00:00:08
It’s our favorite vegetable.
00:00:09
Sweet and juicy.
00:00:12
And it MUST be tasty.
00:00:13
All year round.
00:00:15
It should also be sustainable.
00:00:19
So...
00:00:20
Where can I find one?
00:00:26
Leave, now!
00:00:30
It’s not going to be easy.
00:00:31
I’m Judith and I’m
looking for a ‘good’ tomato.
00:00:44
Tomatoes have few calories,
00:00:46
but many key nutrients such as
Vitamin C, potassium and fiber.
00:00:52
They also contain secondary
plant substances, colors,
00:00:56
fragrances and flavors.
00:00:58
Carotenoids, the yellow-red
plant pigments in tomatoes,
00:01:02
for example, are said to protect
against cardiovascular disease
00:01:06
and strengthen
the immune system.
00:01:09
But where do the tomatoes
in Germany come from?
00:01:13
My search takes me
to southern Europe.
00:01:17
Spain the continent’s e
second-largest producer of tomatoes .
00:01:23
In the Almería
region of Andalusia,
00:01:26
there are greenhouses
as far as the eye can see.
00:01:30
This is it, the
Orchard of Europe!
00:01:32
Under sheets of plastic.
00:01:35
It's really shocking how
much plastic is used here,
00:01:38
Almería is all
concrete and plastic.
00:01:41
Much of it looks
run-down and abandoned.
00:01:46
It’s doubtful whether
anything’s still growing in there...
00:01:52
there are tarpaulins
everywhere...
00:01:58
yes, it’s all dead, but of
course, the plastic’s still here.
00:02:01
If we take a look around,
00:02:09
we find traces of the
agriculture industry everywhere...
00:02:16
the white nets, canisters,
tubes, tarpaulins...
00:02:24
stuff
00:02:29
Right in the middle, there’s a
nature reserve that’s supposed
00:02:31
to be home to rare
species of birds.
00:02:34
As the drone footage shows:
00:02:36
it’s surrounded
by greenhouses. I
00:02:40
struggle to find access:
00:02:42
it certainly doesn't look
like a nature reserve.
00:02:46
At some point, I notice that we’re
being watched by people in a car.
00:02:51
We note from the stickers that
it’s a regional government vehicle.
00:02:55
I drive on.
00:03:02
I can see the government car
following us in the rear-view mirror…
00:03:06
there’s a parking spot up
ahead, let’s see if they stop too…
00:03:19
they’ve passed us…
00:03:21
Are we unwelcome here?
00:03:23
That’s a feeling that
we’ll come back to later.
00:03:27
I ask around 40 businesses
in Almería for permission to film
00:03:31
in vain.
00:03:33
The Granada region is
just a few kilometers away.
00:03:36
The landscape is similar.
00:03:37
Here, I’m in luck:
00:03:39
one farm grants us access.
00:03:41
They’ve nothing
to hide, they say.
00:03:45
Isabel Ortega works here
as a technical manager.
00:03:54
Do tomatoes need
special care to grow?
00:03:58
Generally speaking,
00:03:59
all crops grown under plastic
must be treated with care,
00:04:03
and that includes tomatoes.
00:04:05
You need the right temperature,
the right amount of water
00:04:08
and the right time to harvest.
00:04:10
It's like this:
00:04:12
crops grow very quickly under
plastic and for that reason,
00:04:15
you have work with precision to
produce good quality tomatoes.
00:04:22
The price for that quality is
usually paid by the environment:
00:04:26
this type of cultivation produces
thousands of tons of plastic waste.
00:04:31
But the company implements
sustainable solutions where possible:
00:04:36
We have an integrated
farming system.
00:04:39
We use bumblebees for pollination,
beneficial insects against pests and,
00:04:43
in general,
00:04:44
there’s been a trend
over the last 20 years
00:04:47
to do without
synthetic pesticides.
00:04:49
But that’s not always possible.
00:04:54
Exemplary, it seems.
00:04:56
But is what I’m
seeing here the rule,
00:04:58
or the exception in
the tomato industry?
00:05:24
Tomatoes from southern
European countries
00:05:27
are much cheaper than
alternatives from Germany.
00:05:31
But the desire for cheap
tomatoes still comes at a price.
00:05:39
Almería is drowning in plastic,
00:05:42
says Marcos Diéguez from
the environmental organization
00:05:45
Ecologistas en Acción.
