Potatoes Gaining Status in World Food Economy

Natural Disasters Wipe Out Asian Rice Crops as Potatoes Thrive

Aug 12, 2009

Supporting local farms benefits economies, environment, and health. Around the world, potatoes are replacing rice crops, leading to a shift in the way the world eats.

The Typhoon in Taiwan and China this week is yet another indication that farming practices need to change. Rice, which for centuries served as the main starch crop across Asia, is being wiped out in the frequent natural disasters that part of the world is seeing due to climate change.

Origin of Potatoes

Potatoes have come a long way from their origins in 16th-century Peru. The world has seen potato crops rise in Europe, and then wipe out in the blight that caused the Irish potato famine. Now, years after farmers quietly discovered crop diversification and copper treatments to guard against blight, the global food economy strains to accommodate over-population and global warming, and potatoes are once again on the rise.

Year of The Potato

Last year the United Nations declared “The Year of the Potato,” citing the connection between recent improvements in the world food economy with a sharp increase in inexpensive potato production. The New York Times noted this phenomenon in an October article “ To Counter Problems of Food Aid, Try Spuds,” where they discussed the shift in global potato production from Europe and the Americas to China and India.

Potatoes Are Hearty and Easy to Grow

Potatoes are a particularly hands-off crop, requiring less energy and water than grains and rice. Also, because they are difficult to ship long distances, their prices are less susceptible to speculation and fickle market changes. With an economic recession upon us, and the importance of supporting local agriculture weighing on our minds, it is time to put into action the old adage: Think Globally, Act Locally.

Classifying Potatoes

Potatoes are generally classified in one of two ways: “starchy” or “waxy,” best for baking or for boiling. High starch-content varieties like Russets and Idaho’s are best baked, fried, or mashed, while rounder, waxier red, white, and yellow potatoes do well in soups, salads, casseroles and barbeques - these tend to be stickier and to hold shape.

Buy Locally Grown Potatoes

Research into the benefits of locally grown potatoes led to Plympton, MA, where Scott Sauchuk has been harvesting potatoes since 2000. He grows eight, 400- ft rows of Russet, Yukon Gold, and Red Norland potatoes each season for sale at his CSA and farm stand, all for $1.29 a pound, with the first hand-dug batch appearing in late July, and the last selling out about a month later. Mr. Sauchuk explains the difference between his potatoes and the ones you find at a typical grocery. When asked whether the shipping process itself dulls the flavor of supermarket varieties, he says, “It’s not the shipping process itself that changes the taste, but what they have to do to make them shippable.” Sauchuk describes how in order to toughen up the potato skins for packing and distribution, commercial farms use clippers to disconnect the potatoes from their roots and then leave them underground to harden for several weeks before machines dig them up. At his farm, potatoes are hand picked either the day of or the day before sale - no underground waiting period, and no shipping delay.

Buying locally grown potatoes provides a boost to health, environment, and economy.

The copyright of the article Potatoes Gaining Status in World Food Economy in International Environmental Affairs is owned by Eva Gordon. Permission to republish Potatoes Gaining Status in World Food Economy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.