Why are Biological Fruits like Tomatoes Considered Vegetables?
This is a question I've been thinking about for a hot minute. If avocados, bell peppers, tomatoes and et cetera are biologically fruits, why do we use them as vegetables in American culture? According to the image below, a fruit comes from the seed bearing cycle of a flowering plant, after the plant goes through its flowering season. The vegetable, on the other hand, is any other part of a plant that is edible, even if it doesn't flower. The difference is that biological vegetables often have more fiber and potassium, but are not necessarily way healthier.
In 1893 during the case of Nix vs Hedden, fruits like tomatoes were decreed vegetables because of their culinary use, while acknowledging . The Tariff Act of 1883 decreed that vegetables would have a 10% tax due to the government wanting the people to support local farmers more. As less fruits were bought from foreign countries, there was no tax for fruits. John Nix, a produce wholesaler, wanted to import tomatoes overseas without paying the 10% tax, so he argued that tomatoes were biological fruits and should be considered as such within the trade. The Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes are legal vegetables "because of how people use them in daily life," despite how they're grown biologically. They're used mostly for savory culinary dishes within most cultures, but are sometimes used for more sweet dishes. Dishes like tomato spice cake, pumpkin pie, and zucchini bread are also very sweet, showing that these vegetables are the most common vegetables to be used in sweeter dishes.
We also call avocados, cucumbers, green beans, corn, and several other botanical fruits “vegetables” because of how we use them in food. But does that classification also influence how we think about them nutritionally? We tend to associate “vegetables” with being healthy, even though botanical classification doesn't tell us whether something is more or less nutritious. An avocado, for example, isn't necessarily nutritionally equivalent to spinach just because we put both in the “vegetable” section of our meals.
Often, things can be more about culture and tradition than biological standards. I think it's interesting, though, to point out what decisions from the government make our society a certain way. How do we understand a word, and compromise between a scientific and cultural difference in language? For fruits and vegetables in particular, it's mostly over their use in culinary dishes. It's like the buffalo vs bison phenomena that's always in ongoing debate.
Anyway, food for thought ;)
Hi Penny! This was a question that I've always wondered about too, and I learned a lot from reading your post. I also find it interesting how our definitions are shaped by politics and culture, in addition to the actual facts. This post was really fun to read, and the picture you included is so cute!
ReplyDeleteHi Penny!! When I read the title, I genuinely felt my eyes spark; this has been a topic I have questioned for so long. Mostly because vegetables also have seeds, so why do we just decide whether something goes into the fruit category or the vegetable category? I just find it strange. I also loved the fact that you added the Nix Vs. Hedden case into your post; I've never heard of that case until now.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts! To quote Ms. Smyser, nature doesn't care that we're trying to categorize it, and I think that lends a helpful lens on how to view the vegetable/fruit debate. I agree that a large part of our discernment between the two comes from how we typically use them in the culinary setting, but maybe it also comes from how we value their cultivation? Like, most "fruits" tend to be high effort plants to cultivate whereas vegetables are much more easy to mass produce.
ReplyDeleteHi Penny! I like that you provide the history behind how some fruits got categorized as vegetables! I think that I don't really care about whether a food is categorized as a fruit or vegetable--like Max said Ms. Smyser said, nature doesn't care that we're trying to categorize it. Heh. Food for thought. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Penny! I don’t know if I ever would have guessed that there was ever a Supreme Court case about fruits and vegetables, yet here we are. Whenever I’ve heard discussions about fruit vs vegetables in the past, it was usually in the context of their being either botanical or culinary ingredients and the decision ultimately being decided based on whether they produce seeds, like how you discussed nearer this blog post’s beginning, so I find it interesting that that can be “overruled” just based on more general understandings that aren’t really rooted in anything more than: “yeah, no. That’s just how we think of them so that’s what they are.” I look forward to reading your future posts! P.S. I love your blog name!
ReplyDeleteHi! Woah, I didn't know that, that's so interesting. I wonder what other distinctions within the health world are more about culture than science. I tend to think about food as very cultural (what people have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea?, how many coffees, desserts, etc), so I guess this makes sense! Even so, it's a crazy origin story.
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