Thank You Mr. Potato Head

The potato has been no small fry in the history of popular trends, explains an Ohio State University faculty member to a group of 15 university students this morning.

Hopefully the year 2008 will bring greater appreciation for this revolutionary veggie says Dr. Ezra Kuttner, an expert for the Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Dept. at Ohio University and writer of one book and over 100 articles on the topic.The potato’s history entails a long list of impressive achievements and has set the bar high for other veggies. The spud’s history is closely intertwined with three major trends in history explains Kuttner.

The potato has had an impressive influence on economic development, free trade and globalization and is well deserving of the recent attention cast upon it by recent books and articles.The potato has come a long way and has proved its original skeptics, fearing it a poisonous plant and underestimating its nutritional value, ignorant to its potential. Kuttner described it as an almost perfect nutritional food. Because of this impressive nutritional value and high energy source, the potato has been used throughout history to alleviate poverty and save countries in times of famine.

So what’s next on the list for Mr. Potato Head’s impressive resume? According to Kettner, future space travelers who will have to grow their own food will rely heavily on it. At last, it looks like after a long history of underestimation, the potato’s capabilities are finally being recognized and utilized.