| Biodiversity and Peru's Potato Woes |
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| Written by Erika Fredrickson | |
| Friday, 07 March 2008 | |
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Potatoes were born in Peru, and they were essential to the Incan empire. Farmers grow blue, purple, yellow and brown potatoes, some as large as an orange, some as small as a walnut. But, in many ways, Peruvian farmers and their tubers have always been under siege. When Spanish conquistadors muscled their way into the region, they coerced natives to grow European crops like barley, beans and wheat. And in the process, some potato diversity was lost. Many generations later, the modern industrial age revealed another sort of conquistador – the government, which offered Peruvian farmers a more “progressive” type of potatoes that relies on pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers. But the farmers declined. Good thing, because the newest scourge for these mountainside potato villages is climate-induced blight, which can be devastating to farmers who switch to a monoculture. In the past 40 years, farmers have seen the Andean mountains warm so much that glaciers are disappearing permanently. The new climate has encouraged plant disease and, in particular, “Late Blight” which caused the Irish Potato famine of the1800s. Farmers have moved up into the mountains seeking the right potato environment. Some farmers are experimenting with crops to find out which potatoes can handle the new climate trend. Many Andean villages keep large collections of seeds, and there's a potato gene bank in Lima that has socked away thousands of varieties. Source: NPR
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  written by Benjamin, March 11, 2008
Amazing looking taters. The diversity is inspiring. Thanks.
written by Terra, March 13, 2008
Those potatoes look amazing. Is there a way to support these farmers by buying the potatoes or the seeds to grow on our own?
written by Erika, March 14, 2008
I'm not sure how we might support these farmers, but here's a link to the potato vault in Lima which looks like it has some trade programs.
http://www.cipotato.org/
 written by Judith, December 07, 2008
I have an (under-development) website about potato recipes. I want to expand it to offer potato recipes from Peru and other countries. I have become convinced that the potato offers at least part of the solution to world hunger and want to use my site to encourage potato consumption. If anyone can point me to recipes that I can use I would be most grateful.
 written by Louis, October 31, 2009
I've just begun my involvement with
organic farming in New Hampshire. The path away from monoculture seems logical and New Hampshire's climate would seem to lend itself to the diversity of Peruvian potatoes.
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It's true what our moms said...we are what we eat. In fact, it's truer than they thought. What I eat doesn't just affect me anymore, it affects all of us.
Unfortunately, the story of food can sometimes be complicated. But envirovores help each other out...which is why this blog will be bringing you news, tips, and information about food and the environment every step of the way.
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