Tomato... fruit or vegetable?

[RF Godfather]

What do you think, HordeKing? I think it is both myself.

Anyone else want to chime in on this argument.

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[HordeKing1]

RONFEZMARK - It depedns on wheter you adapt the perspectives of botanists or hortoculturalists.

According to botanists, a "fruit" is any fleshy material covering a seed or seeds.

Under this definition tomatos are fruits as is watermelon, green pepper and cucumber.


According to horticulturalists, (w/the exception of strawberries), fruits, are grown on a woody plant. Think of apples, cherries, raspberries, oranges and the like.

According to this definition the tomato, is a vegetable.

The source of the controversy is more a result of politics than anything else.

In 1893, vegetable farmers sued to have the tomato declared a vegetable so that it would be subject to import taxes. They wanted people to buy tomatos grown by them in America. (Fruits weren't subject to import taxes and the US market was flooded with cheaper foreign grown fruits.)

The Supreme Court declared tomatos a vegetable and therefore subject to income tax. This is hardly surprising given the politcal climate of the late 19th century and the general fear and resentment of immigrants and the government's protection of big business and agricultural interests.

The final word: We rely on the botanist's definition and consider tomatos fruits.

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[RF Godfather]

Wow, I did not know that this had a storied history behind the tomato.

From this point on, I'll call it a fruit.

Good to learn something new everyday. Thanks for the info, Oh Wise One.

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[Gwen]

I say neither. The tomato in its simplest form is teh antichrist. Whether fruit or veggie, its awful no matther what! Evil, bad, yucky!

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[Sheeplovr]

i still belive what they belived in the olden days TOMATOES WILL KILL YOU
not including ketcup cause they took out the killer part

number 333 its the way to be
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[TooCute]

Seems to me, 'fruit' is the
actual biological term for it.
'Vegetable' is just
something those farmer
types who have no clue
came up with. 'Vegetable'
has no meaning in biology
:) Well maybe except some
brain dead type but that's
different.


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[iscream22]

Hmm.... this is a tough one, Its a vegetable, but it's a fruit..... I'd agree with the horde king. Its closer to a fruit.

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[Koala]

I always thought a tomato was a fruit...so of course I agree with the hordeking.

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