Congress Declares Pizza as a Vegetable

http://www.metro.us/newyork/life/article/1027265--congress-declares-pizza-a-vegetable-children-s-diets-instantly-get-healthier

According to The Center for Disease Control 33.8% of US citizens are obese, and is it any wonder? Most of us don't eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables, and those we do consent to eat often stretch the definition of "healthy" to the breaking point. Case in point: On Tuesday, Congress declared pizza a vegetable.

Instead of an underhanded effort to change the menu in the Congressional cafeteria, the move is an effort to counter the Obama administration's proposal to serve healthier lunches in schools.

The White House's proposal, spearheaded by First Lady Michelle Obama along with the USDA, was based on 2009 recommendations by the Institute of Medicine. The nutrition guidelines, called MyPlate, aim to reduce the amount of potatoes and sodium in children's diets, and replace them vegetables and whole grains.

In an effort to counteract Obama's proposal, Congress' bill insists that the tomato paste used to make pizzas should be counted as a vegetable. (This makes a tiny amount of sense until your realize that tomatoes are fruits.) This consideration was requested by food companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools, the salt industry and potato farmers, all of which would see their sales to schools cut under the Obama administration's plan. Some conservatives in Congress seem to have rationalized the decision saying that the federal government shouldn't be telling children what to eat. What they don't seem to realize is that, regulations or not, it still is; By classifying foods like pizza and french fries as vegetable, the government is telling schools that they are healthy things to eat every day.

Both the House and the Senate are expected to vote on the bill this week and send it to President Obama.

Who would've thought that while I've been constantly told during High School I've been getting one step closer to having a heart attack from eating something greasy, I was actually becoming healthy...facepalm

It has tomato sauce on it...

[edit]Also I love those people that all smartassy tell you "tomato is a fruit" (high pitched - grating voice) as if that was a scientific fact rather than extremely vague convention...

Big business using it's $$$ to influence congress/politicians? Business as usual.

Isn't this rather like declared pizza a liquid on the basis that it has water in it?

Pizza is a many-faceted wonder: vegetable, fruit, carb and protein. This and water should suffice.

Originally posted by Bardock42
It has tomato sauce on it...

[edit]Also I love those people that all smartassy tell you "tomato is a fruit" (high pitched - grating voice) as if that was a scientific fact rather than extremely vague convention...

Originally posted by Bardock42
[edit]Also I love those people that all smartassy tell you "tomato is a fruit" (high pitched - grating voice) as if that was a scientific fact rather than extremely vague convention...

Wait, you did not know that a tomato is a fruit, scientifically, but is a vegetable from the culinary perspective?

If you're making the distinction based on "science", yes, tomato is a fruit. If you're going to say "vague convention" to describe the scientific definition, then all of science can be boiled down to "vague conventions" because they all can be boiled down to arbitrary symbolic representations: everything is a set or symbol because it is a creation of humans.

Botanically, any plant that buds a seed that is encased in the ovary (dried or juicy...doesn't matter) is a fruit. That includes beans, cucumbers, and even some nuts like acorns.

But, yes, Pizza can have all food groups:

Grains, dairy, meats, fruits, vegetables. The argument about that is not new and it has been discussed, light-heartedly, for decades.

Originally posted by dadudemon

Botanically, any plant that buds a seed that is encased in the ovary (dried or juicy...doesn't matter) is a fruit. That includes beans, cucumbers, and even some nuts like acorns.
.

Not the plant itself, what it produces, you fruitcake. Cucumbers = fruit. Acorns = nut. Though they're both produced from a plant-based source.

Damn, I just pwned all over your face again. Why do you make it so easy.

Originally posted by Robtard
Not the plant itself, what it produces, you fruitcake. Cucumbers = fruit. Acorns = nut. Though they're both produced from a plant-based source.

Damn, I just pwned all over your face again. Why do you make it so easy.

That's what I mean: I did not mean the plant but the fruit that buds from the plant. I edited my post and took out too much.

But, no, an acorn and some nuts ARE fruits, scientifically.

Not all nuts are fruits, but some fruits are nuts.

Originally posted by dadudemon
That's what I mean: I did not mean the plant but the fruit that buds from the plant. I edited my post and took out too much.

But, no, an acorn and some nuts ARE fruits, scientifically.

Not all nuts are fruits, but some fruits are nuts.

And we can scientifically conclude that you're a nut and a fruit.

Originally posted by dadudemon
Wait, you did not know that a tomato is a fruit, scientifically, but is a vegetable from the culinary perspective?

If you're making the distinction based on "science", yes, tomato is a fruit. If you're going to say "vague convention" to describe the scientific definition, then all of science can be boiled down to "vague conventions" because they all can be boiled down to arbitrary symbolic representations: everything is a set or symbol because it is a creation of humans.

Botanically, any plant that buds a seed that is encased in the ovary (dried or juicy...doesn't matter) is a fruit. That includes beans, cucumbers, and even some nuts like acorns.

But, yes, Pizza can have all food groups:

Grains, dairy, meats, fruits, vegetables. The argument about that is not new and it has been discussed, light-heartedly, for decades.

