Have We Really Become This Lazy?

Quite true...I use San Marzanos all the time and can put together a really nice pomodoro sauce in about 20 minutes. Will it be as good as a Sunday ragu that simmers all day? certainly not, but it will be a nice fresh sauce that's easy to make from an excellent canned product. 

Canned tomatoes today are actually fresher than market tomatoes if you think about processing times...they are picked and wind up processed and in a can before the day is out. The ones you get at the market have been hanging around for days at least. 

 

One thing is for sure, for much of the year, especially during the winter months, the "fresh" tomatoes at the store are not great at all. If one is diligent, s/he can check the labels and do comparisons to find some very canned good tomatoes with no artifical additives etc. It's not very difficult to read lables and choose wholesome foods - and as Daikon and Dave said, they certainly exist and in many cases are even desireable. I know that when we go to Great Falls or Billings, I stock up on canned San Marzanos; my wife hates the cost (nearly 4 dollars for a 28- or 32-ounce can), but she sure enjoys the sauce that they make.

 

As has been pointed out, canned foods may not always be the preferred method, but they do have their place and can be classified as a legitimate convenience, in very sharp contrast to some of the other examples that have been enumerated.

 

Moving along......