Have you ever seen a Tom and Jerry cartoon in which the naughty mouse throws a pie at Tom, smack on his face? Tom then retaliates by throwing other food items across the room and soon the entire house is in a state of sticky mess. Or various movies where actors throw pies, cakes, popcorn or spaghetti at each other and then slip and slide over the squishy mess?

You might be surprised to know that such food fights do not happen in cartoons and movies only.

Every year, in many countries, people gather in thousands to throw food at each other and have epic food fights which could involve oranges, tomatoes, grapes, custard pies, eggs, flour and candies. Throwing food items at each other in the streets, getting drenched, diving and even swimming in the pulpy mess and having loads of fun, are the elements that define these global food fight festivals.

However, ethically, food should not be wasted in this manner. It is disrespect to something that so many people around the world can’t have three times a day. In our society and religion, food is highly respected and is never meant to be thrown in any way unless it is unfit for human consumption.

So, keep in mind that this article isn’t meant to encourage anyone to throw food. It is only an information-based piece exploring the weird traditions related to food-throwing battles that take place annually around the world. It is just to make you better informed about the world at large and not to influence you to do the same.

La Tomatina — tomato fight

When: Last Wednesday of every August

Where: Bunol town, Valencia region, Spain

Thousands of people from all over the world gather every year to participate in the La Tomatina festival. The festival features traditional food, music, fireworks, dancing and, above all, tomatoes.

Almost 110 tonnes of tomatoes are brought to the town in trucks and people hurl squished tomatoes at each other. The streets turn red with tomato pulp and everyone joins in the fun. A fleet of fire trucks is used to spray the streets with water after the festival is over.

The Spanish La Tomatina festival has inspired similar events in many other parts of the world, but the most famous ones are La Tomatina en Reno in USA and La Tomatina, in Sutamarchan, Colombia.

The battle of the oranges

When: February

Where: Ivrea, Italy

Battaglia delle Arance is a three-day Italian festival, celebrated in Ivrea, Northern Italy to commemorate the town’s defiance against a local tyrant in the 12th century.

People divide themselves into teams representing the town folks, who are on foot, and the tyrant’s soldiers who ride carts. The oranges represent the medieval weapons and stones that were thrown towards the soldiers during the rebellion. The mock battles are fought fiercely and it is not surprising that people are smothered in the pulpy fruit by the end of the day.

War of the grapes

When: September

Where: Mallorca, Spain

This battle involves big, juicy grapes. For La Festa des Vermar, you will have to travel to the town of Binissalem in Spain, where people celebrate the end of the grapes harvest with a wild festival that involves grape throwing, grape crushing, grape stomping and colourful parades. People usually end up splattered with grape juice from head to toe.

The Greek flour war

When: February/March

Where: Galaxidi, Greece

This is a 200-year-old festival that is celebrated every year. People bombard each other with bags of flour tinted with food colour, turning streets into battle zones. Participants end up looking like ghosts, though most of the buildings and landmarks are covered with plastic so that the colours wouldn’t ruin them.

The custard pie war

When: June

Where: Kent, England

If you want to see Team Till-I-Pie battle it out with the ferocious Custard Pie-rates or Clash of the Pietans hurl pies at Custardy Battle, where The World Custard Pie Championship is held every year.

The event, inspired by Charlie Chaplin movies, started as a way of raising funds for the Coxheath Village Hall some 50 years ago, but has now evolved into a mega tournament attracting teams from across the globe.

Each team consists of four members who get points depending on how well they throw a pie and where it hits their opponent. Players can hurl the pies only with their left hands and a pie in the face gets the maximum six points. People dress in colourful costumes and the competition is usually very fierce.

The meringue war

When: February

Where: Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain

People in Spain just don’t get tired of food fights! If they are not throwing tomatoes or grapes, they are having a sweet and sticky fiesta that involves throwing meringue pies and candies at each other.

The festival started as a simple carnival that involved street performers, jugglers and musicians, but is now a full-blown event spread over several days. Seems like a young child’s dream event, but I am not sure how dentists feel about La Merengada festival where people first throw meringue pies at each other and then toss candies for the Batalla de Carmelos, the candy fight.

Els Enfarinats

When: December 28th

Where: Ibi, Spain

This is a 200-year-old festival in which the citizens dress up as soldiers and take over the town. They pass many ridiculous laws and fine citizens who infringe them.

Another group battles the ‘regime’ with flour and eggs to regain control of the town. All the fines raised go to charity. Firecrackers also add noise and colour to the festivities.

The great fruitcake toss, USA

This competition is not as messy as the earlier ones, but involves throwing fruitcakes as far as possible across an empty field. It may sound like a crazy thing to do, but at Manitou Springs, Colorado in USA, this is a massive cake-throwing contest with many categories.

Cakes can be tossed with catapults, giant slingshots, cannons, pressurised air guns and all sorts of gadgets. The entry fee is a canned tin of food which goes to the local charity. Don’t have a fruit cake? Don’t worry as you can get them on rent too.

The bean festival

When: February

Where: Japan

The Japanese mark the beginning of spring season with Setsubun, also known as the Bean-Throwing Festival. The ritual is believed to cleanse away any evil from the previous year. The mame maki or “bean-scattering” ritual involves throwing roasted soybeans out of the front doors of homes or at family members, to drive away evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health.

Plenty of beans get eaten too for good health and prosperity. Celebrities, politicians, athletes and sumo wrestlers join thousands of people in various temples all over Japan for the festivities.

Are food fights a colossal waste of food? The opinion is quite divided.

On one hand, there are millions of people who are food deprived and are starving in war-torn regions, so it seems shameful to indulge in such festivals. On the other hand, the people who celebrate these fiestas with great fervour feel that such festivals are good for local tourism and economy. They are also a great way to celebrate historical and cultural events. What do you think?

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 30th, 2018