The Empire of The Red Gold | Inside the Tomato Economy | Labor and Industry

The world’s most consumed fruit has an untold story. The industrialization of the humble tomato preceded the globalized economy that was to follow. It is now as much of a commodity as wheat, rice, or petrol. The tomato’s ability to create strongly identifiable products, such as ketchup, pizza sauce, soups, sauces, drinks or frozen dishes is unbeatable.

The Empire of Red Gold
Year: 2017
Duration: 55 mins
Production: LITTLE BIG STORY
Director: XAVIER DELEU & JEAN-BAPTISTE MALET
Language: English
Country of production: France & Canada
Filming locations: Canada, France, China, Italy, United States, Ghana

As early as 1897, ten years before Ford started to mass produce cars, Heinz was already converting tomatoes into standardized cans of puree. They were one of the first companies to understand the power of branding. They banned unions, imposed uniform standards of production and established genetic laboratories that ensured identical tomato plantations all around the world.

From Ugihur tomato pickers in Xinjiang, China to tomato magnates in California, from Italian manufacturers to African producers, the history of the tomato and its international division of labour is an unexpected tale that unravels the complexity of our world. This documentary paints a picture of the economics behind the ruthless, unbounded tomato production industry, and introduces viewers to the realities of the American, Italian, French and Chinese manufacturers, as well as the proletarians working the fields – African migrants in Italy and internal migrant workers in China – without whom, there would be no processed tomato market.

Today, wherever you are in the world, you can eat the same tomatoes. This film will trace the journey of tomato paste from Africa, Italy, China and America to show the consequences of this global business.

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