The Humble Potato May be the Solution to the World

The Humble Potato May be the Solution to the World Food Crisis

A rise in food prices have affected the entire world, especially third world countries like Egypt and Haiti, where the high cost of food has already lead to rioting and voilence.

A variety of factors have been blamed for the global food crisis, including the rise in fuel and energy prices and increased demand in countries with suddenly booming economies, like India and China, as well as climate changes wreaking havoc on crops. Many farmers are changing their crops from food to fuel, speculating on the interest in alternative fuels. The solution, then would be a crop that is not being used as an alternative fuel, like the potato. To focus attention on this, the United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato, calling the vegetable a “hidden treasure.”

Potatoes are native to Peru, and can be grown at almost any elevation or climate: from the barren, frigid slopes of the Andes Mountains to the tropical flatlands of Asia. They require very little water, mature in as little as 50 days, and can yield between two and four times more food per hectare than wheat or rice. The...