| The controversy as to whether the tomato is a fruit | | | | vegetables had taxes levied against them. These fruit |
| or a vegetable has been around for some time now. | | | | importers, in an effort to avoid the taxes on the |
| But did you ever hear the story as to why there | | | | tomatoes, wanted them classified as fruits so that's |
| was so much conflict as to how to classify it? Well, in | | | | how we got to the point of engaging the highest |
| order to get the real story you have to back back a | | | | court in the land. |
| few years. Actually you have to go back over a | | | | In the court's decision it did in fact acknowledge that |
| hundred years for the answers to this story. | | | | tomatoes were technically a fruit but in what the |
| Back in 1893 the United States Supreme Court made | | | | court called the "common language of the people" |
| a ruling that tomatoes were to be classified as | | | | they should be classified as vegetables. In addition to |
| vegetables and that is the way that it's been for | | | | tomatoes the court also ruled that peas, squash, |
| over 100 years. But you might ask yourself, why | | | | cucumbers and beans should also be classified as |
| was the very highest court in the United States | | | | vegetables because they are grown in the common |
| asked to make a ruling on this controversial issue? | | | | kitchen garden and because, for the most part, they |
| The answer comes from an issue surrounding what | | | | were normally served as part of a meal rather than |
| else but taxes. In the 1890's there were three fruit | | | | as a dessert. It's at this point where history wrote |
| importers named George, John and Frank Nix who | | | | the book on tomatoes being classified as a |
| were in the business of importing and they just so | | | | vegetable. |
| happened to have a shipment of tomatoes arriving | | | | So there you have the real story. Whether you |
| from the West Indies. It was this shipment of | | | | personally want to classify the tomato as a fruit or |
| tomatoes that would create a huge controversy that | | | | vegetable is really up to you. However, according to |
| to this day is still something that people argue about. | | | | the law of the land they are and will remain |
| During this time period in the 1890's there were no | | | | vegetables and all because of an issue over taxes. |
| taxes placed upon the imports of fruits but all | | | | |