The Tomato
Tomatoes are members of the Solanaceae, a family that includes such economically important plants as petunias, tobacco, chili peppers, sweet peppers, eggplant and potatoes as well as the mandrake and nightshades. Taxonomically, the tomato genus is closely related to Solanum. The two differ largely by certain minor characteristics of the anthers (Heiser 1969).
Although it is unclear where tomatoes may have been first domesticated, the two main possibilities are Peru and Mexico. The wild forms may have originated in either area, but it was the indigenous peoples of Mexico that first cultivated them. In fact, the common name tomato comes from tomatl, the word for this plant in the Nahuatl language of Mexico (Heiser 1969).
In his 1544 herbal, Matthiolus documents the existence of tomatoes in Italy and also reports that Italians ate them. Vernon Quinn proposes that the Spanish explorers brought it back to Spain from Mexico and that a Moor brought it to Tangiers and, from there, an Italian brought it to Italy where it was called Moor's apple, pomo dei mori, and a name with a similar sound, poma amoris, but a different meaning: love apple. Similarly, the French referred to it as love apple, pomme d'amour (Heiser 1969).
The French and Italian names demonstrate the story of tomato as a reversal of the tale of the Trojan horse. Although Matthiolus includes culinary use of tomatoes by the Italians, it was probably not widespread in the 16th century, as most Europeans were convinced that tomatoes were a lethal poison and/or an aphrodisiac, rendering them a danger both to spiritual and physical health. Their acceptance by Europeans as food was very slow, lasting more than a hundred years in much of Europe. Tomatoes we...
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Redenbaugh, Keith, William Hiatt, Belinda Martineau, Matthew Kramer, Ray Sheehy, Rick Sanders, Cathy Houck, Donald Emlay, Safety Assessment of Genetically Engineered Fruits and Vegetables. 1992 CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, Florida.
Sims, W. L., introductory remarks, second international symposium on processing tomatoes. 1987 Acta Horticulturae 200.
Thacker, Christopher, The History of Gardens. 1979 Croom Helm, Ltd., Publishers, London.
Tigchelaar, Edward C., Tomatoes for processing in the 90s: genetics and breeding (third international symposium on processing tomatoes). 1990 Acta Horticulturae 277.
Villareal, Ruben L. Tomatoes in the Tropics, 1980 Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado.
Weatherford, Jack, Indian Givers. 1988 Fawcett Columbine, New York.
Webber, Ronald, The Early Horticulturists. 1968 Augustus M. Kelley Publishers, New York.
Tomatoland is a book written by Barry Estabrook, an investigative food journalist. Throughout the pages of Tomatoland, Estabrook explores the path of tomatoes, from the seed in South America to the hands of migrant workers in the fields of Florida. Through his exploration he discovers several issues that exist within the fresh tomato industry in Florida. Two of the major issues that he discovers include the use of highly toxic chemicals that cause severe damage to the health of humans and the environment, and the exploitation of migrant workers. Estabrook directly blames the continuation of such issues on those who support the tomato industry, “it’s a world we’ve all made, and one we can fix”; this includes consumers, crew bosses, the government and the corporate farm owners, like the executives and those who work in the business side of farming. Although there are many who are at fault, Estabrook directs his blame more towards the government and the farms corporate owners. Estabrook’s assessment of blame is substantial because the government and owners of the tomato corporations are the ones who have the strongest power towards regulations and production.
Along with an exuberance of gold and silver, plants such as corn, tobacco, potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate, sugar, and myriad other fruits and vegetables were introduced into European diets. The humble potato was especially adopted by the Irish; Tomatoes, the Spanish; and tobacco, the entire world. Due to the increased food supply, the European population exploded and necessitated the subsequent settlement of the ‘New World’.
"Nuclear Disasters: Chernobyl, Three Mile Island - CNN IReport." CNN IReport. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. .
Salsa comes from the South American region, mainly from the Spanish speaking countries(“History of Salsa Sauce”). Salsa is a well known dish that is made in many ways. In the original times, it was made with a coalescence of chilies, tomatoes, and other spices. The original way of making salsa has been altered since the beginning. It originated back in the times of the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca civilizations(“History Of Salsa Food”). According to “History of Salsa Sauce”, The origin of salsa came from the South American region, mainly from the Spanish speaking countries (Lifestylelounge,lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/history-of-salsa-food). The Spanish people found tomatoes and they added the ingredient into the recipe.
The first references to the family of plants known as “Beta” can be found in Greek literature around 420BC. They were described as garden plants; dark and light varieties are mentioned. Sugar beet was first grown 2000 years ago originally for its leaves, which were probably the spinach or swiss chard of their day. Beet gradually spread throughout France and Spain, often in monasteries but also by peasant farmers. By the fifteenth century beet was grown all over Europe. The vegetable was probably selected from various Beta species growing around the shores of the Mediterranean. It was widely used for culinary purposes in Europe from the middle Ages onwards.
