It’s National Potato Month! – Pieces of History

Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew; grow them in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon too! September is National Potato Month, and that amazing spud is so ingrained in our national subconscious that we could scarcely imagine a world without them. Everything from cleansers, home remedies, agriculture, to making them crinkle cut and julienne style, the versatile potato is a staple of diets and lifestyles. 

Potatoes are indigenous to the Americas, with the oldest known domestication of potatoes occurring nearly 10,000 years ago in South America. Various species of potatoes, having their genetic traits cultivated through years of cross-breeding, were grown by Native American peoples including the Inca, who were known to grow different varieties at varying altitudes throughout the seasons to ensure bountiful harvests. Potatoes were their principal source of food and energy.

Modern day potatoes are primarily descended from the solanum tuberosum tuberosum species, including the famous Idaho potato (although the Idaho Potato Commission has a trademark on ‘Idaho potato’ so don’t call it that unless you grow it there). 

In the mid-16th century, during the Spanish conquest of South America, the potato was introduced to the European continent—one of many items coming from the Americas in the Columbian Exchange. At first the potato was hard to grow and was rejected as a staple food, but by the mid-18th century, advances in agricultural technology helped to make the potato a popular food, and it became a staple in northern Europe, particularly Ireland. Many historians argue that the potato was a driving factor in the Industrial Revolution, providing more calories at a lower price than wheat or corn.

Throughout the 19th century, potatoes were grown on a massive scale but were susceptible to disease. The blights caused famines, the most infamous being the Great Irish Potato Famine in 1845. About half of the total Irish potato crop failed for seven consecutive years and resulted in the deaths of over a million people. 

Potato cultivation in North America grew exponentially in the mid-19th century as settlers moved westward into modern-day Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and California. The ease of harvesting, transporting, and storing potatoes made it a cheap and plentiful source of food.

By 1901, Idaho farmers were harvesting over a million bushels per year. This explosive growth made the Pacific Northwest one of the richest agricultural areas in the world for potatoes, accounting for nearly two-thirds of potatoes grown in the United States.

In the 20th century, agricultural science and genetics research into potatoes helped produce more blight- and drought-resistant potatoes. Simultaneously, initiatives for growing local varieties of potatoes gained traction, and many non-commercial potato species became part of gene and seed banks. 

Without the potato, a significant portion of the U.S. economy would cease to exist. Potato agriculture is estimated to have generated over $100 billion, provides nearly 700,000 jobs, and is tied directly to the economic survival of many towns, cities, counties, and even states. That’s not even counting the number of supply chain and logistics companies who transport potatoes, processing facilities, and the food companies taking those potatoes and turning them into food products. McDonald’s alone sells more than 9 million pounds of french fries daily. That’s a lot of starchy tubers. 

The potato—such a simple tuber—is a multifaceted plant that can be eaten in a number of ways: mashed, baked, fried, pureed, chopped, diced, julienned, boiled, the list goes on. So grab some french fries and celebrate the potato!