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Comment by maxerickson | Hacker News Reader

The problem with tomatoes is that if you pick them ripe they are fragile. So if they are picked ripe, it makes it more difficult to ship them.

And then this gets exacerbated when the varieties are selected for shipping and shelf life rather than flavor.

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The lack of taste is not a problem of when the fruit is shipped. Its a indicator for a lack of stress. The plant is not attacked by insects, fungi and deer. Thus it does not produce the aromatics we expect.

Unfortunately, many people are okay with this and expect it. I honestly can not imagine Netherlands farmers and engineers unable to simulate that stress. So its a purely lack of customers knowing the difference.

Reference for this? Never heard of it before, and doesn't sound likely on the surface.

Waterstress: https://www.growingformarket.com/articles/Improve-tomato-fla...

Fungi-Symbosis: http://orgprints.org/12844/1/12844.pdf

But yes, i was wrong on the water tomato. They simply have been bred to look good and be transportable, disregarding taste.

These don't seem especially strong - an opinion piece and a presentation? The second actually states no effect.

Dutch companies actually grow a lot of tomatoes inside the UK, in greenhouse conditions.

Which are then shipped to the supermarket.

US greenhouse tomatoes are generally bland and watery too.

My garden tomatoes got severely damaged by some fungus this year and barely produced and I'm still not at all tempted to buy store tomatoes.

Applies to more than just tomatoes really, though i guess tomatoes are more noticeable in this regard.

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