Topic: UN Launches Potato Photography Contest

[Columbus]

Hi all, I think we would have some good photos for this.  :)

UN Launches Potato Photography Contest
This is reported on sky news website,

Photographers who know their King Edward from their Maris Piper are being urged to take part in a competition to find the best images of the humble potato.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-1309035,00.html

Good luck, Col

[kenkew]

I would have thought the United Nations organisation would do better spending their time and money where it mattered.
Showing the starving nations of the world photographs of food isn't my idea of supplying aid and certainly won't help those people with next years crop!

[Columbus]

Hi all, Hi Kenkew  :)

However many times I read this information I don`t see that the intention is simply to
 ... show the starving nations of the world photographs of food. Although just giving a bag of seed potatoes wouldn`t be sufficient either.
This seems to be part of a long term development project that might help some people ...

The International Year of Potato aims at raising the profile of this globally important food crop and commodity, giving emphasis to its biological and nutritional attributes, and thus promoting its production, processing, consumption, marketing and trade. Celebration of IYP 2008 is an opportunity to make a valid and effective contribution towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals:

Potatoes feed the hungry
The potato should be a major component in strategies aimed at providing nutritious food for the poor and hungry. It is ideally suited to places where land is limited and labour is abundant, conditions that characterize much of the developing world. The potato produces more nutritious food more quickly, on less land, and in harsher climates than any other major crop - up to 85 percent of the plant is edible human food, compared to around 50% in cereals.

http://www.potato2008.org/en/aboutiyp/index.html

To alleviate hunger and poverty around the world, FAO and UN specialized agencies said food and agricultural production should be increased by 60 per cent over the current food availability, and potato plays an important role.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/126852.html

I`m sure we can all support the Millennium Development Goals on the IYP website.

Col

[caroline7758]

And it's sponsored by Nikon so it's not UN money being wasted.

If you fancy entering, details are here:

http://www.potato2008.org/en/photocontest/rules.html

[Jeannine]

I think if I was  hungry and someone showed me some pictures of a veggie I knew little about and was nervous of, it might take the fear out of trying it.

If  spuds all died tomorrow how many of us would immediately turn to taro without being unsure in the beginning, even if someone told us it would be good.

We might if there was a lot of focus on it.

Worth a thought!!

XX Jeannine

[caroline7758]

Just heard a headline on Radio 4 about some kind of bug or disease threatening the global wheat crop, so it might happen sooner than we think! :(