According to botanists, who study and classify plants, a fruit is the part of a plant that
contains seeds. By this definition, not only melons and plums but zucchinis, green beans,
and tomatoes are all fruits. In fact, based on this definition, any vegetable with seeds
could be classified as a fruit. In contrast, nutritionists, who study diet, reserve the term
"fruit" only for sweet, fleshy fruits, using "vegetable" for those that are low in fructose, or
fruit sugar. Vegetables are usually eaten as part a of a meal, while fruits are often eaten as
a snack or dessert. Nutritionists argue that although tomatoes may be fruits from a
botanical perspective, they aren't eaten the way typical fruits are, so they're vegetables.
Depending on who you ask, a tomato can be considered a fruit, a vegetable, or both.
What is the main idea of the passage?
Tomatoes are scientifically classified as fruits, but, they are not served the
way other fruits are often served.
Nutritionists consider plant parts that have seeds but are not high in fructose
to be vegetables.
Botanists consider all plant parts with seeds to be fruits, but nutritionists
consider many of them to be vegetables.