Watch the tomato war

On 30 August 2007, 40,000 Spaniards gathered in Buñol to throw 115,000 kg (254,000 lb) of tomatoes at each other in the yearly Tomatina festival.

In Ontario, Canada, member of provincial parliament Mike Colle named the tomato the official vegetable of the province and designated 15 July as Tomato Day under the Tomato Act in 2016.

Tomatoes have been designated the state vegetable of New Jersey. Arkansastook both sides by declaring the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato both the state fruit and the state vegetable in the same law, citing both its culinary and botanical classifications. In 2009, the state of Ohio passed a law making the tomato the state's official fruit. Tomato juice has been the official beverage of Ohio since 1965. A.W. Livingston, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, played a large part in popularizing the tomato in the late 19th century; his efforts are commemorated in Reynoldsburg with an annual Tomato Festival.

Flavr Savr was the first commercially grown genetically engineered food licensed for human consumption.

The town of Buñol, Spain, annually celebrates La Tomatina, a festival centered on an enormous tomato fight. Tomatoes are a popular "nonlethal" throwing weapon in mass protests, and there was a common tradition of throwing rotten tomatoes at bad performers on a stage during the 19th century; today this is usually referenced as a metaphor. Embracing it for this protest connotation, the Dutch Socialist party adopted the tomato as their logo.

The US city of Reynoldsburg, Ohio calls itself "The Birthplace of the Tomato", claiming the first commercial variety of tomato was bred there in the 19th century.

Several US states have adopted the tomato as a state fruit or vegetable.