First published 2011
Barry Estabrook investigates the $5 billion fresh tomato industry that supplies Americans with year-round perfect produce. His journey begins in Peru's deserts where tomatoes originated and leads to Immokalee, Florida, the tomato capital of America. Estabrook exposes how modern farming relies on over one hundred pesticides and herbicides while workers labor under conditions that amount to modern slavery. He reveals that supermarket tomatoes are picked green and gassed for color, contain fourteen times more sodium than previous generations, and have lost most of their vitamins through breeding for yield over nutrition. The book profiles key industry figures: the octogenarian whose company grows one in eight American tomatoes, the ex-Marine who sets Florida shipping standards, the prosecutor fighting human trafficking, and the Guatemalan worker enslaved for two years. Estabrook also visits scientists developing hardier varieties and passionate growers producing flavorful tomatoes for top restaurants. The investigation reads like a detective story while examining how the pursuit of cheap food creates environmental damage and human exploitation.
Genres: business, environment, agriculture, non-fiction, investigative-journalism, american-history, food-writing
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, social-commentary
Setting: America, Florida, Peru
Period: Modern
240 pages · Hardcover · Andrews McMeel Publishing
Content warnings: slavery, trafficking