I'm saying it's vague because we are talking about semantic convention. I am not denying it is a fruit, I am saying it's disingenuous to pretend that it is more or solely correct as opposed to saying "it's a vegetable".

Quite obviously I have been aware of that issue before as I alluded to in my post.

Originally posted by Robtard
And we can scientifically conclude that you're a nut and a fruit.

That's wrong: I did not nut on your fruit.

Originally posted by Bardock42
Quite obviously I have been aware of that issue before as I alluded to in my post.

Being aware of the argument and thinking that it is as simple as labeling it as a "vague convention" is not the same thing.

I responded because you posted that it was simply a "vague convention" and made fun of the notion that calling it a fruit is "scientific". So I sought to enlighten you that, yes, it is the correct scientific to label tomatoes as fruits and the "vague convention" argument is a slipper slope.

Originally posted by dadudemon
I responded because you posted that it was simply a "vague convention" and made fun of the notion that calling it a fruit is "scientific". So I sought to enlighten you that, yes, it is the correct scientific label tomatoes and the "vague convention" argument is a slipper slope.

yes, but in the vernacular there are numerous things that lay people wouldn't even think to call fruits that would technically be defined that way

the obsession about tomatoes is pretty ridiculous

lol, if only people had to have an expert knowledge of specific jargon to discuss things

Originally posted by inimalist

lol, if only people had to have an expert knowledge of specific jargon to discuss things

There would be a decrease in internet traffic by 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999%

Originally posted by dadudemon
That's wrong: I did not nut on your fruit.

Being aware of the argument and thinking that it is as simple as labeling it as a "vague convention" is not the same thing.

I responded because you posted that it was simply a "vague convention" and made fun of the notion that calling it a fruit is "scientific". So I sought to enlighten you that, yes, it is the correct scientific to label tomatoes as fruits and the "vague convention" argument is a slipper slope.

I suppose I should have been more clear in stating that I am annoyed with claiming it as a "scientific fact" as somehow trumping culinary and day to day usage. As you said yourself, it's both..."fruits" and "vegetables" are not mutually exclusive terms.

Originally posted by Robtard
There would be a decrease in internet traffic by 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999%

but that billionth of a percentile would be astounding

Originally posted by inimalist
yes, but in the vernacular there are numerous things that lay people wouldn't even think to call fruits that would technically be defined that way

I think that was one of my points, wasn't it (i.e. acorns)?

Originally posted by inimalist
the obsession about tomatoes is pretty ridiculous

I never heard the argument being made for tomatoes, around these parts: it was always cucumbers.

Technically, strawberries are not fruits because the seeds are not INSIDE the ovary. awesome

Originally posted by inimalist
lol, if only people had to have an expert knowledge of specific jargon to discuss things

Isn't "appeal to expert" a logical fallacy, anyway? 313

Originally posted by Bardock42
I suppose I should have been more clear in stating that I am annoyed with claiming it as a "scientific fact" as somehow trumping culinary and day to day usage. As you said yourself, it's both..."fruits" and "vegetables" are not mutually exclusive terms.

When does scientific fact not trump incorrectly used, but pervasive, symbols?

"Are these cicadas or locusts?"

No matter the vernacular, the correct answer is the one defined in taxonomy.

Originally posted by dadudemon

When does scientific fact not trump incorrectly used, but pervasive, symbols?

See, that's what I mean, it's not incorrectly used. Tomatoes are ALSO vegetables.

Originally posted by Bardock42
See, that's what I mean, it's not incorrectly used. Tomatoes are ALSO vegetables.

No, that's not correct and it never will be. 🙂 Sorry, them's the shiiits. That's how it works out.

The culinary discipline is using it wrong. Additionally, the people who I see CORRECTING the use the most are not botanists: they are culinary artists like chefs. Sure that's anecdotal, but I do not think you are giving real culinary professionals enough credit: they probably know better than most that they are not actually vegetables.

When you go to the store and you see fruits in your vegetbale section, you need to think: "Poor common people: mislabeling their botanicals" not "oh...well...people have arbitary lay symbols and no one is technically incorrect".

Originally posted by dadudemon
No, that's not correct and it never will be. 🙂 Sorry, them's the shiiits. That's how it works out.

The culinary discipline is using it wrong. Additionally, the people who I see CORRECTING the use the most are not botanists: they are culinary artists like chefs. Sure that's anecdotal, but I do not think you are giving real culinary professionals enough credit: they probably know better than most that they are not actually vegetables.

When you go to the store and you see fruits in your vegetbale section, you need to think: "Poor common people: mislabeling their botanicals" not "oh...well...people have arbitary lay symbols and no one is technically incorrect".

You are wrong about that. The culinary profession isn't using it wrong, because they wanted that term for edible non-sweet plant products. If you define a term that's how it is, that's how language works. The term vegetable is not opposed to the term fruit as it is in it's scientific definition, you may make a case that it is opposed to the definition of sweet "fruits" as used in layman terms, but that's besides the point.

If the definition of vegetable was "not a fruit", sure, but it isn't.