Potatoes Presented by Lisa Snyder

About… The English word “potato” comes from the Spanish word “patata” which is a compound of “batata” (Taino) and “papa” (Quechua) Potatoes come in many shapes, sizes and colors 1 of 4 most important crops in the world 99% of all cultivated potato varieties worldwide are descendents of one Chilean subspecies

A Brief History Potatoes began to be cultivated 3000 YA by the Natives of the Peruvian region Around 1100 AD the Inca dynasty began In the 1530s a scouting party of Spaniards entered the village where they first encountered the potato (which was a staple food of the Incas)

The potato was believed to have healing properties (placing raw slices on hurt areas) The potato was often turned into potato flour to be used for cooking (this flour could also be stored for years) When the Spaniards left they took home gold, silver and potatoes

Initially people didn’t like potatoes so in 1757, Antoine Parmentier (a pharmacist) began inviting famous people to his home and feed them as many as twenty potato dishes He would also post guards around his garden during the day and not at night. This made people think the potatoes were valuable and they would steal them and plant them in their own gardens

By the late 1500s potatoes were grown in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France The Industrial Revolution in the 1800s led to an increasing dependence on potatoes 9/10 of the Irish ate potatoes as either their main food or as their only food

The Irish Potato Famine (1845) It’s thought that the blight traveled on a ship from the Americas 2 mil people died (out of 8 mil) and another 1 mil left the country It took over 40 years before the blight was properly identified and a treatment was discovered

1840s- the potato was key in the American home Success continued to grow as fast-food began to grown The introduction of microwaves, freezers and ovens allowed people to always have quick and easy food in their homes Today, the average American eats 120 potatoes a year

Issues (land use, production, technology, economics) GM seeds and a lack of variety More and more chemicals being used Top-soil being destroyed leading to the use of more fertilizers Everything has become mechanized “the fallacy of composition”

Farmers need $5 per hundredweight to break even but get about $1.50 per hundredweight It has been said that Americans have the most productive land, but also has the most farmers going out of business If the farmers don’t band together, nothing will change

Fast food companies purchase frozen fries at 30c per pound, reheat them, and sell them for $6 per pound Of every $1.50 spent on fries, about 2c goes to the farmer These technologies wouldn’t be used if it wasn’t for the economics helping the big businessmen

The Socio-Cultural System Spanish didn’t initially like potatoes because they were foreign to them and because the Incas ate them (and they didn’t get a good reception back home either)

The poor peasants ate potatoes in Ireland and so the food was associated with them The potato farmers in America are being split into those who work the farm and those who run it which has led to further separation between the farmers

Health, Safety & Environment Potatoes are seen as a food that provides nearly perfect nutrition 12 essential vitamins and minerals (iron, magnesium, vitamins B & C) 26 grams of carbohydrates Starch (acts as a fiber once in the body)

Lots of chemicals used (some on the leaves and some in the root itself) Machines take away the top-soil Less and less diversity in potatoes Atom radiation used to slow decaying process

The Role of TNCs Able to reach a lot of people (marketing) Concerned with making money (not with preserving varieties) Push for mono-cropping Have moved more than ½ of the world’s potato production to less-developed countries (40 years ago is was only 15%) Helps to have expanded french fries

Alternative Strategies- how it fits Potato provides nearly perfect nutrition It grows almost anywhere Yields more food energy per acre than grains Storms do very little damage to the crops Thousands of varieties

Potatoes produce more food per unit of water than any other major crop 1 acre of land can feed a family of 6 10 lbs of potatoes each every day for a year In 1974 Eric Jenkins grew 168 kg (369.6 lbs) of potatoes from a single plant