Low-Carb Diet
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, something unexpected happened to the potato industry. The Atkins diet caught fire and millions of Americans vowed to lose weight by, among other things, cutting carbohydrates out of their diets. Those eating decisions—person by person—changed the image of the potato and affected an entire industry.
“That was the big rag, that really had dramatic effects for about a three- or four-year period,” says Chris Voigt, executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission (WSPC).
He wasn’t working in Washington at that time, but Voigt says there was an industry-wide double-digit drop. Washington, to some extent, was insulated because 90 percent of the state’s potatoes are sold to processing plants.
“We’re starting to see a little bit of improvement on potatoes and carbs,” Voigt says.
A Balancing Act
Roughly 70 percent of the 10 billion pounds of potatoes Washington producers grow each year are exported. So the anti-trade rhetoric of the November general elections worried many Washington potato growers.
Since his election, President Donald Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, a decision the WSPC disagreed with. The main concern: Some of the U.S.’s primary potato competitors, like Canada, are in free trade agreements.
In place of broad free trade agreements, Voigt says it’s imperative the U.S. create bilateral agreements with other nations. Voigt points to Japan, the biggest international buyer of Washington potatoes. Those agreements have to come quickly, Voigt says.
“If we don’t have a free trade agreement in place, Canada will,” he says.
At the same time Washington potato growers worry about how Trump’s trade deals will affect their businesses, they’re promised deregulation will have a positive impact.
“Virtually everything we do, there is some type of regulation involved,” Voigt says. He hopes the Trump administration will critically examine the regulations to see what regulations aren’t “serving a useful purpose anymore.”
Future Problems
The two biggest challenges facing Washington potato growers over the next decade are trade and global instability, Voigt says.
“Any time there is global instability, it can really disrupt international trade,” he says.
On a more positive note, Voigt says potato growers are turning their attention to soil science.
“Soils are kind of the next unknown frontier for agriculture to take a look at,” he says.
Better understanding of soils may allow growers to produce higher yields while also maintaining soil health.
60 Days of Potatoes
Voigt says that after eating nothing but potatoes for two months, he’d never felt better.
He started the diet in 2010 to draw attention to federal proposals to bar or limit potatoes in some programs, arguing that potatoes are high in nutrients.
“The challenge was I couldn’t really add stuff to it,” he says.
His publicity stunt drew international attention. Voigt started getting “potatoes from all over the country.” He tried eating them all different ways, including juicing purple potatoes (which he doesn’t recommend) and making potato ice cream (also not great, he says). So, mostly he ate mashed potatoes.
The day Voigt ended his diet, he underwent a physical. His weight had dropped from 197 to 176 pounds, and his cholesterol level had fallen 67 points. At the time, Voigt says he and his doctor were both shocked.
Source: The Spokesman-Review