HISTORY OF THE POTATO |
The first archaeologial evidence of potato cultivation is from approximately 4500 years ago with the natives of Peru. Wild tubers have been found in the Peruvian plateau and mountainous regions, where it is too cold for wheat or corn. They were a great source for starch and carbohydrates, and could be stored and transported easily.
Easy to grow in almost any habitat, potatoes rank as the world's fourth most important food crop after maize, wheat, and rice. |
|
| |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Potatoes arrive in Europe |
| As potatoes were carried to Italy, England, Belgium, and Germany they were treated with suspicion. Many thought they were poisonous. An edict forbidding their cultivation was issued in one French town. more |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
Potato popularity spreads to America |
| Most modern potatoes grown in North America arrived through European settlement. more |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
Irish Potato Famine |
| The Great Famine was a period of starvation, disease and mass emigration between 1845 and 1852 during which the population of Ireland was reduced by 20 to 25 percent. more |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
The Potato is grown in Space |
| The potato became the first vegetable to be grown in space in October 1995. NASA called in top experts to help them develop super-nutritious and versatile potatoes to feed astronauts on long space voyages. more |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
United Nations International Year of the Potato |
| In 2008 the International Year of the Potato by the United Nations was declared, noting that the potato is a staple food in the diet of the world’s population, and affirming the need to focus world attention on the role that the potato can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty. more |
| |
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
