2012 Frankenfood Carving and Costume Contest ? Biology Fortified ...

Hello everyone! Frank N. Foode? here, ready to bring in the Hallo-weeny Cheer! October is closing fast, important elections are around the corner, and the fourth birthday of the Biofortified Blog is also coming up. For many, it is a very scary time.

Well here?s something to cheer you up? how about our 3rd annual Frankenfood Carving and Costume Contest? Oh yeah, break out your gene guns, it?s time to make us some monsters!

The Biofortified Blog was founded on October 31st, 2008 ? Halloween. For our first birthday, our readers helped us win a nice little contest that got the blog going. Each year after that, we turned it around and hosted a contest of our own. Not just limited to carving pumpkins ? we want you to think outside the pepo and concoct some creations fit for the mad scientist labs that we know you all work in. Is the genetic diversity of pumpkins too limiting? Add some bell pepper parts, or lemongrass stalks to the mix! Genetically engineer your own super-crops and bring them to light with a candle flame (or thermite reaction if that?s your thing)! Feel free to mix and match the plants that you put together for your carving.

Or, if genetically engineering plants is not your thing ? I bet that you wish you had a few personal enhancements to your human frame. Instead of carving a pumpkin, eggplant, or Palmer amaranth, why not dress yourself up as an eggplant, amaranth, or other food? You can enter the contest with any food or agriculture-themed costume instead! Dress up as a crazy chef, a plant breeder (they should all be famous), or a Caprese salad ? the world is your oyster (and you can be one too)!

Here are the rules:

• This contest is open to everyone ? you need not have ever commented on the blog before the day you enter in the contest. But, you will need to register for the blog to enter, and have a photo attached to your profile. You can upload one, or use Gravatar.
• Carve any fruit, vegetable, grain, or heck, algae into the scariest creature imaginable. While you may carve the classic pumpkin, extra points will be awarded for creative use of alternatives. Feel free to do a little genetic engineering and splice different plants together.
• OR ? carve yourself a killer food, plant, or genetics-based costume. Whichever you choose ? if you can include a reference to recent news, genes, or something we?ve talked about on the blog, that will certainly set you above the rest! Think: can you give a pumpkin a tumor?
• Upload a photo of your mad creation to the forum. The new uploading feature is great!
• To give you time to upload a picture from Halloween, the contest is open until November 4th, at midnight Pacific time in the US.
• The Biofortified Blog?s Editors will decide on a winner and announce it within the next week.

Prizes

For this year?s winner (Frank N. Foode? and hat not included)!

What can you get if you win? Well we?ve got something special for the First Place winner: a giant genetically engineered tomato! Wait, no, that?s not a real tomato ? but a tomato-shaped rug to cushion your feet in your kitchen! This baby is no cherry ? it is 28 inches wide, and has memory foam to take the weight off your tired toes. That, along with the usual blog tote bag, and you?re set to shop and cook in style.

Now if we get a lot of good entries like last year, we?re prepared to sweeten the pot by adding another equivalent prize to reward a second person?s creativity. How about $25 to spend on blog schwag in our Zazzle store? We could even throw in a book for someone.

So with that, good luck and have fun this Halloween, everyone! Don?t forget this chance to be on our eternal wall of Glory!

Source: http://www.biofortified.org/2012/10/2012-frankenfood-carving-and-costume-contest/

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