In 1996, potato production in the United States reached its peak. Americans were eating 64 pounds of vegetables each year, the most since modern records began in 1970. Record harvests flooded the country with so many potatoes that the government had to pay farmers to distribute them. At the White House, the Clintons served up potatoes fried, seasoned, boiled and served with garlic to princesses and presidents at state dinners.
“It was a crazy time,” says Chris Voigt, who began his long career as a potato smuggler amid the potato craze of the late 1990s. “You can literally buy a whole bag of French fries,” he said. But as Voigt entered the potato industry and rose to become executive director of the Washington State Potato Board, American potatoes were undergoing a dramatic change in fortunes.
The average American is now eating 30 percent fewer potatoes than in the vegetable’s heyday, an all-time low of 45 pounds per year. The decline in consumption of fresh potatoes for boiling, baking, mashing and steaming was much faster. In 2019, frozen potato consumption overtook fresh potatoes for the first time, opening a gap that has continued to widen since the pandemic. Most frozen potatoes are eaten as French fries.
This has made the potato fields a battleground for the future of American food. In December 2023, a report was released stating that the U.S. Dietary Guidelines: may change Potatoes will be declassified as a vegetable, mirroring the approach taken in the UK. There was such an uproar that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack was forced to write a letter. reassure senators The agency said there were no such plans.
The reclassification may have failed, but the potato declined significantly. This miraculous, nutrient-dense vegetable once fueled human civilization. Spuds in America have now become synonymous with a trashy, industrialized food system that funnels profits to a few companies at the expense of people’s health.
America’s favorite vegetable is having a Sophie’s Choice moment. Should we accept that fresh french fries have lost their fight against the tide of french fries, hash browns, and waffles, or is there hope for a potato renaissance? Will the humble Spud achieve the rehabilitation he deserves?
white potatoes This is a criminally underrated food. Compared to other carbohydrate-rich staples like pasta, white bread, and rice, potatoes are rich in vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. The protein content is also surprisingly high. If you meet your daily calorie goal by eating only potatoes, you will also exceed your daily protein goal (56 grams for men ages 31 to 50).
Chris Voigt knows this because he ate nothing but potatoes for 60 days in 2010. And some oil. Also, please give me some pickle juice. But the point is that Voigt didn’t just subsist on potatoes for two months. prospered. By the end of the diet, Voigt had lost 21 pounds, her cholesterol levels had dropped 41 percent, and her snoring had stopped. “I think I have personally proven that potatoes are very nutritious no matter how you eat them: boiled, fried, cooked in the oven, or steamed,” says Voigt.
