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There are many, many Paleo recipes that call for canned tomatoes however most of them have sugar and stuff like calcium chloride. Why is this acceptable in the Paleo world?

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 You need to change grocery stores. Try Pomi brand or something organic in glass (BPA free is hard to find) – Shari Bambino Oct 12 at 22:24
Canned tomatoes have never been safe in my book due to bpa issues. Only eat them fresh in season. Yes, this only means Indian curries in summer :( second best option is crushed tomatoes in a bottle. – Grottenolm Oct 13 at 10:58

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Because every single time someone references an ingredient, they shouldn't have to specify you should use a high quality ingredient. Imagine how tedious recipes would be if it was "organic premium 100% grassfed 20% lean roughly ground chuck beef" or something, all the time instead of "ground beef."

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 Why not? Many people are not aware of the distinction. – meta Oct 13 at 2:17
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 If they're no aware of the distinction they're either to dumb or don't care enough about their health to be successful with a Paleo lifestyle. – borofergie Oct 13 at 2:55
I suppose it takes one to know one, eh? – meta Oct 13 at 4:05
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Read the labels. There are plenty out there that don't contain questionable ingredients.

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It's acceptable because people have busy lives, and telling someone to chop or boil and peel 10 tomatoes can sometimes be overwhelming. Also, there are good, organic versions out there that are probably fine to consume.

Please note that tomatoes themselves have a lot of sugar in them. A single tomato might have 2-4g of sugar. A cup of chopped tomatoes, with nothing else added probably has close to 10g of sugar.

Also, Calcium chloride is just a cheap source of "salt" which helps to enhance the shelf life without adding sodium to the nutrition label. This is GRAS and maybe in the organic tomatoes too.

For me, I chop my own tomatoes because I mostly eat the ones I grow. The only thing that comes from a can is tomato paste.

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Calcium chloride is added less for cheap salt flavor or shelf life extension (there's not much that's cheaper than regular salt) and more as a firming agent, so things like diced tomatoes (and many other vegetables) retain their shape and some texture after canning. It takes a vanishingly small amount in a can/jar of tomatoes. Often crushed or sauced tomatoes don't have it, since they're not supposed to be firm. – Christopher Gagnon Oct 13 at 13:14
Calcium chloride is less than half the cost of sea salt and almost 15% less than table salt. But yes, the sodium breaks downtempo cellular walls whereas he calcium removes moisture with degrading he cellular structure. – CD Oct 13 at 17:31
+1 for busy lives. i don't understand why people can't wrap their heads around the fact that everybody can't spend every waking second worrying about their food choices. – jake Oct 14 at 0:22
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All the ones I see suggest organic canned tomatoes at places like Trader Joes.

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I haven't seen a lot of tomatoes with sugar in them (unless you count the natural sugar on the nutrition label.). Calcium chloride is a Preservative, so something to be avoided but not totally verboten.

I use canned tomato occasionally because of the BPA issue.

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Calcium chloride is a firming agent, not really a preservative. Salt and sugar are preservatives, however, as is acid. It might not be accurate to say "to be avoided," as a blanket statement, but there might be good reasons to avoid some/many of them. – Christopher Gagnon Oct 13 at 13:18
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I'm so used to substituting the best versions of everything, I hardly pay attention. And I avoid tomato from a can because of the BPA issue. You can find it in a jar or tube. Or just chop your own.

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An excellent observation.

It's not acceptable by everyone. Certainly not by those who understand that the nutrient density loss due to modern methods of food production and distribution is extraordinary. A modern tomato from supermarkets is little more than a red water balloon these days.

Also, added sugar does not equate to the sugars found in the fruit. They are metabolically handled very, very differently. The same goes for salt and other additives.

However, it does come down to convenience, availability and economics. Try to make informed choices by increasing your knowledge.

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I don't see why people even use canned tomatoes. Slicing and dicing 4-5 tomatoes takes 2 minutes you could save, but if you're already cooking, it's time you would otherwise spend waiting or doing something else related to cooking. Fresh tomatoes taste better, and are healthier, and don't come with BPA.

It's a no brainer.

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 If you don't want the skins, which can get leathery in cooking, then it takes longer than two minutes. Also, cooking time is shortened, since they're pre-cooked. Tomatoes out of season aren't worth eating, whereas canned tomatoes are processed when ripe, so the flavor can be superior. Once upon a time, home-canned tomatoes were the only kind available off-season. If one likes canned tomatoes (I love the flavor of good ones) and chooses those without BPA, I don't see a reason not to use them. – Christopher Gagnon Oct 13 at 13:29
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 Canned tomatoes also don't go bad on my shelf like fresh tomatoes do. It's very nice to have a convenient storage of canned tomatoes for when I need them. Since I don't eat tomatoes on their own very often, I would have to remember to buy them for the specific recipe each time--yeah, that isn't happening. – Joseph S. Oct 13 at 19:52

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