Lettuce is a vehicle to transport refrigerated water from farm to table.

As someone who consumes on at least one salad a day, I found Tamar Haspel's article in the Washington Post an interesting read. He makes the case that lettuce and many other common salad vegetables are nothing more than water nutritionally. And, he argues that our agricultural land would be better used growing more calorie dense foods, such as corn, given the fact that there are so many of us on this planet to feed.

In the article, Mr. Haspel picks on chain restaurant salads in particular. But, as any self respecting dieter knows, restaurant salads are to be eaten with the dressing on the side, minus the tortilal chips and candied nuts. Plus, lettuce is not in salads for it's nutritional benefit. It's there for bulk, to help induce satiety.