Is Watermelon a Fruit or Vegetable? According to Oklahoma it is a veggie...
By brokentia
@brokentia (10389)
United States
April 19, 2007 7:17am CST
According to Oklahoma Legislature, watermelon is a vegetable.
They named watermelon a vegetable so Oklahoma could name it as their state vegetable.
That's just wrong if you ask me.
I do not think watermelon as a vegetable. So, could someone enlighten me?
Or do you think it is a vegetable too?
Here is the article about the watermelon being declared as a veggie.
http://kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=125376
And if the poll is still open when you visit this discussion...the news channel is taking a poll as to if watermelon is a fruit of vegetable. Here is the link and scroll down just a little to see the poll on your right.
http://kotv.com/
10 people like this
35 responses
@astromama (1221)
• United States
20 Apr 07
The way I always looked at it is if it is seed bearing it is a fruit, so tomato, watermelon, apples, oranges, and even squash would technically be fruits. Then with vegetables you have the leafy part of veggies, like broccoli, beet greens, spinach, etc. and the root vegetables, like potato, carrot, turnip, onion, etc. All fruits and vegetables are vastly different, citrus fruits are in no way similar to strawberries, except that they both contain seeds and begin as flowers. Melons and squash are similar due to the hard exterior shell, the way they grow on the vine, and the inner seed structure. Not all fruits are sweet... zucchini is a fruit and it's considered a vegetable. I think people need to think outside the sweet/non-sweet box when talking about foods... but I don't think it right to re-classify watermelon as a vegetable when it defies both biology and popular opinion.
1 person likes this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
20 Apr 07
Hey! I was told that they would grow out of your ears. ha ha
How they got from the belly to the ears was never explained to me. LOL
@wonderverb (152)
• Canada
20 Apr 07
How can anyone argue with that.
I intended on leaving a profound response regarding this simple yet very important humanitarian discussion, but it seems that it has been answered already.
So I leave you with this....don't swallow the seeds of the watermelon....A watermelon will grow in your belly if ya do!!
1 person likes this
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@AndreaM76 (1164)
• United States
20 Apr 07
I learned the other day Stillwell, okla has strawberry fields. It's on the other side of Talequah.
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
20 Apr 07
Wait! People pickle Aloe Plants????? And eat them???
I didn't know people pickled plants like that. (how is that for loosening and tongue? ha ha)
Yes, I can't believe that they actually had to sit there and think up of this and waste our tax dollars. Gee, all because Oklahoma has already named strawberries as their fruit. Funny thing is...I don't see many strawberries here!
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
21 Apr 07
Pickled Cactus:
http://www.brucefoods.com/casafiestasite/uhm_newflavors/uhm_newflavors.html
Aloe Foods and Drinks:
http://www.aloe-vera.org/powdered_aloe.htm
@rsmith512 (1561)
• United States
20 Apr 07
The girl beside my locker asked me this same question today...and I said of course it is a fruit.
What dumb person would think that it is a vegetable?
Apparently the Oklahoma State Legislature!!
And the only reason that they probably did do that was to be the first state(and probably the only state) to have the WATERMELON as a vegetable.
I think that a fruit is anything having a seed.
This is what wikipedia said, "In botany, a fruit is the ripened ovary—together with seeds—of a flowering plant."
A watermelon does come from a flowering plant...and it does have SEEDS!!
People...you should know this!!
Okay, I voted! And it said that 69 percent think that is a fruit and 30 percent think that it is a vegetable.
When did everyone decide this?
I cannot believe that Oklahoma's Vegetable is now a Watermelon!
There is something new you can tell your kids.
While you tell them that...you also have to tell them that according to Oklahoma it is not a fruit.
Thanks for the information though. I was wondering why that girl beside my locker asked me that!! LOL :D
1 person likes this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
20 Apr 07
Think of it this way...if watermelon is going to be named a veggie...you will not have a problem eating your veggies. Maybe more families will have meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and watermelon. ha ha
@rsmith512 (1561)
• United States
20 Apr 07
I would like that!
I never thought of it that way!! :)
I would definitely eat my vegetable then.
I think that families should start doing that now.
Imagine being invited to a dinner at a friends house, and they say that you are having meat, mashed potatoes, and vegetables.
Know what would you think?
Green veggies...or watermelon? LOL :)
@SpitFire179 (2536)
• Canada
19 Apr 07
Okay, i will always say it's a fruit, i'm sorry but there's tonnes of other veggies they could use instead of grabbing a fruit and trying to make it into a veggi......
Oh my, no really, i say fruit, and if i'm wrong, oops, but it's sweet hahha.......
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
19 Apr 07
Hey! I am with ya all the way!
Feel free to go to that news change and cast your vote saying that it is really a fruit! Maybe Oklahoma Legislature will realized it is a fruit and NOT a veggie. :)
@SpitFire179 (2536)
• Canada
19 Apr 07
I'll do that, i didn't go to it before because i wasn't sure if they allowed Canadians, but heck, lets try that out, i just don't understand why they have to waste their time on something so trivial and 'DUH' haha....
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
20 Apr 07
This is the silliest thing I've ever heard...if a food has seeds it's known as a fruit...right? That's what I was always told.
