permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>]

In Pictures: The Potato
A Slideshow from the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/1.stm
The humble potato in all its thousands of varieties is gaining more and more importance as a food source for developing 
nations, and the UN has declared 2008 the international year of the potato.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/2.stm
     
The tubers were first cultivated on the Altiplano of modern-day Peru and Bolivia, and after being introduced to Europe 
around in the 16th Century, potatoes are now the world's third biggest staple food.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/3.stm
     
More potatoes are grown in developing countries than in the developed countries, providing poor nations with valuable 
food and some income.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/4.stm
One of their big attractions is that potatoes provide higher yields in less 
time than other staple foods.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/5.stm
     
Amid the growing food crisis, potato prices have also remained relatively 
stable as they are not traded much across borders.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/6.stm
     
When boiled, a single medium-sized potato contains about 3g of protein, half the daily adult requirement of vitamin C, 
and substantial amounts of vitamin B, as well as iron, potassium and zinc.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/7.stm
     
Pre-Incan cultures and the Incas used the freezing night temperatures and the hot sunshine of the daylight hours to 
dehydrate and freeze-dry potatoes, a process that is still used today.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/8.stm
             
About 130 countries are potato producers, growing a total of 315 million 
tonnes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/9.stm
     
China now is the world's largest potato producer, growing 70 million metric tonnes in 2006, but potatoes are 
increasingly popular across Asia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/in_pictures_the_potato_/html/10.stm
Still, experts say it has yet to realise its full potential as a global food 
source.