Lady Moon Farms Featured in Book “Tomatoland”

Barry Estabrook author of Tomatoland started his tomato fascination after watching a shiny round tomato roll off his kitchen cabinet smashing onto the floor, remaining in a perfect round shape. He started with what he thought were simple questions he wanted answered, “Why can’t modern agribusinesses deliver decent tasting tomatoes?” Today’s industrial tomatoes are smooth, unblemished and stay firm, but are tasteless and bereft of nutrition and flavor. In 2009, American’s purchased 5 billion perfectly round fresh tomatoes, the second most popular vegetable behind lettuce.  However they fall near the bottom for satisfaction.

Barry’s search took him from his garden, across the US, and ended up back in Florida.  One third of the fresh tomatoes in the United States are farmed in Florida. He learned that there are laws that regulate the way a tomato looks, and farmers are forced to pump up their soil using expensive chemicals daily. Industrial tomato growers have no control over what they spend to grow their crops, only what they pay pickers. This results in decreased pay for the men and woman who harvest the crops; tomato pickers wages have stayed the same for the last 30 years.

Barry interviewed members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and in doing so spoke with Tom Beddard. Lady Moon Farms was started by Tom in 1988. He wanted to be a farmer since he was sixteen and has always thought using poisonous chemicals to grow food was wrong. Essentially Tom was told that you can’t do organic in Florida.  In Barry’s chapter, “Building A Better Tomato”, he refers to the growing of tomatoes by Lady Moon Farms as, “all but impossible” for using purely organic practices without synthetics, chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

Ruth Reichi said, “If you have ever eaten a tomato-or ever plan to-you must read Tomatoland.” It is an eye-opening and important read. It is an honor to be in Tomatoland, Lady Moon Farms stays committed to bringing you the best tasting and healthiest tomatoes to your door.