German photographer Michael Schmidt wins Pictet prize for photo essay on how food is produced
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German photographer Michael Schmidt has won a major photo prize that seeks to highlight social and environmental problems.
Schmidt was named winner of the Prix Pictet on Wednesday by its honorary president, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The theme of the contest was "consumption," and Schmidt won for "Lebensmittel" ("Foodstuff"), a series looking at food and its production.
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Schmidt was chosen from 11 finalists including Ukraine's Boris Mikhailov, Nigeria's Abraham Oghobase and American photographer Laurie Simmons.
Annan said their work "ought to persuade governments, businesses — and each of us as individual consumers — of the need for a fundamental rethink of the principles on which present-day affluence is founded."
The award, sponsored by Swiss asset managers Pictet, comes with a purse of 100,000 Swiss francs ($112,500).