1 person likes this
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@brokentia (10389)
• United States
20 Apr 07
Yeah, well, Pluto used to be a planet too. ha ha
It seems like they are changing the rules on us way after the game is supposed to be over. LOL
Next thing you know, they will say that water has calories. ha ha
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
20 Apr 07
Oh just took that poll...seems a lot of folks view watermelon as a fruit...
1 person likes this
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@Woodpigeon (3710)
• Ireland
19 May 07
A watermelon being classified as a vegetable? That sounds very dodgy to me. I know about tomatoes being fruits, and I think pumpkins can fall under either heading, but a watermelon just can't be a vegetable! Are they going tomake all melons vegetables in Oklahoma? Like cantaloupes, honeydews, the whole shebang? That seems downright strange!
Well, maybe it'll be easier to get the kids to eat their vegetables if watermelon is on the menu?
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
19 May 07
I know that my kids no matter what the classification would not have a problem eating watermelon! LOL
I think we should re-classify fruits and veggies to just produce. ha ha
Cause there are so many fruit that people call veggies and vice versa.
But I do and always will think watermelon as a Fruit! :)
@PatriciaL (2080)
• United States
20 Apr 07
I don't care what they say it's a fruit, lol. People say that the tomato is a fruit, but I think it's a vegetable and I'm sticking to it. No matter how stupid it makes me sound, lol. Watermelon= fruit. Tomato= vegetable. :)
1 person likes this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
20 Apr 07
That's it! :) You stick to your beliefs! :)
I agree! Watermelon IS a fruit and no Oklahoma Legislature is going to change my mind. ha ha
@vanities (11395)
• Davao, Philippines
20 Apr 07
well for me it is not a veggie.. it is a fruit since we dont need to cooked it to eat..yeah iw ill check on it later and vote..
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
20 Apr 07
Would you believe that 30% of the voters still think it is a veggie?
That's just wrong. ha ha
@sweetlady10 (3611)
• United States
20 Apr 07
This sounds wierd. How come a watermelon be vegetable.
I have never heard that watermelon is used to cook for making some dishes. We all eat watermelon as a fruit and put it in fruit salad. This is not fair to make watermelon a vegetable.
1 person likes this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
20 Apr 07
You have a point there sweetlady. :)
They will not be able to call it a fruit salad anymore if they claim watermelons are veggies.
Can you imagine putting carrots into a fruit salad? Yuck! LOL
@brandi_girl_16 (624)
• United States
20 Apr 07
That's ridiculous! Watermelons are fruits! Hence the latter part of the name "melon"! Melons are fruits! There's no way a watermelon could ever be a vegetable!! It's just not gonna happen!
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
20 Apr 07
Unfortunately, it did with the Oklahoma Legislature. :(
Feel free to go to the second web site provided in the discussion details and cast your vote to the news channel that it is a fruit and not a veggie. :)
@KissThis (3003)
• United States
20 Apr 07
Most of my life I have consider watermelon to be a fruit because of its sweetness but after having to study fruits and vegetables for a while now I have found that I was wrong about several fruit and vegetables. I have learned that a fruit can be a vegetable but a vegetable can't be a fruit. Here is an article that saids watermelons are a vegetable.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artwatermelon.html
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
21 Apr 07
I am still not convinced that it is a veggie. ha ha
And that site failed to put in there that watermelon is a great source of iron too...for anyone that is iron deficent...instead of spinach, grab some watermelon. :)
@sir_talk_alot (340)
• United States
20 Apr 07
That's really weird. How can watermelon possibly be consider as a veggie. For one thing there is the word melon attached to it, and that word alone indicates to me that it must be a fruit. Also young kids usually don't like to eat vegetables and if watermelon is a vegetable, then young kids won't like, but the fact is, everyone loves watermelon, so it must be a fruit. Another thing is that I don't think I've ever tasted a vegetable that is sweet before, they are usually all bitter or plain.
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
20 Apr 07
I completely agree! :) I think it is a fruit too.
But here is food for thought...ha ha
Did you know that watermelon is a good source of iron?
I only know this because I constantly have lot iron and the nutritionist tells me to eat watermelon.
Are there any other veggies that are a good source of iron?
Hey, I know...maybe they should classify it as a meat. Meat is a good source of iron. But that sounds just as dumb as calling it a veggie.
Sorry to anyone that thinks it is a veggie. :)
@lilyruth (723)
• United States
21 Apr 07
If watermelon is a vegetable then I can no longer say I hate vegetables.LOL So I think I wil still say watermelon is a fruit. I love watermelon. Thanks for the article.
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
20 May 07
Strange how they categorize our food. Doesn't matter to me what they call it. I call it a sweet treat. Love the stuff. I can't wait for it to come in season again.
@Lydia1901 (16351)
• United States
29 Apr 07
Well, that is so a good one. It is like that tomato stuff. I personally think that watermelon is a fruit and tomato is a vegetable.
@PurpleTeddyBear (6685)
• Canada
29 Apr 07
Ok this has just gotten weird. I have always thought that watermelons were fruits. To name a fruit as a state veggie is just wrong, I agree with you whole heartedly on that one.
@lankie (477)
• China
29 Apr 07
think watermelon has different names at different places.Besides watermelon itself is various in sort , therefore it is a good thing to discuss .
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