ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 8, 1996 TAG: 9604080095
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
MMMMM, tomatoes.
Vine-ripened, firm but juicy, fresh, red tomatoes. Sliced thick, on soft white bread, a swipe of mayo and a dash of salt, perhaps, if the old ticker's in good working order.
You can hold the "B" and the "L" in a BLT if the "T" is there. The real thing. Not some dry, flavorless tomato that, had it been allowed to stay on the vine a little longer, might have been a blessing to the world, but is instead a savorless mouthful of disappointment. A real tomato, red from hanging in the sun, full of the nutrients and taste produced as it comes naturally to full ripeness.
A tomato-lover would pay a pretty penny for such a tomato - at least until the Big Boys start ripening out back in the garden, and you can't give the darned things away during the temporary glut.
In winter, though, a tomato that not only looks ripe but tastes ripe is a treasured find - and one that will be rarer still, if Florida tomato-growers have their way.
Raising an election-year anti-NAFTA red herring, the growers are seeking - and likely to get - higher tariffs for protection against the Mexican competition. But lower prices aren't driving Mexico's success in the winter-tomato market. Quality is.
A major Florida producer complains in The Wall Street Journal that Mexican growers "are absolutely murdering the state of Florida." Unlike Florida producers, who pick tomatoes green and then gas them to speed their ripening, Mexican growers have improved the shelf life of tastier vine-ripened tomatoes. "It doesn't really matter" how they taste, the Florida grower says, because they're used as condiments rather than eaten alone.
But if taste doesn't matter, why do the Florida producers also want federal packing standards that wouldn't allow Mexico's tender, ripe fruits to be shipped with cushiony protective trays?
The Florida producers want to - literally - crush the competition, not to mention the spirits and pocketbooks of the tomato-loving American public.
LENGTH: Short : 44 linesby CNB