The Tuber that Unites a Hungry World
Potatoes are a truly globalized crop. They can be found all around the world from the Americas to China, from Africa to Europe. In each of these places, they play their own unique role but the secret to their success is their hardy nature and their nutritional value. They become valuable to some peoples because they are able to grow in geographical locations or in weather situations that would cause other crops to fail. They are also incredibly nutritious, providing all that is necessary for survival. They are, in fact so nutritious that they have throughout history been one of the chief supporters of human life—along with rice, maize, barley, and maniocs (Crosby,169)—and are today one of the four most imported food plants in the world (King). No other crop has the ability to yield such healthful food in such small space (Campbell Bartoletti, 20) It is because of these characteristics that potatoes have remained an influential commodity, spreading from culture to culture, supplying cheap nutrition for the poor, and leading to cultural interaction through both trade and catastrophe created migration.
The potato tuber is actually far more healthful than is commonly believed today. It is a very good source of carbohydrates (which contrary to the negative connotations they have received from diets like the Atkins are very important in a healthy diet), which makes up about 75% of its total dry matter (this hangs out there – what makes up about 75%???). Though they contain a relatively small amount of protein, the protein they do contain has a biological value of 90-100 conversely, beans have a protein value of 73 while eggs’ value is 100). They are also rich in many of the minerals, vitamins, a...
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The book tells the history of human civilization through the development of our food production and culture. A highly relevant book to present although food is a special type of natural resource or products hereof and history is a wider subject than conflict. The gradual transition towards hierarchical social order is described. Especially the significance of irrigation is compelling.
Taking a deeper look at the meaning behind food through the eyes of traditional societies reveals nothing more than absolute complexity. Sam Gill, in Native American Religions, indisputably shows the complexity through detailed performances and explanations of sacred ceremonies held among numerous traditional societies. Ultimately, Gill explains that these societies handle their food (that gives them life), the source in which the good is obtained, and the way they go about getting their food are done in extreme symbolic manners that reflect their cosmology, religious beliefs, actions, and respect for ancestors/spirits that live among them. All of which are complexly intertwined. These aspects are demonstrated through the hunting traditions of the Alaskan Eskimo and the agricultural traditions of the Creek.
Phythophthora infestans was the lethal fungus that infested Ireland's potato crop and eventually ruined all of the land it grew on. This time is called the Great Famine and has impacted Ireland due to its destructive extinction of the potato farms which caused disease, extreme poverty, and death.
Before there was a United States of America, there were tribes of Native Americans living off the land. In the southeastern part of the country, the largest group of Native Americans were the Cherokee people (Boulware, 2009). Cherokees are networked through vast kinship lines that separates them from other tribes in the region (Boulware, 2009). They once occupied a territory that ran throughout the Appalachian Mountains (Boulware, 2009). Cherokees spoke a common language known as Iroquoian, different from the surrounding tribes (Boulware, 2009).
...ant to avoid fillers, preservatives, and artificial ingredients. A great idea for a healthy training treat is small bits of dried sweet potato.
The Great Potato Famine was a problem that did not only cause starvation and disease but a drop in the economy. Known as the greatest epidemic of the 19th century the Potato Famine will have forever made an impact on Ireland. The Irish were damned from the start with little to no assistance from England with the exception of what they could get for themselves. With laws restricting the grain trade and no regulation on other goods Ireland had no fighting chance to make a turn around. With England living off of the principle “Irish property must pay for Irish poverty” Ireland was in need of outside assistance and that is exactly what many countries came to do.
The Great Famine of 1845 With 3 million either gone or dead from the island of Ireland, 1845 was possibly the most painful year in its history. It was also obvious that something was afflicting Ireland, with the smell and sight of the crops. Death rates grew high, and immigration even higher during this time period of the famine. The Great Potato Famine of 1845 had a massive effect on Ireland in population decrease, the reactions of the people, and effects it had on the future of Ireland. One of the biggest, and nastiest, effects of the famine was population decrease.
Size of potato-will be the same as it will be cut using a cork and borer which cuts them all to the same diameter.
