The Sinister, Secret History Of A Food That Everybody Loves [the Curse of the Potato]

Washington Post 'blogs ^ | April 25, 2016 | Jeff Guo

[SunkenCiv]

"The Spaniards were much impressed with the productivity of manioc in Arawak agriculture in the Greater Antilles," historian Jonathan Sauer recounts in his history of crop plants. "[A Spanish historian] calculated that 20 persons working 6 hours a day for a month could plant enough yuca to provide cassava bread for a village of 300 persons for 2 years."

By all accounts, the Taíno were prosperous -- "a well-nourished population of over a million people," according to Sauer. And yet... lacked the monumental architecture of the Maya or the mathematical knowledge of the Aztec. And most importantly, they were not organized in the type of complex, far-reaching, hierarchical social structure that is considered one of the hallmarks of civilization and was far more widespread in Europe and Asia...

...the staple crops associated with less-advanced peoples -- like manioc, the white potato, the sweet potato and taro... are superstar crops, less demanding of the soil and less thirsty for water. These plants still feed billions of people today.

Now, a provocative new study suggests the fates of societies hinged on a subtler problem with these plants. And if it's right, it could dramatically complicate the popular theory of the agriculture-driven dawn of civilization that has appeared in textbooks for generations...

It's not that grains crops were much easier to grow than tubers, or that they provided more food, the economists say. Instead, the economists believe that grains crops transformed the politics of the societies that grew them, while tubers held them back...

But the fact that grains posed a security risk may have been a blessing in disguise. The economists believe that societies cultivating crops like wheat and barley may have experienced extra pressure to protect their harvests, galvanizing the creation of warrior classes and the development of complex hierarchies and taxation schemes...

[SunkenCiv]

Brian Fagan wrote a nice chapter (not sure which book) about the early adopters of the potato, namely, the Irish — while the rest of You-Rope regarded the potato as, at best, animal feed, the Irish were growing, shipping, and refining their crop, until, whoopsie, accidental genocide.

OTOH, my Irish ancestors left Ireland for America much earlier, probably on the run from the law, or transported. :’)

Population in Ireland
http://www.grantonline.com/grant-family-genealogy/Records/population/population-ireland.htm
http://www.grantonline.com/grant-family-genealogy/Records/population/population-ireland-1100-200.jpg

http://www.mapspictures.com/ireland/history/ireland_population.php
http://www.mapspictures.com/ireland/history/imgCF.gif

http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/past/famine/demographics_pre.html
http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/charts/population_1700_2000.gif

Researchers Have Finally Solved The Mystery Of The Irish Potato Famine
http://www.livescience.com | 5-24-2013 | Denise Chow
Posted on 05/24/2013 9:45:13 AM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3023410/posts

Humble potato ‘must go to Africa’, Germany insists
EurActiv | 21 November 2013 | Dario Sarmadi
Posted on 11/21/2013 1:04:19 AM PST by Olog-hai
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3093790/posts

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks LS, I've never been a fan of Diamond.

[oh8eleven]

What's truly ironic is that the potato crop failures were caused by a disease (blight) that came from America.
God works in mysterious ways?

[Bigg Red]

Excellent!

[colorado tanker]

In his History of England, Macaulay basically devotes a chapter to his opinion that societies who eat bread as their staple starch are much more civilized than societies who eat potatoes dug out of the ground for heaven's sake. Which is one very important reason why the English were destined to rule over those benighted potato eating Irish.

It's an interesting if not amusing window into the English attitude. It also makes the Irish revolt against English rule quite understandable. You are entitled to occupy my country because I eat potatoes, really?

[Bigg Red]

He does, indeed.

[Billthedrill]

I dunno - there's a lot to be said for the noble tuber:

But then there's a lot to be said for grain products too:

I mean, civilization, right?

[SunkenCiv]

Obviously, the primary driver of civilization!

[SunkenCiv]

And, the Irish didn’t eat potatoes when the Cavanaugh dynasty invited the Normans over in the 11th century.

[Straight Vermonter]

It is also difficult to build an empire with an army sustained by a rapidly decaying food supply.

[BiggerTigger]

Sometimes I lived on potatoes in college...my apartment was a couple blocks from a Shakey’s Pizza, and I could seldom afford the pizza, but they would give you a shoebox-sized container of seasoned home fries for $1.50 with blue cheese dressing...yum.

[colorado tanker]

I’m pretty sure William of Orange didn’t invade Ireland because they were eating potatoes.

[SunkenCiv]

King Billy was chasing James II, who'd tried to reimpose Catholicism on the United Kingdom, and got chased right off the throne with the blessing of Parliament. By that time there had been a British crown presence in at least part of Ireland for centuries, and prior to the Normans, the Vikings were settled all over the place, especially along the coast.

[colorado tanker]

It was a glorious revolution, wasn’t it?

[SunkenCiv]

James II and his army appears to have been, uh, overmatched.

[colorado tanker]

Well, it really wasn’t fair, what with William bringing over all those ringers from the Netherlands.

[ApplegateRanch]

Reminds me of grammar school word problems:

If 20 persons working 6 hours a day for a month could plant enough yuca to provide cassava bread for a village of 300 persons for 2 years, how many people working 8 hours a day for 3 weeks would it take to feed 475 people for 15 months?

[Bernard Marx]

No potatoes on Earth compare to the incredible Burbank Russets grown in Idaho’s Upper Snake River Valley. Take it from someone who’s picked and bagged about a zillion pounds of them — and eaten almost as many. Spuds from other areas are soggy mush, but to each his own.

[stayathomemom]

The Idaho potatoes I’ve had are merely a vehicle for gravy or butter and salt. These Michigan potatoes are sweet and have so much flavor they don’t really need butter or salt. BUT...made in stew and then buttered with some of the stew gravy added...AMAZING!

[Fred Nerks]

All of what you wrote reminds me of my long-ago childhood in Bavaria. A barrel filled with sauerkraut in the cellar. Glass jars filled with preserved fruits and vegetables, legs of smoked ham hanging from the rafters in the storeroom, potatoes kept in the dark, onions plaited together, hanging by the door...the cattle in the barn and the hay shed filled with sweet smelling dry hay. The farmer worked all day during spring summer and autumn just to survive winter.

Necessity is the mother of invention...survival is the driving force.