FRUIT OR VEGETABLE? THE SUPREME COURT DECIDES WHAT A TOMATO REALLY IS

While most people tend to think that the debate about whether the tomato qualifies as a fruit or a vegetable is a relatively recent one, it turns out the dispute has existed for at least a century, and possibly longer.

To this day, tomatoes, while considered a botanical fruit, are not usually referred to as a fruit in “common speech” but instead are deemed a vegetable. To the surprise of many judicial enthusiasts, the legal question of where the tomato qualifies under government regulations required a decision from a higher authority – a process that went all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States, no less.

The final word on how the U.S. would regulate tomatoes come from the Supreme Court case Nix V. Hedden.

In 1883, a new Tariff Act was signed by the 21st U.S. president, Chester A. Arthur. The new policy was unpopular, with some items having their tax rates lowered, others having their rates raised, and still others left with no clear vision.

This included an important contradiction: There were tariffs on vegetables, but not on fruits.

In New York, the John Nix & Co. business was a leading seller of produce and a large importer of goods from Virginia, Florida, and Bermuda. With taxes on vegetables being 10%, Nix & Co. was determined to switch the label of tomatoes from vegetable, to fruits. And so the firm launched a lawsuit against Edward L. Hedden, who was the Collector of Customs at the Port of New York (the federal officer in charge of collecting import duties by sea).

Thus did a Supreme Court case begin in 1892, as Nix V. Hedden would decide how the tomato should be labeled, by law.

What followed was a dictionary battle, with both sides using examples of other fruits and vegetables to support their argument. The defendants (Hedden) claimed that tomatoes should remain classified as vegetables as other “vegetables,” such as cucumbers, peas, and squash, are also botanically fruit but remained labeled as a vegetable by law. The plaintiffs countered with turnips, potatoes, carrots, etc., all of which are correctly referred to as botanical vegetables.

As of today, two of the U.S. states, Tennessee and Ohio, have named the tomato as their state fruit. By contrast, the only state to declare the tomato as its state vegetable is New Jersey. Regardless, on May 10, 1893, the verdict of the Court was unanimous. Associate Justice Horace Gray wrote for the court’s opinion:

“Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas… But in the common language of the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables.”

And so tomatoes, under the U.S. Supreme Court case, Nix V. Hedden, are legally vegetables!