Potatoes have become a staple to the diet of humans.They have become so popular since they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and tastes. They are also cheap and easy to grow, and they taste delicious! Potatoes have changed the course of history in several ways. Who knew that potatoes, just a starchy vegetable, could have helped shape the world in so many ways. First, the Irish Potato Famine killed a million people and caused another million to move out of Ireland. Second, soldiers in the United States army were able to eat potatoes throughout the war. Third, they prevented a famine from occurring in England after there was not a sufficient amount of crops going to sustain the country's cries for food. Many people wonder if potatoes have
Before the land of what we no class Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and other countries in the middle east grains, such as wheat and wild barley, could be seen growing in the wild without human hand to cultivate and nurture it (Authors 2007). Over time, humans began to recognize the benefit of the plants and began the first signs of human agriculture. The skill of farming took time and trial and error, but along the way, humans began to settle down to tend to their crops. Though the first crops were nothing more than seed s thrown about without rhyme or reason to the process we know today such as fields having, rows and sorting out the seeds to create a higher yield each harvest (Authors 2007). Because of the trial and error process, agriculture of plants did not take place of a short period but took many, many years to evolve to what we know today as agriculture; the new fa...
Schlosser sets off chapter 5: “Why the Fries Taste Good,” in Aberdeen, Idaho at the J. R. Simplot Plant where he introduces John Richard Simplot, “America’s great potato baron,” (Schlosser 111). Simplot dropped out of school at 15, left home, and found work on a potato farm in Declo, Idaho making 30 cents an hour. Simplot bought and turned profit on some interest-bearing scrip from some school teachers and used the money to at 600 hogs at $1 a head. He feed the hogs horse meat from wild horses he shot himself, later selling them for $12.50 a head. At age 16 Simplot leased 160 acres to begin growing Russet Burbank Potatoes. In the 1920s the potato industry was just picking up as Idaho was discovered to have the ideal soil and conditions for successfully growing potatoes (Schlosser 112). Soon Simplot was the “largest shipper of potatoes in the West, operating 33 warehouses in Oregon and Idaho,” (Schlosser 113). During World War II Simplot sold dehydrated potatoes and onions to the U.S. Army. By the time he was 36 he “was growing his own potatoes, fe...
Domesticated potatoes were once all belong to one botanical species, Solanum tuberosum; it included thousands of varieties that had diversity in size, shape, color and other characteristics. The potato was first domesticated in the South America Andes, then the Puritans who took Mayflower arrived the land and the First Nations taught them about potatoes. Then the sailors went back to Europe and people started to plant potatoes in Spain, England, France, and many other countries in Europe. Later, potatoes were spread into Africa by the colonists. The crop was once believe to be poisonous by the local farmers who refused to plant them. However, the colonists persuaded the farmers and introduced potatoes as a low-price and high-production crop in substitute of wheat and rice.
The story of maize domestication is not only an interesting topic to us today, but an impressive realization on how hard it was for people living thousands of years ago to find food for themselves. The people living in modern day Mexico eight thousand, seven hundred years ago found a crop that was not much more than a stick with small pods that could be pried off for a small reward of nutrients. However, with that plant they created one of the most useful foods today because of thousands of years of artificial breeding and domestication. Maize is an extremely useful crop that is easy to grow, and gives giant harvests thanks to the experimentation and instinct of our ancestors, and the act of artificial selection over the passage of time.
I will need 3 pieces of potato in each tube. As there are 6 tubes I
Agriculture is quite possibly the most important advancement and discovery that humanity has made. It produces the one thing that we need the most: food. It has been around since 9500 BC, and can be the oldest sign of mankind’s acumen and the development and evolving of our minds and creations. Agriculture has been mastered throughout hundreds of years and is one of our most important resources on Earth, along with water and fossil fuels. Although the older farming methods from ancient times seem somewhat mediocre and barbaric, they were very ingenious and advanced for that time period. Over thousands of years, we have improved the way agriculture is used, how land is cultivated, the various techniques of farming and irrigation, and the tools and mechanics used. Numerous things that we see as aboriginal today, such as using a hand plow, were extremely contemporary in ancient times, and played key roles in the development of man and society, since quick labor was not abundant before this time. We are now extremely advanced in agriculture and irrigation and the tools used to farm and grow and harvest crops. We have learned from our past and ancestors how to grow and evolve in our methods and have advanced forward greatly.