In 1996, the United States reached its peak in potato consumption. Americans ate 64 pounds of vegetables a year, more than at any time since contemporary statistics began in 1970. The record harvest flooded the country with so many vegetables that the government had to pay farmers to distribute them. At the White House, the Clintons forced potatoes – fried, pickled, boiled and garlic – on princesses and presidents at state dinners.
“It was a crazy time,” says Chris Voigt, whose long career as a potato merchant began during the potato craze of the slow 1990s. “You could literally buy buckets of french fries.” But as Voigt rose through the potato industry to executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, the fortunes of the American potato changed dramatically.
The average American now eats 30 percent less potatoes than in the vegetable’s heyday, reaching an all-time low of 45 pounds per year. The decline in consumption of fresh potatoes – for cooking, baking, grating and steaming – was even faster. In 2019, frozen potato consumption exceeded fresh potato consumption for the first time, opening a gap that has continued to widen since the pandemic. Most frozen potatoes are eaten as French fries.
This turned potato fields into battlegrounds for the future of food in America. In December 2023, reports emerged that the U.S. Dietary Guidelines may change declassifying potatoes as vegetables, reflecting the approach taken in the UK. There was such a stir that US Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack was forced to write a letter reassures senators that his agency had no such plans.
This reclassification may have failed, but the potato fell spectacularly into disfavor. Once upon a time, this wonderful, nutrient-rich vegetable was the fuel of human civilization. Now spud in the US has become synonymous with a junk industrialized food system that funnels profits to a few companies at the expense of people’s health.
America’s favorite vegetable is facing a Sophie’s Choice moment. Should we assume that fresh spuds have lost the fight against the wave of fries, potato pancakes and waffles, or is there hope for a potato renaissance? Will the humble spud achieve the rehabilitation he deserves?
White potato it’s a criminally underrated food. Compared to other carbohydrate-containing foods such as pasta, white bread or rice, potatoes are prosperous in vitamin C, potassium and fiber. They are also surprisingly high in protein. If you meet your daily calorie goal by eating only potatoes, you will also exceed your daily protein goal, which is 56 grams for a man aged 31-50.
Chris Voigt knows this because in 2010 he ate only potatoes for 60 days. And some oil. And once pickle juice. But the thing is that for two months Voigt didn’t live only on potatoes, he too prospered. By the end of the diet, Voigt had lost 21 pounds, his cholesterol had dropped by 41 percent, and he had stopped snoring. “I think I have personally proven that the potato is very nutritious no matter how you eat it – whether you boil it, fry it, cook it in the oven or steam it,” says Voigt.