La Tomatina, A Food Fun or Food Wastage? -

La Tomatina is a famous annual festival held in the town of Buñol near Valencia in the south east of Spain. La Tomatina is a fun food fight, in which participants throw overripe tomatoes at one another. The fight starts at 11 in the morning and lasts for an hour. During this time, lorries make their way through the the town square distributing approximately 120 tons of tomatoes. The crowd start throwing tomatoes at each other and the fight starts.

History of La Tomatina

There is no one story on the origin of the festival. Some stories tell that the event started in 1945 as a joke of cheeky children causing chaos by throwing tomatoes. Another rumoured that the fight have begun as a food fight between friends during a parade, which escalated as a participant fell into a vegetable stand, provoking an outburst of tomato throwing among the crowd. A third story associates the fight to a political story of the townspeople being angry with the government. All stories agree that there was an argument before the fight. Originally, An act of rebellion against the oppressive ruling class has now transformed into a beloved tradition that showcases Spanish resilience and spirit.

Rules of La Tomatina

Every year on the last Wednesday of August, people come from different places around the world to take part in the world biggest food fight. While the concept of Tomatina may seem like pure chaos, there are strict rules that are followed during the festival to ensure the safety and enjoyment of everyone involved. It’s important to note that due to the overwhelming popularity of the festival, Buñol has implemented a ticketing system to control the number of attendees. Also, few rules and regulations are need to be adhered to during La Tomatina to ensure that the maximum number of people get the maximum enjoyment from the day.

What to Expect During Tomatina

It takes roughly an hour by bus to reach Buñol from Valencia. All festival tickets purchased via the La Tomatina website now include return same-day bus transport from destinations also including Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Almería, Benidorm, Dénia, Calpe and Cartagena, so you can just come for the day if you like.

Where should I stay?

You can also book hostel and hotel accommodations through the La Tomatina website if you are keen to mingle with other punters. If you are travelling independently, consider staying in Buñol for the week-long celebration, which involves music, dancing, parades and fireworks. The night before the fight, a paella cooking competition is held. Book as early as possible to secure accommodation here.

Is la Tomatina a food fun or food wastage?

Opinions on whether the festival is a wasteful use of food resources remain divided. The festival is condemned by some to be a messy affront to millions of people in which tons of tomatoes are used solely at the event leading to a significant amount of food wastage. Others justify their opinion by telling that the festival promotes tourism and local economy.

According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations 1.3 Billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year. The World Food Program (WFP) suggests there are 821 million people sleeping each night on an empty stomach. So whilst our planet produces enough food to feed everyone, still people starve and food wastage continues to be a serious global problem that requires urgent attention.

The world messiest food fight of La Tomatina is often targeted by activists as one of those events. The locals in Bunol do not see their famous Tomato Fight to be part of the problem. In 2016, the Bunol Mayor, Rafa Prez Gil, noted that the tomatoes used in the annual festival are of such low quality they are inedible and are also on the turn and about to rot, certainly not fit for humans to consume. This means there is zero chance these tomatoes could be used to combat hunger in a traditional sense.