(from Amanda, Latin American Project Coordinator)
Chile and Peru are currently in a standoff over which country can lay claim to the origins of the potato. Each country maintains that the storied tuber can be genetically traced back to its own territory. In Chile, the potato is said to come from Chiloé Island, and in Peru, the Lake Titicaca region. The dispute came to a head after the United Nations declared 2008 as the International Year of the Potato and released research that referred to Peru as the potato’s country of origin.
Wrangling over the potato is just the latest manifestation of a century-old rivalry between the two coastal South American countries. Pisco, a local brandy, is also touted as a national drink by both Chile and Peru. While on a college backpacking tour of South America, I tried pisco for the first time in Pisco, Peru. Then, in Copiapó, Chile, I tried a Chilean pisco. In each locale I was told that pisco is a national drink and it’s better on this side of the border. My taste buds were indifferent. To a foreigner, pisco is just pisco.
In today’s world, the potato plays an interesting role in development work. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has increased its promotion of the crop in developing countries during this namesake year. Due to fast-increasing global oil prices, the world’s poor is being forced to pay inflated prices for staples such as rice and bread. Many are suffering food shortages as a result. The potato is a cheap, non-labor-intensive alternative. According to the International Potato Center (CIP), potatoes are the third most important crop for providing food security in low-income countries. They are nutrient-rich and have historically served as a staple food in the diets of European Countries, Andean civilizations, and the Soviet Union, to name a few, with evidence of the crop dating back 8000 years.
To add more trouble to the pot, Bolivia, which borders Peru along Lake Titicaca, is now also arguing that the spud first sprouted on their national soil. Maybe the UN can mediate the dispute.
For more information about the potato and its celebration this year, visit www.potato2008.org.
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