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Can potatoes still be seen as a vegetable? There is an ongoing political debate about this in the United States.
US health authorities, the potato lobby and members of Congress have been bickering for years over the classification of the starchy food. This classification determines, among other things, the awarding of government subsidies.
According to data from the Department of Agriculture, Americans ate an average of 22 kilograms of potatoes per year in 2019, about half of which came in the form of frozen products such as French fries.
Overweight
Supporters of the removal from the vegetable category call it a public health issue, since more than four in 10 adult Americans are overweight.
Potatoes are “rich in potassium, calcium and vitamin C,” fourteen US senators noted in a letter sent to the ministers of Agriculture and Health. A change in classification would “confuse consumers, restaurants and producers,” said senators from Idaho, Maine and Oregon, all states with significant potato production.
But…
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said there is no consideration of changing the classification. So the soup may not be eaten as hot when served.
The debate is reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan’s administration’s attempt to classify ketchup as a vegetable in American school lunches. However, public outrage soon caused the project to be shelved.