Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why is capitalism failing us here? Why do we need to grow our own?
Simple: quality tomatoes are hard to transport and they don’t last when on the shelf. The closest thing to a “real” farm tomato you can buy at a reasonable price is “Kumato” from Trader Joe’s. It’s a pale imitation of a real tomato picked off the plant when it’s ripe, but at least it reminds me of it, whereas a “regular” store bought tomato doesn’t taste anything like the real thing.
Letting a tomato go fully ripe on the plant is an easy way to attract birds and lose a substantial amount of the crop. There’s no reason for it either. Once the tomato reaches the breaker stage (starting to change colour) it is internally cut off from the mother plant and will not be adversely affected by being harvested.