ASSEMBLY, No. 3766

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

211th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 7, 2005

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman PATRICK DIEGNAN, JR.

District 18 (Middlesex)

Assemblyman DOUGLAS H. FISHER

District 3 (Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Egan

SYNOPSIS

    Designates Jersey tomato as State Vegetable.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

    As introduced.

An Act designating the "Jersey tomato" as the State Vegetable of New Jersey.

Whereas, The tomato is generally considered to be America’s favorite garden vegetable, with each man, woman and child consuming almost 80 pounds of tomatoes every year; and

Whereas, The tomato, while technically a “fruit,” is legally considered to be a vegetable as a result of an 1893 Supreme Court decision, and is in the same botanical family as the potato, pepper, and eggplant; and

Whereas, The Jersey tomato, renowned for its legendary flavor, is the State’s most famous farm product, with a colorful history dating back to the 1830's; and

Whereas, In 1847 Harrison W. Crosby of Jamesburg, New Jersey, was the first person in the nation to can tomatoes commercially, making Jersey tomatoes available across the nation; and

Whereas, The famous "Rutgers tomato," originally introduced in 1934, once accounted for 70 percent of the processed tomatoes in the United States, and is still unsurpassed in quality; and

Whereas, New Jersey is currently one of the top ten tomato producing states in the nation; and

Whereas, Research has shown that tomatoes are part of a healthful diet, are a good source of vitamins A and C, and may reduce the risk of cancer; and

Whereas, Jersey tomatoes are synonymous with New Jersey’s     reputation for farm-fresh products; now, therefore,

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. The "Jersey tomato" (Lycopersicon esculentum) is designated as the State Vegetable of New Jersey.

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill designates the "Jersey tomato" as the State Vegetable.