Food fight!(THE BIG PICTURE) (Netherlands' export of tomatoes to Russia) (Brief article)

A thousand Dutch teens and 20-somethings spent an hour last month pelting each other with 120,000 tomatoes. Why all the flying fruit? It was a protest against Russia's boycott of fresh produce from Europe, which is creating a surplus of overripe fruit and veggies.

It's not that Russia doesn't like tomatoes grown in the Netherlands. But Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to retaliate against the European Union. In March, Europe and the U.S. imposed trade sanctions on Russia for annexing Crimea and supporting pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine (see p. 17). Proceeds from the tomato fight-which was inspired by Spain's annual La Tomatina festival-went to Dutch tomato growers; the leftover sludge was used to make biogas, a renewable fuel produced by the breakdown of organic materials.

Though the food fight was meant as a protest, most participants just...