00:05:48
He wants to show me one of the
region’s many illegal garbage dumps.
00:05:56
There are two main
plastic sections here:
00:05:58
the roof and the floor.
00:06:02
The roofs are worth something.
00:06:03
Farmers can get
cash for recycling them.
00:06:06
Not much, but still.
00:06:08
The ground sheets though
aren’t worth anything.
00:06:11
In fact, farmers have
to pay to get rid of them.
00:06:14
And if farmers don’t want
to pay, what do they do?
00:06:19
You can find the answer
on the side of the road:
00:06:23
The Ecologistas en Acción
claim to have identified
00:06:26
almost 400 illegal garbage dumps
00:06:30
and that number is growing.
00:06:35
This garbage dump has
been here for many years
00:06:38
we’ve reported it, but
nobody’s cleaning it up.
00:06:41
The main
problem is the sun,
00:06:45
it makes
the plastic brittle,
00:06:47
until it gets smaller and
smaller and harder to collect.
00:06:58
Look at this, it's
all microplastic.
00:07:03
These are the ground sheets, they
change them after every harvest.
00:07:09
They treat the soil with
pesticides then cover it
00:07:12
with the ground sheets so
that the poison stays in the soil
00:07:15
and doesn't evaporate.
00:07:19
This contaminates the plastic
and means they don’t recycle well.
00:07:29
That’s terrible…
00:07:31
It’s doubly terrible:
00:07:33
because of the plastic
and the pesticides.
00:07:39
The regional administration
has given up, says Marcos.
00:07:44
This is the true price
of growing vegetables.
00:07:47
If you want cheap tomatoes,
then someone else pays for it
00:07:50
the workers, the environment,
the health of the consumers,
00:07:54
through the
pesticides you ingest...
00:08:00
The thin, contaminated
ground sheets
00:08:02
are often simply
left lying around,
00:08:04
says the environmentalist.
00:08:06
The more robust roof
tarpaulins, on the other hand,
00:08:10
often end up at
recycling centers
00:08:12
because there’s a small cash
incentive to take them there.
00:08:16
But would it even be possible
to live without tomatoes?
00:08:20
Looking at images like these,
it’s easy to forget the negatives.
00:08:25
In Daniela’s kitchen,
tomatoes are always in season
00:08:30
on pizza, for example.
00:08:34
How do we make the sauce?
00:08:38
For the pizza we’ll
take a passata,
00:08:40
a tomato sauce that’s
almost liquid with no bits in it,
00:08:44
and we’ll put a little on now.
00:08:49
And that
00:08:50
surprise!
00:08:51
comes out of a bottle.
00:08:53
And made even tastier
with olive oil and herbs.
00:08:56
Yummy!
00:09:00
So now we’ve got a
base with the passata,
00:09:03
the strained tomatoes, we put
two other types of tomato on top,
00:09:07
the pomodoro giallo or yellow
tomato, and the red tomatoes,
00:09:11
and no cheese on this pizza.
00:09:14
No cheese?
00:09:15
No.
00:09:16
Because this is a
classic Neapolitan pizza.
00:09:19
the simplest pizza.
00:09:21
It really focuses on the tomato,
the tomato puree is the centerpiece.
00:09:27
So canned tomatoes aren’t
a no-go in Italian cuisine?
00:09:30
No, generally not,
00:09:32
but it does of course depend
on the kind of canned tomatoes.
00:09:35
Where they come from,
how they were produced,
00:09:37
the quality of the tomato,
that’s something to watch out for.
00:09:41
Not every canned tomato
is a good canned tomato.
00:09:48
Hm, so how do I
find all that out?
00:09:55
The market is huge:
00:09:57
tomatoes come chopped,
preserved, or as a paste in a tube.
00:10:03
And all sold à la Bella Italia.
00:10:12
All this even though the
world’s largest tomato producer
00:10:15
at around 68 million tons per year is
China, followed by India and Turkey.
00:10:22
China’s also one of the big players on
the canned and tomato paste market.
00:10:30
However, the largest EXPORTER
of processed tomatoes is Italy.
00:10:35
But the Italians purchased
almost 85 thousand tons
00:10:39
of processed tomatoes
from China in 2023.
00:10:43
The reason:
00:10:44
less and less tomatoes
are being grown in Italy.
00:10:47
Domestic tomato farmers are
no longer able to meet demand.
