Tomato Sauce Now Deemed Nutritionally Equal to Vegetables

MICHELLE PAULINO
Staff Writer

Within the last month, Congress has received criticism regarding their recent decision to recognize pizza as a vegetable. However, the bill, which was passed in November, deems one-eighth of a cup or two tablespoons of tomato paste as half a serving of vegetables.
With this knowledge in mind, pizza has the potential to count as a serving of vegetables, given that it contains the appropriate amount of tomato paste. Pizza as a food, however, is not considered a vegetable.
“As a dancer, I feel like this decision in Congress is bad because now schools will take advantage [since Congress can opt for the cheaper pizza choice] instead of giving us more variety,” sophomore Raymond Tran said.
Nutrition facts posted by Washington Post writer Sarah Kliff reveal that one-eighth of a cup of tomato paste is relatively equal to half a cup of raw apples.
However, there are apparent differences between the tomato paste’s extreme amount of sodium and improved calcium and potassium levels compared to the amounts found in half a cup of raw apples.
With this law, pizza manufacturers can produce pizza claiming to have half a serving of vegetables that schools can buy and serve rather than actual vegetables, which may cost more in the market.
“It’s kind of gross [that] the government [can] be selfish [and] buy tomato sauce [rather] than actual healthy food,” junior Brandy Miranda said.