Posted on 03/29/2024 9:40:47 AM PDT by algore
Senators are fighting back against rumblings that the US government will stop classifying potatoes as a vegetable.
Fourteen lawmakers have written to the federal agencies who could influence the change, warning it would confuse Americans and cause chaos for supply chains.
It comes amid reports that the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is 'considering changes to food groups,' including a proposal to lump starchy vegetables in the same category as grains, which would put it in the same bracket as bread and rice.
The panel is tasked with providing independent, science-based advice to the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to help inform recommendations when it comes to diet.
The new guidelines will be rolled out next year.
But the USDA has insisted the government 'is not considering a change to the classification of potatoes.'
Still, on Thursday, Bipartisan senators from Colorado, Idaho, Maine, North Dakota, Oregon, Nebraska, Montana, Michigan, and Washington addressed their letter to HHS secretary Xavier Becerra and USDA head Tom Vilsack calling for any plans to be abandoned.
They said: 'The scientific justification behind the assertion that potatoes are not vegetables is not strong, and there are documented nutritional benefits of potatoes.'
Potatoes provide crucial nutrients, including potassium, calcium, fiber, and vitamin B6, and reclassifying them as grains would change public perception of their health value and upend national dietary guidelines about healthy eating habits.
Industry groups told Congress last year they'd heard murmurs about the move, which is believed to be due to the fact potatoes are high in carbohydrates and have a higher glycemic index than most vegetables.
Unlike a lot of grains, however, yellow potatoes contain more fiber, which slows down the spike in blood sugar that happens after eating sugars.
Possible reclassification has spooked the food industry
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
All potatoes today are engineered to be McDonalds French fries no matter how you cook them. Sixty years ago Idaho potatoes were the choice for French fries and baked potatoes. Red potatoes were preferred for anything else especially fried potatoes which are impossible to prepare with the potatoes produced today.
For those that remember how fried potatoes used to be you can get close with canned potatoes, just that they are so small. Many of the old codgers like myself were raised on beans and potatoes so we remember what used to be.
Gee, does no one remember the ruckus that was raised when Catsup was classified as a vegetable in the school lunch program?
People who gave up ice cream because they couldn't eat it with a mask on.
Not to mention tater tots. They’re at the pinnacle of my food pyramid...right next to hash browns (scattered, covered and smothered).
I saw several different colors in Peru and Ecuador. I don’t remember if I ate any though.
Tater Tots are meant to be eaten by the bag full. There simply isn’t any other practical way to divide them.
Oh no, my daughter a medical doctor, was the on-field physician at The Potato Bowl football game last year while she’s taking a one year fellowship in Sports Medicine in Boise. That woman is going to be heart broken.
So much for the “science is settled” crowd.
No worries. Sawdust comes from wood and wood comes from trees, so it will soon be named in replacement of potatoes on the vegetable list.
“Fourteen lawmakers have written to the federal agencies who could influence the change, warning it would confuse Americans and cause chaos for supply chains.”
No warning is needed. Cut the bureaucrat’s budget to a dollar. The fascists will leave in 24 hours. Congress is useless.
no
Well, creepy Joe is a vegetable, so it’s a wash.
And laughing!
Seems obvious to me but then I don’t have a vested interest from a bunch of lobbyists paying me off. That the definition matters at all is a symptom of the effects of overly intrusive government on our society.
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