On: Nancy Pelosi, Ron Paul join SOPA opposition

[philwelch]

The House did manage to pass a bill upholding the status of pizza as a vegetable: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/18/us-usa-lunch-idUST...

[tzs → philwelch]

They did no such thing. That part of the bill concerned how much tomato paste has to be on the pizza for the tomato paste to be enough to count as a serving of vegetables. The USDA wants 8 tablespoons, and Congress wants 2.

[Natsu → tzs]

Correct. They're protecting french fries, too.

[jamesbritt → tzs]

for the tomato paste to be enough to count as a serving of vegetables

Sigh; I live in a country where tomatoes are considered a vegetable.

[scq → jamesbritt]

Tomatoes are actually both a fruit and a vegetable. Fruit is a botanical distinction, while vegetable is a culinary one.

[Avshalom → jamesbritt]

There is no such thing as a 'vegetable'. Some are leaves, roots, tubers, gourds, stalks. Vegetables have always been an essentially tautological group. Other fruits considered vegetables include peppers, beans and squash.

[zeruch → philwelch]

I actually believe pizza as a vegetable is easier to buy than what SOPA portends (plus pizza had the "ketchup is a vegetable" precedent). For that reason, I think its passing will be more contentious.