Greenhouse War!

A row has broken out between Californian and Mexican tomato growers about the definition of a greenhouse.

The competition between tomato growers is fierce. According to the Californians, the growing site of tomatoes affects price and consumer confidence and so labelling should be accurate.

Commercially grown tomatoes are grown in multi-million dollar, high-tech greenhouses providing irrigation and climate control to produce bumper crops for export across the world.

Just like in Gabriel Ash’s more modest greenhouses, tomatoes grown there are subject to fewer pests, minimising the use of pesticides and enabling them to be labelled organic.

The Californian growers testified that their “significant investments” into high-tech greenhouses are being undercut by Mexican growers who say they also produce their tomatoes in greenhouses. Those greenhouses don’t comply with the state’s description, according to the growers in California.

California law states that a greenhouse is “a fixed structure using irrigation and climate control.”

The row goes on between the Californians and the Mexicans and when the growers proposed to change the definition, a 50-page document was submitted to the court.

To see where the struggle ends, go to:

http://www.thegrower.com/news/regions/west/California-greenhouse-group-seeks-tomato-rule-173535601.html

Meanwhile, there is no doubt Gabriel Ash greenhouses leave no room for controversy.
 

Author: Robert Smith