Geographic Irony

(Tom Karst says I should probably introduce myself. My Google handle is Ovaltine, but I'm Jay Martini, Chicago-based tomato broker/distributor since 1980. I'll occasionally be commenting on the tomato industry, the produce business in general and, more often than not, all the things about it that make us crazy. Yeah, it's a blank canvas out there with a whole bunch of colors...)

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In trying to decompress over the weekend, I attempted to avoid any tomato-specific media, which is like saying don't think about pink elephants. But in reflection I was struck by this almost-delicious irony: while we're waiting for the FDA to pinpoint the source of the tomato/salmonella outbreak, if Mexico happens to be 'it', that would be quite interesting in that virtually the only tomato movement on the Chicago terminal this past week has been to the Hispanic trade.

Along with the other ethnicities that comprise the lifeblood of the present-day terminal market, Mexican grocery stores have been the only buyers up til now that have stepped up to the plate, saying in effect 'I don't care what the FDA is advising', and stocked their stores for Father's Day.

Yes, it's well-known that Hispanics consume per capita many more fresh tomatoes on a regular basis than their American counterparts. But to me it's more than that. Maybe their rationale is that, short of an actual recall, if tomatoes are available for sale, that's good enough for them & they're going to supply their customers.

I was at another graduation party Saturday night, hosted by a Greek friend. Phenomenal spread. Shishkebabs of chicken and pork, fresh toasted pita bread, creamy tzatziki sauce, cucumber salad, raw onion rings and.......plates of sliced round tomatoes. Honest to Pete, in a week where I've been to hell & back it was all I could do to contain my glee in that vision.

You see, the caterer had to make a conscious decision to defy the idiot broadcast media, the CDC, the FDA, and maybe conventional wisdom to offer tomatoes to his client, my friend, who told me that not having them was never an option. A good sandwich demands a tomato, period.

And it's that kind of tiny victory, one at a time, that will hopefully bring the tomato business back.

Later,

Jay