Almost Tomato Time

Jul 11, 2011

By Katie Hunhoff

I've never canned vegetables before but I'm determined to start this summer. My motivation is a New York Times review I recently read on the book "Tomatoland" by Barry Estabrook. I've always known that store-bought tomatoes aren't as tasty as garden-grown, but I didn't know that tomato farmers in Florida (where the majority of supermarket tomatoes are grown) are actually prohibited from growing tasty varieties because their color and shape don't conform to what you would typically see in a store. Or that the tomatoes don't dent or splat if they happen to roll off a speeding shipping truck onto a highway. Or that a pink color is gassed into green tomatoes to obtain the color we see in stores. Or that 100 herbicides and pesticides are used to just get them to grow out of Florida's nutrient-deficient soil. The list goes on...  many workers report being sprayed with toxic pesticides and  migrant and child labor laws are broken just so we can have a red tomato in the off season.

All this information has me determined to begin canning this summer so I have some healthy tomatoes to for the winter months. I'm lucky to have some tomatoes growing in the backyard, but if you don't, try visiting one of the farmer's market's around the state. Here's a good directory. Or visit Dakota Rural Action's online "Local Foods Co-op" page. The co-op is a way for consumers to connect with local farmers and producers so they have an opportunity to buy fresh foods. 

Although "Tomatoland" doesn't seem like a fun summer read, I'm planning on getting a copy to learn more about our tomato supply. In the meantime I hope we have a bumper backyard crop.