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How Potatoes Changed The World

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Potatoes, most people don’t spend time thinking about them but, they are an important ranking “with rice and wheat as one of the world’s leading food crops” (Reeves and Rushing 118). Potatoes are more than just a tasty side dish; did you know the potatoes also helped give rise to America. In his article, How Potatoes Changed the World, author Charles C. Mann writes that historians believe that the potato’s arrival in northern Europe from the Andes spelled an end to famine and food shortage in Europe. In his article Mann also quoted historian William H. McNeill on how the cultivation of potato in Europe led to an empire: “By feeding a rapidly growing populations, Potatoes permitted a handful of European nations to assert dominion over most of the world between 1750 and 1950.” (Mann). Whether mashed, baked or french fried potatoes are an important staple in the American diet because potatoes are easily stored and “can keep for up to about eight months, especially if they’re a variety known for storage quality (Poncavage 2014).” …show more content…
It belongs to the nightshade family, has a swollen portion of underground stem called a tuber designed to provide food for the green leafy portion of the plant. It contains dormant buds called eyes that sprout and grows into a new plant. The part of the potatoes eaten is the tuber (118). This easy to grow plant can be grown by even the first time gardener providing lots of tasty potatoes with minimal effort. In the article How to Grow Organic Potatoes Jim Gerritsen is quoted as saying, “If you do a good job, you can harvest about 70 to 90 pounds per 100 square feet, that’s a lot of calories and a lot of nutrition,” (Poncavage). Growing potatoes is not hard. There are six basic steps to going from potatoes eye to French

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