The United Nations has declared a new world celebration, starting tomorrow, and you can probably make travel plans to observe it in a different country or continent every year, because potatoes have nearly conquered the globe.
Tomorrow, May 30, will be the first celebration ever of International Day of the Potato. A representative of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization urges consumers to appreciate the importance of potatoes, citing their contribution to food security and cultural identity. He warns, however, that global food security is not yet guaranteed.
The initiative was first proposed in 2021 by Peru, the home from which the potato spread so widely that since its 16th century arrival in Europe it has become a staple for around two-thirds of the global population.
The Peruvian proposal was strongly supported by Ireland, widely associated with the potato and Belgium, which invented frites.
