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Sorry, but Potatoes May Soon No Longer Be Considered a Vegetable
Food & Wne ^ | December 21, 2023 | Jelisa Castrodale

Posted on 12/28/2023 2:46:38 PM PST by nickcarraway

The National Potato Council isn't happy about this potential change.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, when Americans eat vegetables, they’re mostly eating potatoes and tomatoes. In 2019, the average American downed almost 50 pounds of potatoes over the course of the year, and ate around 31 pounds of tomatoes — and it’s not totally surprising that French fries and pizza sauce significantly contributed to our annual totals. But in the future, when the USDA starts adding up our yearly veggie totals, tomatoes may take the top spot on a technicality. Because there’s a chance that the agency will reclassify potatoes, moving them from starchy vegetables into the same category as grains, rice, and other carbs.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee — made up of representatives from the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services — are putting together their dietary guidelines for 2025, and potatoes may be reshuffled. The dietary guidelines put foods into five familiar categories — dairy, fruit, grains, protein, and vegetables — but the increasing prevalence of different diets and “eating patterns” mean that those categories may be changed. “The panel wants to make sure everyone is getting enough nutrients, whether eating more potatoes, bread, or beans,” the Journal explains.

It should be noted that the trade groups on both sides of the potential new classification neither — the National Potato Council and The Grain Chain — are both opposed to potatoes being defined as anything but a vegetable. Kam Quarles, the CEO of the National Potato Council, testified during a hearing of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and he basically asked them to leave potatoes where they are.

“While NPC is sensitive to individual needs and cultures, we urge the Committee to recognize [that] a potato is not a grain,” he said. “Potatoes are the most widely produced vegetable in the U.S.Starchy vegetables and grains are two vastly different food groups that play distinctly different roles in contributing nutrients to the diet. Unlike grains, white potatoes are a strong contributor of potassium, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and fiber. Research shows that diets high in vegetable consumption, including potatoes, promote healthy outcomes overall.”

He acknowledged that Americans should consume more vegetables — non-potato vegetables — but he doesn’t think that recategorizing potatoes is the answer. “The suggestion to reclassify potatoes as a non-vegetable is not grounded in any scientific metric,” he continued. “This unsupported notion, if acted upon, will confuse consumers, could result in nutrient gaps and also decreased vegetable consumption. We ask the Committee to avoid this chaotic outcome and continue to acknowledge the fact that potatoes are a vegetable.”

The Grain Chain was equally adamant, telling the committee that putting potatoes in their category “could further exacerbate nutrient shortfalls.” (Both groups agree that potatoes should stay put.)

We’ll see which side wins when the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee releases its 2025 guidelines. Until then, keep eating your vegetables. And your potatoes.


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: potato; potatoes
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1 posted on 12/28/2023 2:46:38 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Tomato is a fruit.


2 posted on 12/28/2023 2:47:42 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator

So is avocado.


3 posted on 12/28/2023 2:49:43 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: dfwgator

“Tomato is a fruit.”

Not according to the geniuses in the United States government.

L


4 posted on 12/28/2023 2:50:49 PM PST by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is. )
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To: nickcarraway

And...? so what..?


5 posted on 12/28/2023 2:50:57 PM PST by jmaroneps37 (Freedom is never free. It must be won rewon and jealously guarded.)
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To: Lurker

Oh yeah, the ones who said that Ketchup is a vegetable.


6 posted on 12/28/2023 2:51:29 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: nickcarraway

Now they attack root tubers?

Stop the insanity. Kill the insane.


7 posted on 12/28/2023 2:51:52 PM PST by Fledermaus (It's time to get rid of the Three McStooges; Mitch, Kevin and Ronna! 1 gone, 1 almost dead. )
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To: dfwgator

Reagans USDA did that after Congress passed a law that everything had to be categorized.

He took crap for it.


8 posted on 12/28/2023 2:54:33 PM PST by Fledermaus (It's time to get rid of the Three McStooges; Mitch, Kevin and Ronna! 1 gone, 1 almost dead. )
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To: nickcarraway

We already have a vegetable in the White House, though.


9 posted on 12/28/2023 2:54:36 PM PST by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: dfwgator

Our government has been completely insane for decades now.

L


10 posted on 12/28/2023 2:55:04 PM PST by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is. )
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To: nickcarraway

11 posted on 12/28/2023 2:55:10 PM PST by stars & stripes forever (Blessed is the nation whose GOD is the LORD. (Psalm 33:12))
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To: stars & stripes forever

12 posted on 12/28/2023 2:56:21 PM PST by stars & stripes forever (Blessed is the nation whose GOD is the LORD. (Psalm 33:12))
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To: nickcarraway

At least I think we can all agree that Biden is a vegetable, right? At least that is not questionable.


13 posted on 12/28/2023 2:59:00 PM PST by ThomasNast (2350)
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To: nickcarraway

The pioneers in the north would have starved to death without potatoes. Tomatoes were a thing of the future.


14 posted on 12/28/2023 2:59:22 PM PST by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: nickcarraway

So is it animal or mineral or fungi?


15 posted on 12/28/2023 3:01:03 PM PST by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: monkeyshine

A legume?


16 posted on 12/28/2023 3:02:54 PM PST by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: nickcarraway

But it can be considered a pResident.


17 posted on 12/28/2023 3:03:56 PM PST by Noumenon (You're not voting your way out of this. KTF)
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To: nickcarraway

so sorry but I just can’t muster any care about this subject that is obviously important to someone because they took their precious time to post about something that no one who counts cares about anyway. they’re both good for you, they BOTH taste good separately or together....and in the end it doesn’t matter what they’re called as long as they’re on the menu.


18 posted on 12/28/2023 3:05:31 PM PST by Qwapisking ("IF the Second goes first the First goes second" L.Star )
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To: dfwgator

Tomatoes are actually berries.

That said, knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put them in fruit salad.


19 posted on 12/28/2023 3:07:17 PM PST by coloradan (They're not the mainstream media, they're the gaslight media. It's what they do. )
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To: No name given

are you sure? seems more a mineral than a vegetable to me. could be wrong.


20 posted on 12/28/2023 3:07:35 PM PST by Qwapisking ("IF the Second goes first the First goes second" L.Star )
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