The Irish Potato Famine
This week the NSW Legislative Council moved unanamously:
“1. That this House notes:
(a) that May 2009 is the 150th anniversary of the Great Hunger, a cycle of famine in Ireland caused by the potato blight,
(b) the terrible tragedy suffered by up to one million people who starved to death,
(c) the development of the Great Irish Diaspora which saw millions of Irish families emigrate to countries such as the United States of America, Canada, England, Scotland and Australia, resulting in the population of Ireland being reduced by up to 25 per cent,
(d) the cause of this tragedy can be attributed to a series of political, environment and economic factors, and
(e) the devastating impact of the famine and the forced emigration on Ireland’s traditional culture and language.
2. That this House commends the Irish nation and its people for their resilience and steadfastness in adversity and the enrichment they have given the development of the nations who benefited from their contribution.”
One of the last tasks before we left for USA last year and my lecturing responsibilities, was to fork over the beautiful friable soil, add some more compost and cow manure, and cut up our seed potatoes. They were ready to harvest in early 2009. Last year I tried planting them in a mixture of shredded paper and chicken manure from our chooks. That did not work. I think all those Parliamentary speeches were too dry and barren for potatoes!
But Beverley aerated the soil, cut the seed potatoes into quarters and planted a crop that will last months into next year giving us good vegetables at little cost. As a child in school holidays, I was put onto the milk truck where the friendly driver would take me to Gippsland, Victoria, and drop me off at the 49-acre farm of Auntie Bella and Uncle Jack at 7 Mile Road, Nar Nar Goon. They milked about 100 cows owned by Mr. Fiske and the milk truck would pick up that morning’s milk.
Uncle Jack, called ‘Pommy’ by everyone for obvious reasons, drove the tractor and plough about the large house paddock, and my cousin John and I would walk behind dropping in the seed potatoes left from last year’s crop. When they were sitting on the drying racks we used them as missiles in many a battle. When they went rotten, they had a horrendous smell when landed on the enemy!
The next school holidays I would visit, it would be time for harvesting. Uncle Jack sat on the tractor towing the harvester. As the potatoes popped up from the soil, John, Auntie Bella and I would bag them in large hessian bags. It was back breaking toil. They were dirt-poor farmers, just making a living, but like thousands of potato farmers before them, they were sustained by the humble spud.
Recently while in the area I went down the 7 Mile Road to find the old farm. Everything I remember except some Pine Trees were gone. The potato farm was no more. In its place were hundreds of two-story McMansions, built on tiny plots of land for Melbourne’s commuter families.
The potato is the world’s most widely grown tuber crop, and the fourth largest food crop in terms of fresh produce — after rice, wheat, and maize (corn). The year 2000 was the International Year of the Potato. Was someone at the United Nations joking? No, because the potato could be one of the food saviours of the world.
The potato originated in the area of contemporary Peru, not Ireland as many people think. The potato was introduced to Europe in 1536 and subsequently by European mariners to territories and ports throughout the world. Thousands of varieties persist in the Andes, where over 100 varieties might be found in a single valley, and a dozen or more might be maintained by a single agricultural household.
Today The International Potato Centre in Lima, Peru is the world’s research centre into the crop. “Today, hundreds of millions of people in the developing countries depend on potatoes,” said Dr. Pamela K. Anderson, Director General of the Potato Centre. “Together, the populations of Africa, Asia and Oceania eat over 113 million tonnes of potatoes per year. Many developing countries are turning to the potato to feed their populations, and to help to feed the millions born every year.”
Today, China is the world’s leading potato grower, producing 72 million tonnes, followed by Russia, India, and the Ukraine, then the United States. But the potential of the potato has yet to be fully realized – which has never been more evident until the recent rising prices of rice, wheat and maize.
Potatoes are making a substantial contribution to meeting the need for food in the developing countries. Consumption has increased: from an average of 9 kg per person in 1961-63 to over 14 kg per person nowadays. The crop is fundamental in the diets of populations in countries in South America, Africa, Central Asia and Asia. Potatoes have many advantages as a food and cash crop. “Potatoes produce more nutrition, energy and edible biomass per unit area and time than any other major crop,” said Dr Anderson.
We all know about Ireland’s dreadful potato famine. Once established in Europe, the potato soon became an important food staple and field crop. The real reason for the Great Famine was the lack of genetic diversity, due to the fact that very few varieties were initially introduced, leaving the crop vulnerable to disease. In 1845, a fungal disease, Phytophthora infestans, also known as late blight, spread rapidly through the poorer communities of western Ireland, resulting in the Great Irish Famine from 1846 to 1849. The famine never occurred in Scotland because the Scots had shunned the potato, because it was not specifically mentioned in the Bible.
But Ireland was totally dependent upon it. In fact, the Industrial Revolution could not have happened without the potato. It was a cheap and hardy source of food for the new workers funneled into the cities. In 1849 Reverend Miles Berkeley identified this potato disease as being caused by an infectious agent, disagreeing violently with his religious colleagues who blamed the devil.
The toll on the Irish population and culture was shocking and huge, caused by many different factors. These included the actual shortage of food, the unsympathetic British military occupation, and a bizarre social structure involving absentee landlords and tiny plots of land. During the Great Potato Famine, one million people starved to death, and another million emigrated overseas. The Great Potato Famine caused the demise of the Celtic Church and the near-annihilation of the Irish language. The population plummeted from its previous level of 8.4 million to half that. Dr Karl S. Kruszelnicki commented on his ABC Radio program of great moment in Science that “while the Irish people and the Irish culture gave us many things, they did not give us the humble spud.”
Potato farmers fight for market share today from the two centres of potato growing in Australia, Gippsland and Tasmania. Restoring the potato to its former status as a staple food is a quest that has occupied the best brains of the potato industry now for several decades. We have just planted two varieties Coliban and Sebago, both dependable species with good white flesh. In the French-fry (chips) market, which accounts for some 50 per cent of Australian potato consumption, the Russet Burbank – a North American variety – has long reigned supreme. After initial problems, farmers have adapted to growing Russet Burbank potatoes more successfully. It may be the king of French fries, but the scientists are plotting its demise for a variety that requires less water. “What we’re looking for is a French fry shape potato, a longer one, with square ends and cylindrical in shape.
What we also have to do is to educate the family cook. Overall the consumption of fresh potatoes has fallen at the expense of rice and pasta as Australians have become more multicultural. But the decline in traditional meals, the knowledge of how to cook potatoes, a misconception that they are fattening and, in some cases, poor quality potatoes, have all conspired against the spud.
McCain’s in Victoria and Simplot in Tasmania dominate the French fry market. In the wake of well-publicized disputes with their contract growers in past years, both companies are extremely publicity shy. Low prices are a common complaint by potato farmers. The paddock price for conventional spuds is 20 to 30 cents a kilo. The supermarket price hovers around $3.
But do not underestimate the potato as the food for the future. As cereal prices rise, potatoes have the potential to be the affordable food for the developing countries. Hundreds of millions of people in the developing countries are facing crisis as the cost of their staple foods continues to rise. Rice prices have almost doubled during 2008 and wheat prices are climbing rapidly. But the price of the potato, the world’s third most important food crop, has remained stable.
Our potato crop was immense and healthy. We only regret it wasn’t so 150 years ago. Genetic diversity is essential to prevent certain diseases in human (diabetes, hemophilia, etc.) and also in the potato.
Rev The Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC
