Why I want to stop ‘tomatoflation’ – and end Big Tallahassee’s war on Florida’s workforce

July 9, 2026 by David Silverberg, candidate for Florida Senate, District 28

Consider the humble tomato.

When it comes to Florida and the 28th Senate District, consisting of Collier, Hendry and eastern Lee County, there’s nothing humble about it. Tomatoes pack a wallop.

In the United States overall, the planting, picking, processing and selling of tomatoes is a $6 billion industry. Americans eat an average of 19.1 pounds of tomatoes a year and the United States is responsible for 25 percent of worldwide tomato consumption. After potatoes, tomatoes are the second most-consumed foodstuff (and I’m not going to get into the vegetable vs. fruit controversy!).

Florida and California account for two-thirds of the country’s fresh tomatoes.

Collier County produces an estimated 7 percent to 10 percent of the entire US fresh-market tomato supply, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Over 15,000 acres of Collier County is dedicated to tomato farming, That’s nearly 61 percent of all the vegetable acreage in the county. Hendry County is also one of the top tomato packing counties in the state.

The town of Immokalee is the center of Collier County’s tomato production. In tomato-picking season, county residents can see massive trucks full of newly-picked and still-green tomatoes rumbling down Immokalee Road.

But like every other grocery item, the price of tomatoes has gone up in Florida. In fact, it’s so bad there’s even a name for it: ‘tomatoflation.’

There’s a lot of reasons that the price of tomatoes – along with all our other food – has gone up.

There are natural causes like bad weather, freezes and hurricanes. There are also pests and plant diseases.

There’s national factors. Trump’s war with Iran is driving up gas prices and that in turn drives up the cost of transportation, along with every other gasoline-related expense. Trump has also imposed irrational and unpredictable tariffs on imports of foreign tomatoes, which are an important part of Florida’s tomato industry. (Trump did this in his first term too. See: Trump tariff tantrum targets typical taxpayers—and tomatoes.)

These factors hit consumers in the grocery cart.

Those factors are largely beyond the control of state authorities and politicians. But then there are the made-in-Florida factors that are self-imposed and self-destructive. I’m talking about the governor and legislature, what I call “Big Tallahassee,” and their war on the workforce that picks these tomatoes.

For the past eight years Big Tallahassee has been waging war on Florida’s workforce. Whether they’re migrants or fully documented immigrants, Big Tallahassee has been trying to drive out the workers who pick our fruits and vegetables – as well as build and maintain our homes, staff our hotels and restaurants, serve as our first responders, are on the front lines of disaster cleanup and run so many of our businesses.

Hate drives up prices.

Thanks to Big Tallahassee, Florida today is perhaps the country’s most hostile state toward everyone else in the world. It’s not just farm workers, it’s also hostility to foreign tourists and visitors who drive our economy, as evidenced by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call to have foreigners bear the brunt of Florida’s need for tax revenue.

It’s hostility toward all immigrants. Trump, DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, people in charge of the Department of Homeland Security and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arm smear all immigrants as the “worst of the worst.” In the 19th Congressional District, the advertising of Republican congressional candidates employ hateful, bigoted portrayals of all immigrants.

(When I told candidate James Oberweis in person that his advertising was “over the top” and divisive, he responded that “we’re just having fun.”)

The targets of all this hatred, bigotry and rage are people who, in the vast majority work hard, provide essential goods and services at reasonable cost, start businesses and keep Florida innovative and entrepreneurial.

And we’re paying the price at the dinner table and in the grocery cart. That’s a major reason for tomatoflation.

If I’m elected to the state Senate I intend to do everything I can to stop these hateful, divisive, self-destructive, self-defeating assaults on our neighbors. The haters may smear all immigrants as aliens but they’d be surprised how many are citizens, taxpayers and legitimate, legal voters.

I prefer to stand with President George Washington, who wrote that the United States “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance” and asks only that those who live under American protection give the country their effective support.

That certainly describes the vast majority of Southwest Floridians, whether native-born or of foreign origin. The hate has to stop.

And for those unmoved by the need for simple decency and respect for our fellow Floridians, here’s something you might find more compelling: this hate is costing us all money, every day, in every way.

I want a Florida without this kind of hate. I want Florida to be affordable again for all of us.

And I want my tomatoes to be reasonably priced. I’m sure you do too.

My name is David Silverberg and you can go to my website, Silverberg4Florida.com to learn more.

I hope you agree with me and that you’ll donate, volunteer and most importantly of all, vote for me, David Silverberg, in the general election on November 3rd.

In the meantime, be well, be strong – and happy eating!

This message is approved by David Silverberg and the David Silverberg4Florida campaign.

See Silverberg4Florida.com for more positions and opportunities to volunteer.

To donate to the campaign, please click here.