Potatoes and Katoffles
I've been reading a very interesting book titled Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World Larry Zuckerman. This is really an interesting book....yes really. History and civilization revolve around food more than possibly any other factor. Empires are built on crops that work. Empires fall when their crops do. A lesson we might consider when driving trough endless miles of corn and bean monoculture.
The potato was a food that brought the possibility of increased fecundity and quality of life to people outside the Inca Empire. It is truly one of the great and durable foods of the world.
Surprisingly, the author finds it hard to prove (post hoc ergo propter hoc) that the potato was the cause of increased survival and birthrate...except anecdotally. I have always wondered whether the humble potatoes arrival in Norway didn't cause a population surge that led my ancestors to come to this country? Maybe I will write a book. I'd hate to think about lefse without potatoes. I thank those industrious Peruvian agriculturalists for giving us the uber-food of foods.
The potato was a food that brought the possibility of increased fecundity and quality of life to people outside the Inca Empire. It is truly one of the great and durable foods of the world.
Surprisingly, the author finds it hard to prove (post hoc ergo propter hoc) that the potato was the cause of increased survival and birthrate...except anecdotally. I have always wondered whether the humble potatoes arrival in Norway didn't cause a population surge that led my ancestors to come to this country? Maybe I will write a book. I'd hate to think about lefse without potatoes. I thank those industrious Peruvian agriculturalists for giving us the uber-food of foods.
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