World News for Students of English

26-09-2014 15:00

It was a protest that turned a little fruity—throwing tomatoes in protest against a Russian boycott of EU agriculture products.

“We organised this because of the Russian boycotts, our farmers they have a big problem because they cannot deliver their products anymore to Russia and we try to help them to collect enough money, because everybody that’s here, they pay 15 euros, so the money goes to the farmers that have the problem now.”

Around 2,000 people gathered at the main square in Amsterdam on September 14^th to join a massive tomato fight in support of the Dutch vegetable growers.

The popular Spanish La Tomatina festival inspired a few young Dutch entrepreneurs to organise Amsterdam’s very own version of the tomato fight, drawing attention to the situation of Dutch tomato farmers affected by Russian sanctions.

The Netherlands is one of the world’s largest agricultural exporters of tomatoes, potatoes and cucumbers.

Difficult words: boycott (act of stopping commercial relations with a country as a punishment), agriculture (farmed plants), massive (big), entrepreneur (person who sets up a business), sanction (punishment).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com