You know, I the new album is rad, and the songs sound great live, but I still think the avacado is debatable at best. Was this ever explained by any of the band members or at least discussed?

Dugan

Ed does drugs.

Is it a fruit or a veg? the eternal debate. I think the Pearl Jams just wanted to spark debate among their fans.

no question about it, fruit

geg what are you doing here? are you lost?

my best guess is there is a billboard out in seattle advertising california avacados. ed drives by this all the time and boom, new album cover

course what do i know

Well I am glad we cleared that up, I can put my mind at rest now

Are we talking about the former RMer or the album cover?

I remember hearing that the Avocado was meant to represent the earth, all peaceful looking and shit from outer space. Then you get down a bit closer to it and... oh my god!... Zombies and death!!!

EDIT: And I doubt that was official

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to think this:)

So I guess not.

Dugan

Green on the inside
Green on the outside
It's political

(I don't really know)

While you're right, it's commonly considered a vegetable. A fruit is a ripened ovary. Avocado/aguacate means "testicle." When Ed was asked about it on a radio broadcast, he said he didn't care what it was. Which goes to show he had very little to do with picking out this avocado for a cover. So...that leaves us with just one question...who in the band likes to squeeze fruit with sexual identity issues?

I would have to guess it represents how far they've come and how hard they worked on the new record.

Fruits of their labor! ???

im w/ peeps. i dont think they put too much thought into the art for this records

front cover: "just use that avocado from the billboard up the street"

inside art: "just use the shit from the video"

Most logical explanation I've heard on the artwork yet.

With ed's interest in politics and evolution, maybe it has something to do with one of these columns:

Co-evolution theory

Barlow & Martin (2002) identify the avocado as a fruit adapted for ecological relationship with large mammals, now extinct (as for example the South American herbivorous giant ground sloths or the Gomphotheres). This fruit with its mildly toxic pit, co-evolved with those extinct mammals to be swallowed whole and excreted in dung, ready to sprout. The ecological partners have disappeared, and the avocado plant has not had time to evolve an alternative seed dispersal technique, aside from human cultivation.

Avocado related trade war
First transcontinental, international air shipment of avocados from Los Angeles, CA to Toronto for the Canadian National Exposition.
Enlarge
First transcontinental, international air shipment of avocados from Los Angeles, CA to Toronto for the Canadian National Exposition.

After the NAFTA treaty was signed, Mexico tried exporting avocados to the USA. The U.S. government resisted, claiming that the trade would introduce fruit flies that would destroy California's crops. The Mexican government responded by inviting U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors to Mexico, but U.S. government declined, claiming fruit fly inspection is not feasible. The Mexican government then proposed to sell avocados only to the northeastern U.S. in the winter (fruit flies cannot withstand extreme cold). The U.S. government balked, but only gave in when the Mexican government started throwing up barriers to American maize.

Today avocados from Mexico are allowed in 47 states, excluding in Florida, California, and Hawaii. This is because USDA inspectors in Uruapan, Michoacan (the state where 90% of Hass avocados from Mexico are grown) have cut open and inspected millions of them, finding no problems. Imports from Mexico last season (2004-2005) exceeded 100 thousand tonnes[citation needed].

Avocados are much more expensive in the USA than other countries due to the fact that they are grown almost exclusively in California and Florida, and the main potential competitor (Mexico) is banned from three states in the market - Florida, California, and Hawaii. Mexican farmers have argued against the ban, pointing out that not a single shipment has been found to contain pests since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began inspections in 1997 [1]. Another argument is that the lower prices generated by the Mexican and Chilean imports would increase the popularity of avocados outside of California, thereby assuaging the loss of profits due to the new competition. In the year 2007, Mexican avocados will be permitted in all 50 U.S. States.

I agree, too. The artwork is fucking horrible.

haha... i liked the inside part with jeff on either side... otherwise kinda lame... but I do think at least the inside kinda refelcts the mood the album is trying to reflect about the world.

the avacado is retarded.

the inside is just images from the life wasted video, isnt it?

im happy to have lazy artwork and great music.