Man eats only potatoes for two months.

[whm1974]

What a waste he could've been distilling an alcoholic beverage from some of those potatoes.....


____________

Vodka for everyone!!!

 

[FelixDeCat]

Still not posted after 126 posts?

He loved him some french fried taters....and mustard

the best kind are cut with a sling blade....mmmm hhhmmm

 

[whm1974]

Found this short Danish cartoon about the Potato:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3761xKxgjZw

 

[whm1974]

I wondered the potato famines of the 19th century could have been avoided if Europe and the US simply grew more then the one or two varieties that they did, and planted them from the seeds instead of using cut up tubers?

Peru was hardly hit back thendue to very wide varieties that they farmed and still do.

 

[whm1974]

No one has any thoughts on the potato famines and the downsides of mono-culture?

 

[whm1974]

Here is a short article on the importance of genetic diversity in crops:
https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/agriculture_02

 

[zinfamous]

That word is even more uncalled for. Not because it's politically incorrect, but because it's immature and doesn't add a whit to your argument.

Also, "obviously" is just as bad as "actually" if we are talking about overused words, which you literally just used, obviously. Just sayin'. Seriously. Really.

This is literally the most retarded post I have ever read. Just sayin'.

 

[zinfamous]

I've only used it to thicken soups, stews and sauces/gravy.

Instant potatoes are great for this as well.

 

[nakedfrog]

Instant potatoes are great for this as well.

Huh, never thought of this, but it sounds legit.

 

[whm1974]

So any thoughts on potato genetic diversity? In Peru they still have around 5000 varieties of spuds.

 

[Darwin333]

Genetic diversity is a great thing.

 

[whm1974]

Genetic diversity is a great thing.

Yes it is. And I'm wondering if the potato famines of the mid to late 19th century could have been prevented if farmers simply had more varieties to grow?

 

[Darwin333]

Yes it is. And I'm wondering if the potato famines of the mid to late 19th century could have been prevented if farmers simply had more varieties to grow?

Most likely it would have, or at least significantly reduced its impact. Given enough genetic diversity it absolutely would have. That is one of the biggest reasons that genetic diversity is a good thing.

 

[whm1974]

Most likely it would have, or at least significantly reduced its impact. Given enough genetic diversity it absolutely would have. That is one of the biggest reasons that genetic diversity is a good thing.

I think it has become very dangerous now since not only a few crops are now grown in comparison to what could be farmed, but also very few varieties of those crops as well. I'm afraid we get hit very hard if we lose too much diversity in our food supply.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

So any thoughts on potato genetic diversity?

All I ever do is think about potato genetic diversity. I come to ATOT to get away from it all.

 

[whm1974]

All I ever do is think about potato genetic diversity. I come to ATOT to get away from it all.

So what do you do for a living?

 

[Red Squirrel]

This is something I always kind of wondered, say you have limited seeds for a crop, is there a way you can somehow create diversity in crops, or will this happen naturally by multiplying them under different conditions? Like say an apocalypse situation where you are starting to re-colonize the planet and have like 10 seeds to work from.

 

[Darwin333]

I think it has become very dangerous now since not only a few crops are now grown in comparison to what could be farmed, but also very few varieties of those crops as well. I'm afraid we get hit very hard if we lose too much diversity in our food supply.

Well luckily we are in a much better place than ever before. We have multiple seed banks protecting our foods biodiversity along with the ability to quickly genetically modify crops. It might be a rough year if something was to hit globally all at once but we'd get through it better than any other humans in history.

 

[Darwin333]

This is something I always kind of wondered, say you have limited seeds for a crop, is there a way you can somehow create diversity in crops, or will this happen naturally by multiplying them under different conditions? Like say an apocalypse situation where you are starting to re-colonize the planet and have like 10 seeds to work from.

No, unless some sort of mutations happen in nature you are pretty much stuck with the genetics from those 10 seeds. Same thing if you only have 10 humans to repopulate the earth.

 

[nakedfrog]

So what do you do for a living?

I assume he's a studio recording engineer.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Well luckily we are in a much better place than ever before. We have multiple seed banks protecting our foods biodiversity along with the ability to quickly genetically modify crops. It might be a rough year if something was to hit globally all at once but we'd get through it better than any other humans in history.

Rough only for some farmers. And probably for longer than a year. It would take some time to recover, learn to plant new crops or new varieties of the ones that were wiped out.

The population, though? We'd have to eat more onion rings and sweet potato fries with our fast food meals and find something else to mash at Thanksgiving. I'm not sure many people would really notice.

 

[Darwin333]

Rough only for some farmers. And probably for longer than a year. It would take some time to recover, learn to plant new crops or new varieties of the ones that were wiped out.

The population, though? We'd have to eat more onion rings and sweet potato fries with our fast food meals and find something else to mash at Thanksgiving. I'm not sure many people would really notice.

I was thinking more of a substantial food crop like some global disaster with our wheat crops. We'd have to fix that fast and we have the tools and resources to do so. The farmers wouldn't need anything but new seeds to plant.

 

[whm1974]

I was thinking more of a substantial food crop like some global disaster with our wheat crops. We'd have to fix that fast and we have the tools and resources to do so. The farmers wouldn't need anything but new seeds to plant.

Wasn't there some country in Asia during 2007/2008 who's rice crop was wiped by bad weather by ~70%? As I recall, they simply and quickly planted larger amounts of potatoes to avoid starvation.

 

[Darwin333]

Wasn't there some country in Asia during 2007/2008 who's rice crop was wiped by bad weather by ~70%? As I recall, they simply and quickly planted larger amounts of potatoes to avoid starvation.

Bad weather for a year is one thing but some sort of global "plant disease" that wipes out a staple such as wheat or even rice is an entirely different ballgame.

 

[whm1974]

Bad weather for a year is one thing but some sort of global "plant disease" that wipes out a staple such as wheat or even rice is an entirely different ballgame.

Bangladesh is country this happen in.
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Bangladesh-needs-rice-11165.html