In 1996 america hit peak potato. People have been consuming 64 kilos of the greens annually—greater than at any level since fashionable data started in 1970. A record-breaking harvest had flooded the nation with so many spuds that the federal government needed to pay farmers to offer them away. Within the White Home, the Clintons have been foisting potatoes—fried, marinated, boiled, garlicked—onto princesses and presidents at official dinners.
“It was a loopy time,” says Chris Voigt, whose lengthy profession as a potato-pusher began within the potato frenzy of the late Nineties. “Actually you can purchase buckets of french fries.” However as Voigt made his approach up within the potato business, all the way in which to govt director of the Washington State Potato Fee, the American potato was present process a dramatic shift in fortunes.
The typical American is now consuming 30 p.c fewer potatoes than throughout the vegetable’s heyday, all the way down to an all-time low of 45 kilos per yr. The drop in consumption of contemporary potatoes—for boiling, roasting, mashing, and steaming—has been even quicker. In 2019, frozen potato consumption overtook contemporary potatoes for the primary time, opening up a gulf that has continued to widen for the reason that pandemic. Most of these frozen potatoes are eaten as french fries.
This has seen potato fields turn into battlegrounds for the way forward for meals in America. In December 2023, studies emerged that US dietary tips would possibly change to declassify potatoes as a vegetable, mirroring the method taken in Britain. There was such an uproar that US Division of Agriculture secretary Thomas Vilsack was compelled to put in writing a letter reassuring senators that his company had no such plans.
That reclassification could have failed, however the potato has had a spectacular fall from grace. As soon as this miraculous nutrient-dense vegetable was the gas of human civilization. Now the spud within the US has turn into synonymous with a rubbish, industrialized meals system that pours earnings right into a handful of firms on the expense of individuals’s well being.
America’s favourite vegetable is going through a Sophie’s Selection second. Ought to we settle for that contemporary spuds have misplaced the struggle towards the tide of fries, hash browns, and waffles, or is there hope for a potato renaissance? Can the standard spud obtain the rehabilitation it deserves?
The white potato is a criminally underrated meals. In contrast with different carb-loaded staples like pasta, white bread, or rice, potatoes are wealthy in vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. They’re additionally surprisingly excessive in protein. In case you hit your each day calorie purpose by consuming solely potatoes, then you definately’d additionally exceed your each day purpose for protein, which is 56 grams for a person aged 31–50.
Chris Voigt is aware of this as a result of for 60 days in 2010 he ate nothing however potatoes. And a bit oil. And one time some pickle juice. However the level is, for 2 months Voigt didn’t simply survive on potatoes, he thrived. By the top of his eating regimen Voigt had misplaced 21 kilos, his ldl cholesterol was down 41 p.c, and he’d stopped loud night breathing. “I feel I’ve personally confirmed that the potato is extremely nutritious, regardless of the way you eat—whether or not you boil it or fry it, cook dinner it within the oven, or steam it,” Voigt says.