Potatoes: The Essential Food Commodity for the Future

Pray for peace and grace and spiritual food, for wisdom and guidance for all these are good, but don't forget the potatoes. ~ John Pettee

The United Nations has put the lowly potato on a pretty high pedestal for 2008. The website ,International Year of the Potato provides a fascinating look at its history, thoughts from world experts on the commodity, and delicious international recipes. Below is an extended quote about the potato's pivotal place for the future well being of the billions on the planet.

"Food of the future. The International Year of the Potato is raising awareness of the key role played by the "humble tuber" in agriculture, the economy and world food security. But it also has a very practical aim: to promote development of sustainable potato-based systems that enhance the well-being of producers and consumers and help realize the potato's full potential as a "food of the future".

Over the next two decades, the world's population is expected to grow on average by more than 100 million people a year. More than 95 percent of that increase will occur in the developing countries, where pressure on land and water is already intense. A key challenge facing the international community is, therefore, to ensure food security for present and future generations, while protecting the natural resource base on which we all depend. The potato will be an important part of efforts to meet those challenges...

Potatoes are a truly global food

The potato has been consumed in the Andes for about 8 000 years. Taken by the Spanish to Europe in the 16th century, it quickly spread across the globe: today potatoes are grown on an estimated 192 000 sq km, or 74 000 square miles, of farmland, from China's Yunnan plateau and the subtropical lowlands of India, to Java's equatorial highlands and the steppes of Ukraine.

Potatoes feed the hungry

The potato should be a major component in strategies aimed at providing nutritious food for the poor and hungry. It is ideally suited to places where land is limited and labour is abundant, conditions that characterize much of the developing world. The potato produces more nutritious food more quickly, on less land, and in harsher climates than any other major crop - up to 85 percent of the plant is edible human food, compared to around 50% in cereals.

Potatoes are good for you

Potatoes are rich in carbohydrates, making them a good source of energy. They have the highest protein content (around 2.1 percent on a fresh weight basis) in the family of root and tuber crops, and protein of a fairly high quality, with an amino-acid pattern that is well matched to human requirements. They are also very rich in vitamin C - a single medium-sized potato contains about half the recommended daily intake - and contain a fifth of the recommended daily value of potassium.

Demand for potatoes is growing

World potato production has increased at an annual average rate of 4.5 percent over the last 10 years, and exceeded the growth in production of many other major food commodities in developing countries, particularly in Asia. While consumption of potato has declined in Europe, it has increased in the developing world, from less than 10 kg (22 lb) per capita in 1961-63 to almost 22 kg (48.5 lb) in 2003. Consumption of potato in developing countries is still less than a quarter of that in Europe, but all evidence suggests it will increase strongly in the future."

In short, potatoes can be grown locally throughout most parts of the world, they are highly nutritious, they can be incorporated into a variety of dishes from soups, salads, main entrees, and dessert, they provide the answer for nutrition on a local level taking away the need to depend upon foreign food sources and transportation. Pass the potatoes!