La Tomatina, a Spanish festival - now in INDIA... All over India!
I have taken the time to review the other side of this fun-filled event in case it happens in India.
- Squeeze the life out of them - Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it and a household is food secure when they do not have the threat of starvation. Approx. 25% of the world’s hungry people live in India (approx. 230 million) and around 43% of children under five years old suffer from malnutrition and yet we want to throw tomatoes at each other?
(Source: http://www.truthabouttrade.org/news/latest-news/18380
- Why just tomatoes? - While people across the street beg for one appropriate meal a day and yet get nothing and there’ll be tomatoes being thrown, that is not the only resource that will be wasted. If this festival picks up, they’ll be a wastage of water to clean the mess afterwards (lesser water for the rest of the city), is that fair?
- They call ‘em rotten - The organisers of the festival have claimed that they’ll use tomatoes that are unfit for consumption. The question is how does one define unfit for consumption? Does it mean rotten, infested or ‘an excuse to throw them around’? When the organisers were asked what does unfit mean and where would they source these tomatoes from, they said they’ll come out with a press release. With the festival 10 days from now, still no answers!
- Jai jawaan, jai kisaan, bhaad mein jaaye bhooka insaan? - A contradiction to their own statement about ‘unfit for consumption’ tomatoes, the organisers have claimed that they are organising this festival because farmers in Kolar had to throw away a bumper crop due to fall in prices. So according to them, the solution in this case is to buy tomatoes and throw them at each other so the mis-lead youth and unfortunate farmer are happy while the hungry are still hungry and this solution is better than buying those tomatoes at a fair price and feed the needy? In a country with more than 200 million hungry people, buy the existing food crop, give it to the upper and middle class people, squish them, throw them and let the hungry die?
- Dude, what’s the occassion? - With a successful ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ promoting Spain and its culture, the organisers decided to replicate the festival in India (and this is not the only one). Spain, being a developed country, hosts this festival in only one city once a year because of cultural reasons and historical association. India, being a developing country, we will have one in every city because we believe in our rights that come with money.
- Lack of Transparency - The organisers have failed to communicate on many issues n a transparent manner. For example, the organisers have made such promises “La Tomatina™ will ensure that a part of the earnings are donated to NGO's or Foundations which feed the needy. Details will be posted once things are concrete”. These promises are vague and there are no details given of any NGO’s or organisations.
We should all protest against this event for them.
Images sourced from the internet. From topnews.in, themedguru.com, outlookindia.com, toostep.com
I have taken the time to review the other side of this fun-filled event in case it happens in India.
- Squeeze the life out of them - Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it and a household is food secure when they do not have the threat of starvation. Approx. 25% of the world’s hungry people live in India (approx. 230 million) and around 43% of children under five years old suffer from malnutrition and yet we want to throw tomatoes at each other?
(Source: http://www.truthabouttrade.org/news/latest-news/18380
- Why just tomatoes? - While people across the street beg for one appropriate meal a day and yet get nothing and there’ll be tomatoes being thrown, that is not the only resource that will be wasted. If this festival picks up, they’ll be a wastage of water to clean the mess afterwards (lesser water for the rest of the city), is that fair?
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| Protesting against La Tomatina |
- Jai jawaan, jai kisaan, bhaad mein jaaye bhooka insaan? - A contradiction to their own statement about ‘unfit for consumption’ tomatoes, the organisers have claimed that they are organising this festival because farmers in Kolar had to throw away a bumper crop due to fall in prices. So according to them, the solution in this case is to buy tomatoes and throw them at each other so the mis-lead youth and unfortunate farmer are happy while the hungry are still hungry and this solution is better than buying those tomatoes at a fair price and feed the needy? In a country with more than 200 million hungry people, buy the existing food crop, give it to the upper and middle class people, squish them, throw them and let the hungry die?
- Dude, what’s the occassion? - With a successful ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ promoting Spain and its culture, the organisers decided to replicate the festival in India (and this is not the only one). Spain, being a developed country, hosts this festival in only one city once a year because of cultural reasons and historical association. India, being a developing country, we will have one in every city because we believe in our rights that come with money.
- Lack of Transparency - The organisers have failed to communicate on many issues n a transparent manner. For example, the organisers have made such promises “La Tomatina™ will ensure that a part of the earnings are donated to NGO's or Foundations which feed the needy. Details will be posted once things are concrete”. These promises are vague and there are no details given of any NGO’s or organisations.
We should all protest against this event for them.
Images sourced from the internet. From topnews.in, themedguru.com, outlookindia.com, toostep.com
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