00:10:52
But in spite of that, most of
these products look Italian.
00:10:55
Among them, Oro di Parma.
00:10:58
I’m surprised to find this company
is based in southern Germany.
00:11:02
It’s here that I meet
Sabrina Lappe-Steiner
00:11:05
from the company
Hengstenberg.
00:11:07
A name more usually associated
with pickles and sauerkraut.
00:11:16
Oro di Parma has been one
of our brands for decades.
00:11:19
And our tomatoes are stored
here in these large warehouses.
00:11:23
Ah ok, but they’re
not produced here?
00:11:25
Our tomatoes are produced
in Italy, in the Parma region.
00:11:31
Here in the lab, random samples are
taken from new deliveries for analysis
00:11:36
and tasting!
00:11:41
We check for any bits of
skin, seeds or unripe parts.
00:11:48
This sample looks pretty good.
00:11:52
So, everyone
take a little bite...
00:11:59
…first, we see what
the sample smells like…
00:12:04
…fruity…
00:12:05
..fruity, intense, strong…there’s
a typical sweetness,
00:12:10
with a light acidity…
00:12:15
I’m told that the
canned tomatoes in
00:12:17
the sample are
grown outdoors in Italy.
00:12:20
They’re harvested
from June to September.
00:12:27
Almost six
kilometers from the
00:12:29
factory, there’s a
small goods station.
00:12:31
Trains loaded with tomato paste,
passata and the like arrive here
00:12:36
and a new delivery’s coming in.
00:12:40
There they are!
00:12:41
Wow.
00:12:42
How many cans are there?
00:12:45
The train brings around 250
Thousand cans every day…
00:12:53
Ten truckloads fit into
one train, which saves C02
00:12:56
in terms of carbon footprint, rail
transport is way better road haulage.
00:13:01
The goods then go direct to
retail or into temporary storage.
00:13:05
But at 250 thousand
cans per day,
00:13:08
I’m wondering whether they’re
all genuine Italian tomatoes.
00:13:12
Many are saying that many
canned tomatoes come from China.
00:13:15
Can you guarantee
that’s not the case here?
00:13:18
We can guarantee that,
00:13:20
because we’ve been
working with our manufacturers
00:13:22
and producers in
Italy for decades.
00:13:24
And they’ve been working with
their farmers for generations.
00:13:27
We conduct checks on site
and receive documents of origin
00:13:30
and protocols for our tomatoes.
00:13:34
Something as a consumer,
I can’t verify myself.
00:13:39
But it’s always worth
looking at the label.
00:13:44
If a supplier
explicitly states that
00:13:47
the processed
tomatoes come from Italy,
00:13:49
then in accordance
with EU food law,
00:13:51
they really MUST be
genuine Italian tomatoes.
00:13:56
But if the label says "Made
in Italy" or "Produced in Italy",
00:14:00
this only means that the
tomatoes were PROCESSED there.
00:14:03
Incidentally,
00:14:04
there’s no general
obligation to indicate
00:14:07
the origin of
processed products.
00:14:11
However, if the
packaging LOOKS Italian,
00:14:14
the origin of the main ingredient
must be stated at the very least.
00:14:19
If it says "non-EU", it could
well contain Chinese tomatoes.
00:14:28
And that could mean
long transportation routes,
00:14:31
higher pesticide volumes and poor
environmental and working conditions.
00:14:41
My search for the good
tomato is an arduous one.
00:14:44
After all, vegetable
farming in southern Europe
00:14:47
isn’t free of criticism.
00:14:49
In Almería, I’ve already seen
what our year-round appetite
00:14:53
for tomatoes means
for the environment.
00:14:55
But here too, working
conditions are often problematic.
00:15:01
Marcos from the Ecologistas en
Acción told us that in San Isidro,
00:15:06
a village not far from Almería,
00:15:08
there’s a street where all the
day laborers wait to be picked up.
00:15:12
We’re going there
to take a look.
00:15:15
There’s the odd
person standing around
00:15:17
mostly men.
00:15:19
Then I notice two
women at a traffic island
00:15:22
the camera will stay
inside the car for now.
00:15:25
Hola! Buenos días!
00:15:26
I meet Nadja from Morocco
00:15:29
who tells me her story.
00:15:32
Are you working here?
00:15:34
Yes, we work with tomatoes.
00:15:36
And what’s the work like?
00:15:37
It’s a lot of work, it’s
hard, for not much money.
