Message text written by "BP - His DNA is this long."
>Have you ever met a
single consumer who has a good thing to say about the modern tomato? No?
Then why hasn't industry responded? I've never met anyone who has anything
good to say about modern nails either. And still industry respondeth not.
That consumers of tomatoes and nails have the option of going to a higher
cost product doesn't really help your initial argument that modern
standardization technology brings improved quality of life to the masses.
Unless you can show that living in houses with sprung walls, popped window
trim and loose floors and eating inedible tomatoes is an improvement over
what might have been available to the same class in an earlier time.<

I seem to have struck a deep emotional chord within you, Bruce. This, among
other responses you have posted today, suggests a passion for your work and
a healthy disdane for many of the things which are part of modern life. 

Consider, however, that you may be overstating your case. I know lots of
people who like store-bought tomatoes. "Cheaper to buy em than to grow em",
I've often heard. I do agree with Ralph Nader, however, who was a visiting
lecturer while I was a grad student at business school. He pointed out that
Connecticut (my adopted home state of over 20 years, now) was once the
second largest tomato producing state in the nation. But today, there is no
tomato growing industry in Connecticut, and that somehow the twisted values
and market forces of our society have deemed it more economical to burn
millions of gallons of diesel fuel trucking tomatoes 3000 miles from
California.

But I do know lots of Connecticut gardeners who won't bother to grow
tomatoes, cause the ones in the Stop n' Shop are cheap and plentiful and
apparently function adequately in salads.

My compliments, however, to anyone who considers growing their own tomatoes
a productive or satisfying use of their time.

Mike E.