Tomatoes Presented by Kelly Carey

History

- First domesticated and grown by Mesoamerican people in modern day Peru, Chile and Equator

- Spread throughout Spanish empire and Europe (esp popular in Italy)

- Slow to catch on in England and the US as a food (used mainly medicinally until 1800s)

Love apple or wolf peach?

• Tomatoes belong to the family Solanaceae which includes peppers, potatoes and nightshade

• Many people believed that tomatoes were poisonous and harmful to eat (plants were mostly grown for looks or medicine)

Tomatoes

Tomatoes were thought to be ugly, smelly and unpleasant tasting by the majority of Americans when first introduced.

The technology of preserving tomatoes helped them grow in popularity but some suspicions about tomatoes lasted up until the 1890s

Ketchup and Sauces

Canning technology allowed for the development of tomato based products such as ketchup (popularized in 1987 by the Heinz company)

These products are still important today in understanding the demand and market uses for tomatoes in the US

How are American tomatoes used?• The United States produces about eight million

tons of tomatoes yearly . • Of those eight million, only one million tons are

sold as fresh tomatoes .The remaining seven million tons are sold and processed into soup, ketchup, canned or preserved tomatoes, or sauces such as salsa .

What do we want in a tomato?

• Consumers in the US want attractive bright red tomatoes year round and in all parts of the country

• In order to supply this, tomato producers use techniques to make the short tomato growing season last longer (to supply this demand)– Picking while green (ripening with ethylene)– Developing transgenic tomatoes that transport better

than normal tomatoes– Importing tomatoes from other countries

Green Picking

• Unless they are going to be processed into sauces or canned, tomatoes are picked while still green.

• Instead of being allowed to ripen naturally, the tomatoes are sprayed with ethylene

Flavr Savr

• The Flavr Savr tomato was the first genetically engineered food approved for human consumption in 1993 (10 years of development)

• Created to be disease resistant, slower to ripen • Established that consumers would not be

informed about GM foods • Ultimately rejected by consumers (too

expensive, bad taste, easily bruised)

Tomato Consumption and Supply

• The average American eats 15 pounds of tomatoes annually.

• Mexico is the largest supplier of tomatoes to the US, supplying over 10 million tons annually (during winter months)

Tomatoes Imported from Mexico

• Tomato production in Mexico brings up several problems

-transportation

-pesticide concerns

-unfair trade practices

-worker treatment and rights

Where do your tomatoes come from?

• Imported tomatoes are not the only ones that may be produced under unfair labor conditions.

• Tomato pickers employed in the US are mostly (80%) migrant workers from Mexico or other countries that are paid very low wages.

Tomato Pickers

• An organization called the Collation of Immokalee Workers has been campaigning to improve the lives and working conditions for tomato workers in Immokalee, Florida since 1993

The CIW

• The CIW has been successful in reaching agreements with both Taco Bell (2005) and McDonalds (2007) concerning improved pay for the workers that supply their produce and are currently trying to demand the same from Burger King.

• They are asking that BK pay a penny a pound more to suppliers for it’s tomatoes, which would then be passed on to the workers

The Collation of Immokalee Workers versus

the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange

• However, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (90% of growers) has threatened to issue $100,000 fines to any of its members that comply with the CIVS demands.

• The FTGE says that workers make an average of $12.49 an hour and are treated fairly.

Fair Wage?

• The average rate of pay for tomato pickers in Florida is currently about 45 cents per 32 lb bucket.

• In order for a worker to make $12.49. an hour, he or she must pick fill a 32 pound bucket every two minutes and pick over 2,500 tomatoes a day.

A sample workday for a Florida tomato picker

• 4:30 AM: Wake up. Prepare lunch in your trailer.• 5:00 AM: Walk to the parking lot or pick-up site to begin looking for work.• 6:30 AM: With luck, a contractor will choose you to work for him for the day. The job may be• 10 miles to 100 miles away. Board the contractor’s old bus to go to the fields.• 7:30 AM: Arrive at fields and begin weeding or waiting while the dew evaporates from the• tomatoes. You are usually not paid for this time.• 9:00 AM: Begin picking tomatoes - filling buckets, hoisting them on your shoulder, running• them 100 feet or more to the truck and throwing the bucket up into the truck- all for a token• worth 40-50 cents. Work fast because you must pick 2 TONS of tomatoes in order to earn $50• today. This may or may not be possible depending on the time of year and quantity of• tomatoes on the plants.• 12:00: Eat lunch as fast as you can, often with your hands soaked in pesticides. Return to• working under the smoldering Florida sun.• 5:00 PM (sometimes much later, depending on the season) : Board bus to return to• Immokalee.• Between 5:30 and 8:00 PM: Arrive in Immokalee and walk home.

Organic Tomatoes-an alternative?

• By keeping production smaller, organic tomato producers are able to produce many varieties of tomatoes, maintain more sustainable transportation and labor policies and produce a better product overall.

• Recent research has shown that organic tomatoes have almost twice as many flavonoids (thought to protect against cardiovascular disease)

Organic Farming Methods for Tomatoes

• Crop rotation

• Enhancement of soil with organic material

• In-row mulches

• Healthy disease resistant plants (breeding)

• Farmscaping to attract natural predators

• Copper- and sulfur-based fungicides

Your Power As a Consumer

As with all products, the choices you make as a consumer will effect the market and production of tomatoes.

You want organic tomatoes to be cheaper and more available? Buy them and show that there is an interest and a market, or grow your own.

Don’t want to eat transgenic tomatoes? Refuse to buy them and tell suppliers why.

Concerned about tomato worker’s rights? Give your money to companies that are committed to fair wages and treatment of workers.

Worried about pesticides? Buy locally, buy organic, demand more information about where your food comes from.

Basically- Make choices that reflect your values concerning where you spend your money and you can influence change.