00:15:42
We don’t have any papers…
00:15:46
What about a contract?
00:15:48
No, no contracts.
00:15:51
Nadja’s story is one
shared by many here.
00:15:54
Most laborers come
from North Africa.
00:15:57
Nadja studied mathematics,
but couldn’t find a job.
00:16:05
I was a great student!
00:16:08
And now life is like this.
00:16:13
Now I rent and live in
a garage with my son.
00:16:17
Who wants that?
00:16:18
There’s nothing there!
00:16:21
No shower, kitchen, rooms…
00:16:28
Nadja’s words shock
me; I feel helpless.
00:16:32
And she’s not an isolated case.
00:16:34
A group of men is
standing on a street
00:16:36
that leads directly
to the greenhouses.
00:16:39
I decide to wait and
see what happens.
00:16:43
Soon enough, minibuses
arrive and pick up the laborers.
00:16:48
The men who get in are lucky:
00:16:50
work means money, food.
00:16:53
I talk to the others:
00:16:54
they come from Mali,
Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast.
00:16:59
They don’t have
papers, or rights.
00:17:01
They’re asking around,
looking for money
00:17:03
and work.
00:17:06
I’m really sorry, I
don’t have a job for you.
00:17:16
Cheap labor that
isn’t meant to be seen.
00:17:19
The migrants live close to the
greenhouses in makeshift settlements.
00:17:25
I meet Miguel Carmona from
the rural workers' union in Almería
00:17:29
an organization defending the
rights of agricultural laborers.
00:17:36
Hey!
00:17:37
What’s up?
00:17:39
Look what I’ve brought you!
00:17:41
I’m here to bring
you some potatoes.
00:17:43
These are my friends from Ghana.
00:17:47
In my view they’re the
population most represented here.
00:17:52
Personally, I don’t think
they should be here.
00:17:55
They come here to die.
00:18:01
Because life’s so hard?
00:18:02
Yes
00:18:04
And why do they come?
00:18:06
They come for economic reasons.
00:18:08
Their own economies
are disappearing.
00:18:12
We all know what’s happening
in sub-Saharan Africa.
00:18:15
In Senegal, for example, fish is
one of the country's main products.
00:18:22
But the EU fleet also
fishes off the coast there,
00:18:25
bringing the local fishing
industry to a standstill.
00:18:28
That's why they leave.
00:18:33
Nearly one thousand
people live here.
00:18:36
There’s no electricity,
00:18:37
running water or sanitary facilities
across the entire settlement.
00:18:42
This worker shares the
house with another person;
00:18:45
some live as large family
groups in cramped conditions.
00:18:49
The worker was very friendly
and showed us his home,
00:18:52
it’s one of the better houses
because it’s built of stone,
00:18:55
but we’re also seeing
shelters made of plastic
00:18:58
it’s a very surreal place,
there’s a strong smell,
00:19:02
it’s dark and cold, it’s
humid in here and yes
00:19:06
it’s quite shocking.
00:19:13
Miguel shows me the much
less robust homes constructed
00:19:16
from palettes and
greenhouse tarpaulins.
00:19:20
People often tap powerlines
00:19:22
but that can be dangerous:
00:19:23
fires regularly break out,
with serious consequences.
00:19:28
If there’s ever a fire here,
00:19:30
the authorities clear and cover the
areas to make them uninhabitable,
00:19:34
so people won’t come back.
00:19:36
They want them to disperse.
00:19:38
They don’t want the
people here to be seen.
00:19:43
That’s crazy…
00:19:44
Yes, crazy…
00:19:46
Many people live in
constant fear of eviction:
00:19:49
in 2023, an illegal settlement
with over 500 residents
00:19:53
was razed to the ground.
00:19:56
Although some public money
has been used to build apartments,
00:19:59
these are still
unfinished, says Miguel.
00:20:05
In places like these there
are people without papers.
00:20:08
There’s an economic
incentive to keep it that way...
00:20:10
Because they’re cheaper…
00:20:13
They can pay them less.
00:20:14
But it’s not just the workers who
are illegal, the greenhouses are too.
00:20:19
They just build
them without permits.
00:20:21
Neither the construction
nor the irrigation is allowed
00:20:24
there’s no water here.
00:20:25
And nobody cares either.
00:20:27
It’s all illegal
00:20:28
the greenhouses,
the workers, the wages
00:20:31
everything!
