Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants use the enzyme Salicylic Acid Carboxyl Methyl Transferase (SAMT) to convert the defense hormone salicylic acid (SA) into its volatile methyl ester, methyl salicylate (MeSA). In this issue, Sorg et al. report that expression of SAMT is induced in response to herbivory. They used overexpressing and antisense tomato lines to demonstrate that SAMT plays a multipronged role in defending tomato plants against insect pests. This role includes a direct deterrent effect of MeSA towards insect pests, and indirect impacts on plant defense signaling and phytochemical defense production. This enzyme therefore plays an important role in insect resistance in tomato.