June 17 is National Eat Your Vegetables Day.

“Are veggie haters born, or made?” asks WebMD. “The answer seems to be both. Some of us have negative veggie experiences from our childhood that come back to haunt us as adults. Maybe you were forced to eat vegetables, or had to plow through a stack of green beans to get to dessert. Maybe you were served overcooked, mushy vegetables. Or perhaps some time in your life, you were on a fad where all you could eat were certain vegetables.” Read more in WebMD’s “15 Tips for Veggie Haters.”

You might not like vegetables, but who doesn’t like the Jolly Green Giant, with his hearty laugh and his giant green half-naked muscular body? Below, the Giant wins first-ribbon prizes at the Valley Fair for his golden corn niblets and green beans.

Vintage Green Giant commercial (1960s)

Oh, you want your vegetables to be fresh, not canned, you say? Well, fine. How about these singing vegetables at Albertson’s? “We’re fresh! Exciting!” is their musical boast. (Strawberries get in on the act too.) I always wonder about anthropomorphized food that begs you to eat it. It seems suspicious to me.

Albertson’s singing fruit and vegetables commercial

Related articles

• National Eat Your Vegetables Day (CNN Eatocracy)
• 165/365: National Eat Your Vegetables Day (eatmywords365.com)