00:20:32
They’re stealing from the
state; they don’t pay any taxes.
00:20:41
A system, under
which those here suffer.
00:20:44
The people living
here are friendly,
00:20:46
they talk about their problems,
families and homelands.
00:20:50
But one resident follows
us, asking for money.
00:20:54
When we don’t give
him any, he gets angry.
00:21:00
No one can film here.
00:21:01
Listen to what I’m saying.
00:21:03
Leave, now!
00:21:08
To prevent the situation from getting
out of hand, we do precisely that.
00:21:17
Inhumane living conditions,
environmental pollution,
00:21:21
social exploitation.
00:21:24
Despite several
requests from us,
00:21:27
the Spanish authorities
refused to comment.
00:21:33
Almería is a surreal place.
00:21:35
Here, plastic dominates the
landscape and people suffer
00:21:38
so that tomatoes can
be produced cheaply.
00:21:43
So what now?
00:21:44
Tomatoes imported from Spain
00:21:46
difficult situation.
00:21:47
Canned tomatoes?
00:21:49
Scrutinize the label.
00:21:50
What’s the situation
in other EU countries?
00:21:54
For example, many tomatoes in
Germany come from the Netherlands.
00:21:57
With their seemingly
infinite monocultures.
00:22:00
It’s a highly efficient sector.
00:22:03
Most Dutch tomatoes wind
up as exports to Germany.
00:22:06
In 2023, just under
330 Thousand tons.
00:22:11
Transportation
distances are short,
00:22:13
but their cultivation consumes
huge amounts of energy,
00:22:17
especially in the winter months.
00:22:20
Most of the greenhouses
are still heated with fossil fuels
00:22:23
such as natural gas.
00:22:25
As a result, the Dutch greenhouse
tomato has a carbon footprint
00:22:29
around 10 times larger than
that of a tomato from the south
00:22:33
despite the long
transportation distances.
00:22:37
Here, there’s only
enough natural light
00:22:40
and warmth from
July to September.
00:22:43
During these months,
00:22:44
tomatoes from Central
Europe are more
00:22:46
climate-friendly than
those from Spain,
00:22:48
for example.
00:22:52
An alternative could be cleaner
energy sources for greenhouses, right?
00:23:00
In southern Germany, Wolfgang
Steiner thinks he’s found a solution
00:23:05
geothermal energy.
00:23:12
We want an average
daytime temperature
00:23:14
of between 18
and 21 degrees.
00:23:16
When the nights are cool, we
require a huge amount of energy.
00:23:20
You could say that a comparable
greenhouse would need
00:23:23
around one thousand
liters of heating
00:23:24
oil per hour in
the cold season.
00:23:29
But our big advantage is
that we heat our greenhouses
00:23:31
with geothermal energy,
no fossil fuels are used.
00:23:36
The greenhouse is warmed
by heat from the earth's interior:
00:23:40
But even this method is
not without controversy;
00:23:43
it’s been linked to
induced seismicity.
00:23:47
Steiner uses a closed
irrigation system for cultivation
00:23:50
and the plants are
grown in substrate
00:23:52
to increase yields.
00:23:59
I’m convinced that
protected cultivation
00:24:01
will be one of the pillars ensuring
or guaranteeing food security here,
00:24:07
even when we’re affected by
climate change and natural disasters.
00:24:14
Is the cheap imported
tomato a threat?
00:24:19
Well, of course that’s always an
issue when tomatoes are available
00:24:23
in Germany for less than half
the price of locally-grown ones,
00:24:28
but in my view, consumers
aren’t being made fully aware
00:24:32
of the totally different social and
environmental standards in place here.
00:24:38
But heating with deep geothermal
energy isn’t possible everywhere.
00:24:42
Only a few sites
have been developed
00:24:44
for such projects
in Germany.
00:24:48
Tomato plants must be regularly
tied up and the side shoots trimmed.
00:24:54
These steps are necessary
for good plant growth.
00:25:01
So how can I plant
good tomatoes at home?
00:25:04
Do you have any tips?
00:25:06
Choose a good variety, make
sure that it’s blight resistant.
00:25:10
And above all, don't
over-water them.
00:25:16
The tomato:
00:25:17
sweet and juicy.
00:25:19
But with a
bitter-tasting backstory.
00:25:25
The truly sustainable
tomato still remains elusive.
00:25:31
For me, the only true solution
is the one I’ve got right here…
