History Of The Day - US Supreme Court Classifies Tomatoes as Vegetables, Not Fruit (1893)

[TFD]

To most of us, a fruit is a sweet plant part eaten as a dessert or snack, but to a botanist, a fruit is a mature ovary of a plant. All species of flowering plants produce fruits that contain seeds. A vegetable, on the other hand, is simply part of a plant that is grown primarily for food. The tomato—one of the newer additions to world cuisine—can be said to meet both criteria but is technically a fruit. Why was the Supreme Court tasked with classifying the tomato in the first place? Discuss



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