Tomato is a fruit

Thank you Con for accepting my debate.

First, I'm going to define a fruit and a vegetable.

Based on these definitions, tomatoes are fruits because they are produced as ovaries of plants,  contain seeds within it's fleshy exterior and it has the usual sweet taste that's associated with fruits. 

One major characteristic of a fruit is they have a fleshy or hardened outer layer that encases the seeds. (US Dept of Agriculture) Then, they are detached from the plant and eaten, which is how the seeds disperse. Tomatoes share this trait with other fruits due to its squishy material surrounding the seeds inside. According to Professor Coppola from Writing for the Sciences, ripe tomatoes have two or more inner chambers called locular cavities, where seeds are stored and encased in a gelatinous, jelly like mass. Thanks to this structure within the tomato, the seeds are protected from any external conditions that could damage the embryo plant inside. Tomatoes essentially act as the ovaries for plants: ensuring that reproduction occurs. When fruit is produced, this is usually their purpose. Thus, tomatoes are fulfilling their purpose as fruits.

Another characteristic of fruit is that they have a sweet taste, especially compared to vegetables. The sweetness is partially due to natural sugars like fructose and glucose. Similarly, tomatoes have a sweet and tangy taste due to its natural sugars and the presence of citric and malic acids. (Milnes, 2023) Sugars such as glucose and fructose are mainly present in tomatoes. In contrast, vegetables don't have this flavor and have less sugar than fruits like tomatoes. Therefore, the sweet flavor of the tomato makes it a fruit.

In sum, tomatoes act as ovaries for plants due to carrying seeds inside of its soft, squishy material, thus allowing for reproduction to occur. Additionally, thanks to the natural sugars it has, tomatoes also have a sweet taste that's associated with fruits. Therefore, these characteristics make tomatoes a fruit.

Here are the sources I used:

1. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany/food/fruits.shtml#:~:text=Fruits%20are%20the%20mature%20or,generally%20have%20fleshy%20outer%20material.

2. https://englisportfolio.commons.gc.cuny.edu/technical-description-of-a-tomato-plant/.