Eli5 If plants can stay alive fine outside in 40° weather, then why do we need to refrigerate vegetables?

Question

Eli5 If plants can stay alive fine outside in 40° weather, then why do we need to refrigerate vegetables?

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

This is the exact same thing as asking “if a bird can live outside at 40 degrees, why do I have to refrigerate this boneless chicken breast?!”

Plants outside have root systems, leaves for respiration, water circulating. Vegetables, once’s taken from the plant, barely have any life processes, they are slowly dying/dead