This article is comprised of excerpts from Hielke De Jong’s review, “Impact of Potato on Society,” which appeared in the September-October 2016 issue of American Journal of Potato Research. It appears in this form in the January 2017 issue of Potato Grower.
The potato has had a profound impact on society and vice versa. Thanks to the painstaking work of scientists and historians, we are slowly able to get a better picture of the origin and history of the potato.
Toward the end of the last Ice Age, plant gatherers, hunters and fishermen were already inhabiting the western coast of South America. In Monte Verde in south-central Chile people probably consumed wild potatoes as early as 13,000 years ago. As the glaciers retreated from the Altiplano, the prototypes of the cultivated potato may have been introduced to the highlands of what are now Peru and Bolivia. Archeological and genetic evidence indicates that the domestication of the potato probably took place about 8,000 years ago in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca, located on the border of Peru and Bolivia.
Selection for non-bitterness (low glycoalkaloid content) probably preceded the cultivation of potato. When this happened is not known, but the general historical-archeological context suggests the period 5000–2000 BC. Many wild potato species contain glycoalkaloids, which confer resistance to insects and diseases. While useful to the plant, glycoalkaloids also have a serious drawback in that they impart a bitter taste and, at high enough levels, are toxic to humans. A major step in the domestication of wild potato species was discovering ways to circumvent glycoalkaloids.
Potato in Andean Society
The domestication of the potato gradually resulted in greater food production, which in turn stimulated population growth, development of cities, technology, crafts, arts, sciences and political centralization. The Inca Empire arose in the 12th century in the highlands of present-day Peru. There are only broad-ranging estimates of the population, most of which are in the 6 to 14 million range, and for which the potato served as a major food. There was a very intimate relationship between the domestication of the potato and the evolution of Andean civilization; the potato played a central role in the myths and rituals that define the Andean vision of the world.
A major form of food security in the Andean societies was the development of chuño, a freeze-dried product developed at least 2,000 years ago. The procedure utilizes nighttime freezing temperatures in the Andean region. Tubers are exposed to freezing temperatures for three or four nights. They thaw during the day and are then trampled by foot to remove moisture and allowed to dry in the sun. Chuño can be stored for a year or longer. It was collected as taxes from peasants and disbursed from imperial storehouses to labor gangs for building roads, waging war, erecting monuments and sustaining all other aspects of imperial, civilized society in the Altiplano.
Impact in Europe & North America
The first record of the potato being grown in Europe is from the Canary Islands, where they were being grown in 1567. For a couple centuries, the potato was primarily grown in botanical herbals and was described in several herbals. There are several reasons it took so long for the potato to take root in Europe. After it finally did so, it contributed to a population explosion.
Between 1750 and 1850 the European population grew from 140 million to 266 million. This increase was in large measure the result of a substantial increase in food supply due primarily to two new American crops: maize in southern Europe and potato in the north.
It was in Ireland the potato was most rapidly adopted. The potato became so interwoven with the lives of the Irish that around the world it became known as the Irish potato. The population of Ireland increased even more rapidly than that on the European continent, from about 3 million in 1750 to over 8 million in 1841.
When late blight attacked the Irish potato crop for several successive years in the 1840s, the result was the catastrophic Irish Potato Famine. The famine resulted in the death of more than 1 million from starvation and associated diseases such as cholera and typhus. At least 1 million Irish refugees emigrated, mostly to North America. The famine also had a major impact on science. The debate among scientists about the cause of this plant disease led to the birth of modern plant pathology.
In the decades following the famine there was a flurry of activity in finding new cultivars in Europe and North America which would be resistant to late blight. In New York, Chauncey Goodrich devoted himself to finding a cure for late blight disease and spared no effort or expense toward this end. One of his seedlings, Garnet Chili, features prominently in the pedigrees of most North American and many European cultivars. For example, Early Rose, an offspring of Garnet Chili, is the female parent of Russet Burbank. Although some potato breeders (and salesmen) became wealthy, Goodrich died a pauper.
War and Potato Processing
In the history of mankind wars have often driven technological developments which were subsequently used in peacetimes. This includes potato processing, beginning with the development of chuño by the ancient Andean societies. More recently, dried potatoes were used as ships’ provisions and military rations in the Franco-German wars, the Napoleonic Wars, in the Crimea, and in the Civil War in the U.S. At the beginning of World War II, scientists at Oregon State University developed Victory Potatoes, a product made from shredded, dehydrated, compressed potatoes. During World War I, American soldiers stationed in Europe discovered a new potato treat being sold on the street corners of Belgium. They called this new product “french fries” because the Belgians preparing the product spoke French. Since then, french fries have become the largest worldwide outlet for potatoes.
Shift in Lifestyles and Production
The past 50 years have seen major changes in potato production on a global scale. World potato production rose from an average of 264 million tons in 1961–1963 to 369 million tons in 2011–2013. Much of this increase has occurred in China, India and other Asian countries.
Several factors have a bearing on this massive global shift. In general, the per capita consumption of potatoes in Western Europe and North America has been relatively high. Rising incomes and other factors in these regions have resulted in changes in consumption patterns and in a reduction in per capita potato consumption. The shift in consumption patterns from fresh to fast and snack food in many developing Asian countries has also been a major driver behind the growth in potato production there. China’s and India’s government, among other, have also made it a point to promote the potato.
The shift toward consuming more potatoes in a processed form in turn has an impact on the cultivars being grown. The rise and fall of several major cultivars can, to a large extent, be attributed to market demand; cultivars which are suitable for processing into french fries and chips are replacing those which are not. In Asia the strong trend toward urbanization has resulted in a Westernization of diets such as convenience food and beverages and an increased consumption of processed potatoes, especially chips.
Impact on Global Food Security
Throughout its history, time and again, the potato has provided bread for the poor. It continues in this role today on a global scale. After the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the 1990s the potato was a key factor in subsistence throughout the post-socialist countries by growing them in home gardens and is still embedded in the historical memory of the people. Its nutritional quality and adaptability make the potato uniquely suitable for its role in contributing to global food security.
An increase in potato production combined with modern technology in developing countries can not only improve food security and nutrition, but also enhance rural incomes and reduce poverty. The genomics era is accelerating our understanding of the key genes and mechanisms underlying potato development, physiology, water and nutrient use efficiency, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.