- Author: Amy Haug
Hopefully, you all have planted your garden tomatoes and, like me, are anxiously waiting for that first tomato to ripen. While we are waiting, have you ever wondered why the tomato is considered a fruit and/or a vegetable? It is an interesting story that went all the way to the Supreme Court.
It all started at the end of the nineteenth century when special interest groups sought tariff protection on all sorts of imported goods. The Tariff Act of 1883 required a tax to be paid on imported vegetables but not fruit.
John Nix was the founder of the John Nix and Co, the largest seller of produce in New York City and one of the first companies to ship produce from Virginia, Florida and Bermuda to New York. In a landmark case of Nix v Hedden, John Nix sued the tax collector of the Port of New York, Edward Hedden, to recover taxes paid on tomatoes because it was, he claimed, botanically a fruit and not vegetable.
During the trial, the lawyers on both sides presented multiple dictionary definitions of fruits and vegetables. In addition, several produce sellers with years of experience, were brought in as witnesses and asked if these definitions had any special meaning in actual commerce.
After weeks of testimony, the court unanimously decided that the dictionary definitions have no special meaning in trade and the ordinary meaning of the consumer must be used to determine the case. Because tomatoes were prepared and eaten as vegetables, as in a main course or in a soup, instead of as a dessert, as fruit usually is, tomatoes must be classified as a vegetable.
The justices sided with the everyday definition of tomatoes, not the scientific definition of tomatoes and to this day, tomatoes are considered a vegetable, while botanically, are still a fruit.
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