pizza is a vegetable

[kildone]

Originally Posted by myriverse [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Pizza can be a very, very healthy diet. If done right, it can be a perfectly balanced meal in itself.

But no, this is not really what was said. This is a myth. What were determined were the ratios of toppings to make a serving of pizza qualify as a serving of vegetables. The tomato paste/sauce was rightfully a big part of that, since it adds lots of nutrition with minimal calories, salt, etc. that you want to limit.


There is no biological definition for vegetable that is set in stone. There is only a culinary definition, and it varies by culture and is completely arbitrary. There is no distinction between fruit and vegetable, and the terms are not mutually exclusive.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/wo...or-a-vegetable
Is a tomato a fruit? If you believe in scientific practices then yes it is. But science is only a way to make classifications based on observations. Plant vs mineral vs animal is just a way to group similar entities. Maybe under other systems such as a religion or philosophy a tomato can be defined differently.

Is tomato sauce nutritious? It is certainly seems to be more so than a candy bar or potato chips. From what I have learned from modern science:

Raw fruits and vegtables are the most nutritious. Home made products with 100% ingredients are next best. Say tomato sauce made with only tomatoes, jam made with only the fruit. Lastly are what you find in a can ( from a supermarket or what a pizzeria will use ) or what comes on a frozen pizza. There are however scientists and scientific studies that indicate the preservates added cause harm to the body that outweighs the nutrition and as such are considered unhealthy.

In essence though I agree with this post that pizza can indeed be a healthy nutritious meal. If made correctly from all natural ingredients, no preservative or hydrogenated oils.

But in the spirit of the original post. For the FDA to count pizza as a serving of vegetable with a blanket statement one must consider the types of pizza consumed. I would guess that 90+ % of the pizzas consumed in America are not home made using fresh natural ingredients.

I don't know the answer for certain but the I think the OP has a very valid point.