On April 26th, 1986, operators at the Chernobyl Power Plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, ran what they thought to be a routine safety test. But fate was not on the side of these operators. Without warning, reactor #4 became unstable, as it had been operating at a low power for a possible shutdown and the reactor’s design caused it to be unsafe at this level of power. Internal temperatures rose. Attempts to cool the system produced the opposite effect. Instantly, the nuclear core surged with power. At 1:23 p.m., the reactor exploded. The first blast ripped off the reactor's steel roof. The second blast released a large plume of radiation into the sky. Flames engulfed the building. For ten long days, fire fighters and power plant workers attempted to overcome the inferno. Thirty-one of them died of radiation poisoning. Chernobyl was the worst nuclear disaster in history. It unleashed radiation hundreds of times greater than the atomic bombs exploded over Japan during World War II. [1]
On April 26, 1986 the worlds worst nuclear disaster happened just outside the town of Pripyat. Located not too far from the capital city Kiev, Ukraine. According to History.com, More than 70,000 people have suffered from the effects of this disaster. Along with much of the land (18 square miles) around that area will not be habitable for the next 150 years, forcing as many as 150,000 citizens to re-locate permanently. At the time of the explosion, Chernobyl was the largest and the oldest nuclear power plant in the world. With four 1,000 megawatt reactors, one reactor explosion and meltdown could affect hundreds, if not thousands of people. Still, the soviet government tried to cover it up or hide this from its own people, as well as the rest of the world. The Soviet Union initially reported the death of two individuals and requested advice for fight graphite fires. Even as Sweden was starting to pick up dangerous levels of radioactivity, the Soviet Union continued to not take responsibility and warn surrounding nations. It wasn't until years later that the full story is released to the public.
In the ancient ruins of Peru and Chile, archaeologists have found potato remains that date back to 500 B.C. The Incas grew, ate, and worshipped the potatoes. Also, the Incas would bury the potatoes with their dead. The Incan potatoes had purplish skins and yellow flesh. The Incas called them papas like some people still do today.
On the 26th of April, 1986 unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power station was taken off the electrical grid to perform an experiment in which the reactor would be run at low power. The Chernobyl power station, which is located in the present day Ukraine and is approximately 12 miles south of the border with Belarus, did not react as designed and unit 4 proceeded to spiral out of control. The unconstrained fission reaction which followed resulted in a steam explosion that poured radioactive material into the atmosphere. To this day Chernobyl is the largest and farthest reaching nuclear disaster in human history.
Chernobyl was the greatest nuclear disaster of the 20th century. On April 26th, 1986, one of four nuclear reactors located in the Soviet Union melted down and contaminated a vast area of Eastern Europe. The meltdown, a result of human error, lapsed safety precautions, and lack of a containment vessel, was barely contained by dropping sand and releasing huge amounts of deadly radioactive isotopes into the atmosphere. The resulting contamination killed or injured hundreds of thousands of people and devastated the environment. The affects of this accident are still being felt today and will be felt for generations to come.
The worst accident in the history of this nuclear power generation occurred on the morning of April 26, 1986. It was at the Chernobyl (Ukraine) nuclear power station in the Soviet Union. At 1:32AM Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Telyatnikov received a telephone call and was told that there was a fire at the nuclear power plant. There were many reasons their plant had backfired. These reasons included human error and poor plant design due to the cold war. Chernobyl was located in the former Soviet Union in what is now Ukraine. The area in and around Chernobyl is now a nuclear wasteland. People are not supposed to live in these areas, yet they still do, even with the danger of mutations and radiation sickness. For the people and countries affected by the radiation, this was a horrible, terrifying and angering experience. Villages were evacuated late and not many things were done in time to save lives and prevent more damages.
Chernobyl was the largest uncontrolled radioactive release ever recorded in history. Chernobyl was an accident that occurred while running routine checks on the Chernobyl 4 reactor on April 26, 1986. The explosion released all of its xenon gas, and about half of its iodine-131 and caesium-137 into the atmosphere. This accident resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and millions left with radiation poisoning. Chernobyl used to be prospering with a population of about 14,000; however, today it's a ghost town with a population hovering around 150 residents. Almost all the population chose to evacuate, while others took the risk in order to hold onto their memories of the once thriving town. The radiation still hovers around in the air today, still at very powerful and dangerous levels; 600,000 workers have attempted to contain the radiation levels. Chernobyl still has lasting effects today; it released record amounts of radiation, affected millions of lives, called for thousands of abortion requests, destroyed wild life, and it was a key turning point in history for nuclear safety.
...hnston, Robert. "Chernobyl Reactor Accident, 1986." Johnston's Archive. 11 June 2006. Web. 13 May 2011.
Okigbo, R., Iwube, J., & Putheti, R. (2011). An extensive review on genetically modified (GM) foods
Macbeth by William Shakespeare, is a play that exhibits fighting and bloodshed. Regardless of social views, there are instances where violence is considered an honorable deed. However, some characters in the play blur the lines between right and wrong and their actions make blood shedding a point of discussion. Through the course of the play violence is the most prominent theme.