lost in the void. This top and bottom devourer boasts a performance stat of 3,000 kilograms of carrots an hour, all of that forever gone in the carrot lands of unknown. After being rightfully traumatized, the carrots move on into the next stage of hell, the “Drum Roller Peeler”. The carrots are slowly inserted into the machine to guarantee all carrots are cut evenly. The trial begins, the carrots have now been shed, layer by layer, via a spinning blade that will only ever take more and more. Once the blade has had its fill the carrots are free to go. . . before eventually finding themselves in the Nubbin Grater.

Do you really think the torture and agony stopped there? Do you really think these carrots would see a moment of peace? No. The process of minimalization is not something easily done by any average carrot. It’s only for the elite. This is where the boys become men, girls become women. Any carrot too small to make the cut falls through the holes in the surface of the platform as it attempts to slide across to reach the end. Those who fall are disgraced, no longer elite. Just small, and futile. They could never make the cut. 

The last step of the journey is a cold and damp place. “The Cooling Auger”, otherwise known as the ultimate ice bucket challenge. The carrots sit in a large cylinder filled with cold water, where they cool off. Only hours after first being introduced to what they must assume is their eternal solitude, are they finally taken out, and ready to be shipped off.

Now your mind has been properly filled with the truth of the small carrot. Next time you step into that deep, dark cave, and find yourself staring at the two carrots in front of you, you won’t feel fear. You will feel joy, compassion, and most of all; hunger.