Are tomatoes poisonous?

The answer to that question is yes and no. The plant is a member of the nightshade family of plants that includes eggplant, peppers and the deadly nightshade. It is because of that relationship with the nightshade the green part of the plant can be toxic in varying degrees.

There have been accounts of cattle getting into tomato fields and eating large quantities of the green plant. The result was that some of the cattle died. The plant contains an alkaloid which in small amounts will not produce any harmful effects. It is the amount ingested that will produce any harmful toxic levels.

The unripened, green tomato fruit that has been fried, pickled or otherwise processed in some way has no harmful effects what so ever.

After 200+ years of commercial cultivation there are still people that believe the tomato fruit is poisonous.

Introduction to tomatoes

The tomato is the fruit of the tomato plant. The plants can become very large with the right growing conditions. Tomato plants over 6 foot tall are not that uncommon. The commercial varieties of tomato plants are low to the ground to be harvested easily by machine.

The tomato plant is a warm weather vegetable. It needs at least 6 hours or more of direct sunlight each day to produce tomatoes on its vines. It is a long season plant and requires at least 60 days to produce tomatoes when the conditions are right.

There are a wide variety of tomato varieties ranging from the large beefmaster to the small cherry tomato.