It took the United States Supreme Court to officially declare that the tomato is a vegetable not a fruit. The ruling stemmed from a tax case. Under the Schedule G- Provisions of the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, there were tariffs placed on tomatoes imported from the West Indies because they were considered a vegetable, and imported vegetables were subjected to tariffs.
On February 4, 1887, the Nix family sued the tax collector of the port of New York to recover back duties on their tomatoes.
Webster’s Dictionary was consulted, along with Worcester’s Dictionary and the Imperial Dictionary for the definitions of “fruit” and “vegetable.” The passages from the dictionaries defined “fruit” as the seed of plants, or that part of plants which contains the seed, and especially the juicy products of certain plains covering and containing the seed.
According to the court, “These definitions have no tendency to show that tomatoes are ‘fruits’ as distinguished from ‘vegetables,’ in common speech, or within the meaning of the tariff act.”
The court decision on May 10, 1893, in Nix v. Hedden stated, “Botanically, tomatoes are considered a fruit of the vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans and peas. But in common language of people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast and not like fruits generally, as dessert.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment