Cultural Significance of a Hidden Treasure

The United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato[1], and for good reason. The potato has become the world’s largest non-grain food commodity and appears to be recession-proof. For this reason, the potato has become an economic savior in developing countries. The potato has many functions and is used world-wide in variety of dishes, coming in a multitude of forms. Potatoes symbolize man’s relationship with soil and have been idolized in Europe and other regions[2]. And recently, the potato has appeared heavily in politics with the motion to limit starchy foods in school cafeterias[3]. The potato can be a nutritionally rich, economically stable, culinarily diverse food that deserves a year of its own. Potatoes are a major part of the global food system but they are a unique cash crop in the sense that most of production is for local consumption[1]. Potatoes have a high perishability and transportation costs which keep exports of potatoes at a mere 6%[1]. For this reason, the prices of potatoes are determined by the local market, not the global market, and are seen as a food security crop that can especially help local farmers. National governments, with the help of the United Nations recent spotlight on potatoes, are using their governing powers to try to increase potato production. Peru, in an effort to reduce the high costs of imported wheat, have encouraged locals to purchase bread made with potato flour. China has suggested that potatoes become the major food crop of their arable land, and India plans to double potato production[1]. Although potatoes originally began as a single variety in Peru, they are currently being grown all over the world and have more than 4000 varieties because of their extreme adaptability and temperance to grow in a multitude of conditions. As of right now, the