Sci/Tech Do vegetables really exist?

[tom_mai78101]

Name a vegetable. It’s easy right? Sweet potatoes and carrots are vegetables, obviously. Onions perhaps? But what about lettuce, for example?

And we have all met those who insist that a tomato is a fruit. Then there are others who argue that because it’s not sweet in the same way as an apple or a pear, a tomato is more properly categorised as a vegetable.

To get some clarity, we asked the audience of BBC Earth for some help.

“You're BBC! Why are you asking us if this is a vegetable?” wondered Kimberly A. Brooks. “Is that the best you can do? Disappointed.”

Do Vegetables really exist? — THE GREEN INSTITUTE

Name a vegetable. It’s easy right? Sweet potatoes and carrots are vegetables, obviously. Onions perhaps? But what about lettuce, for example?

greeninstitute.ng

 

[Varine]

The only part of this that was very interesting was: There were multiple legal cases through the world in which courts defined if a tomato is a fruit or not? I wish I could facepalm the hand palming my face.

 

[KMilz]

Yeah, I had no idea that there was any sort of legal precedent to determining whether or not tomatoes are a fruit or vegetable. Also interesting is that a wealthy family in the late 19th century couldn't get their way with tomato classification even with both money and a halfway reasonable argument behind their claim.

 

[Accname]

Short answer: Not really.
Long answer: No.

 

[KMilz]

Legal Answer: Yes. (in the US, anyway)

 

[Slapshot136]

Legal Answer: Yes. (in the US, anyway)

and No in the EU zone - I think im going to side with the EU on this one