Most food in America is designed for transport durability and yield. So if you go for the nicer canned tomatoes which doesn't rely on the tomato itself for durability, they're quite good. On the same level as the imported DOP stuff.

Of course you're probably referring to fresh tomatoes. And by in large I agree but I would like to point out that California has some pretty darn tasty tomatoes. Sure you might have to go out of your way or pay a little extra to get them but they exist.

Modern store bought tomatoes have been bred for size and firmness. Firmness in particular reduces losses during mechanical harvesting and shipping. Since 1968, the date of wide-spread use of mechanical harvesters, this has resulted in varieties that are not as flavorful. It is probably this mechanization of tomato farming and not global warming that has made flavorful tomatoes harder to obtain.

From [1]:

> Within five years [from 1963], 99.9 percent of the industry was using the mechanical harvesters, and most farmers were planting the comparatively tasteless hybrid tomatoes built to withstand them.

[1] https://civileats.com/2015/07/15/from-ketchup-to-california-...

Absolutely. Garden tomatoes taste amazing and can be eaten on their own with just a bit of salt.