Unloved Vegetable Food Photo Contest

Okay, this is hilarious! The Canadian Organic Growers are holding an Unloved Vegetable Photo Contest. They're looking for print or digital depictions of twisty, wonky and weird fruit and vegetables.

Why? You ask. They write: "In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulates the quality of fruits and vegetables for sale. Carrots, for example, that are graded as either 'Canada No. 1' or 'Canada No. 2' cannot be seriously deformed like the one above. Europe has recently changed their marketing standards for 26 vegetables, meaning that more misshapen, wonky vegetables will be on grocers’ shelves."

Winners will be published in a 2010 Calendar and sold across Canada to support COG’s work. There will also be such prizes as a membership to Canadian Organic Growers, a copy of The Organic Companion: Gleanings from Canadian Organic Growers, gardening workshop admissions, or seeds. All rules and entry details are available at online. The deadline is October 1, 2009.

The image above, of a "cosmetically challenged carrot", was taken by Dave Keys of Ottawa. The misshapen yet athletic root was proudly grown by Laura Telford of Chelsea, Quebec.