Ruling party MP slams Spain’s tomato fight festival for 'wasting food'

ISTANBUL

eople lay in a puddle squashed tomatoes, during the annual 'tomatina' tomato fight fiesta in the village of Bunol, Aug. 27. AP Photo

A leading member of the Turkish government has slammed the famous tomato-crushing festival in Spain, Tomatino.

“God, give them reason! Spain organizes a tomato festival alongside bull fights. Some 140 tons of tomatoes were wasted this year. What about the hungry people in the world?” Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Burhan Kuzu tweeted Aug. 29.

Kuzu is a veteran lawyer, the chair of Parliament’s Constitution Conciliation Commission, and a key player in drafting constitutional amendments. It is expected that he will retain his role as the AKP continues in its attempts to draft a new Constitution.

Tomatina, a festival that draws thousands each year, is known as “the world’s biggest food fight.” Organized in the Spanish town of Bunol, this year’s event attracted over 22,000 people on Aug. 27, including many foreign tourists. Revellers glugged pints of beer and sangria until trucks loaded with 125,000 tomatoes rolled through Bunol’s narrow streets.