{"id":20184,"date":"2024-04-03T09:35:37","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T09:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=20184"},"modified":"2024-04-03T09:36:48","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T09:36:48","slug":"is-potato-a-grain-u-s-senate-defends-the-tubers-vegetable-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/04\/03\/is-potato-a-grain-u-s-senate-defends-the-tubers-vegetable-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Is potato a grain? U.S. Senate defends the tuber\u2019s vegetable status"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The common potato<\/u><\/a> may soon reclassify as a grain if the U.S. Senate fails to defend its waning vegetable status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may be the number one food for the average American, who consumes\u00a049.4 pounds<\/u><\/a>\u00a0of potatoes per year, but classifiers call it starchy. Hence, it may soon earn an infamous inclusion in the grain section of the oncoming 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DGA review happens every 5 years through a joint committee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Health and Human Services (HHS) department.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this year\u2019s DGA recommendations to reclassify the potato has met with strong congressional opposition. On April 2, 2024, 14 U.S. senators formally contacted USDA and HHS to field their disagreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They opined that placing potatoes in the grain food class will deny millions of Americans a key nutritional source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, the senators cited the higher nutritional composition of potatoes over grains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, potatoes have a 15% higher value <\/u><\/a>of potassium which nourishes muscles than a banana, itself a starchy fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The senators also delineated the vitamin content of a medium baked potato as superior to that of grains. They pointed out a vitamin B6 proportion of 27% of the daily value (DV) and vitamin C at 28%. Besides, the root harbors a dietary fiber portion of 15% of the DV. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, the above elements currently make the tuber list among DGA\u2019s 2020-2025 healthy foods for Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this reclassification goes ahead, the senators\u2019 letter warns that \u201cconsumers would miss out on vital nutrients.\u201d<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arguably, schools would have to increase vegetable procurement costs for their lunch packages since potatoes offer the cheapest vegetable option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potatoes currently cost less than $6.99 per kilogram in the United States and could get cheaper. Indeed, the 2023-24 record U.S. harvest produced\u00a09% more<\/u><\/a>\u00a0than its 2022-23 equivalent, meaning buffer supplies in store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, as the letter concludes, reclassifying potatoes as grains would confuse the supply chain and lead to less retail momentum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The common potato may soon reclassify as a grain if the U.S. Senate fails to defend its waning vegetable status. It may be the number one food for the average American, who consumes\u00a049.4 pounds\u00a0of potatoes per year, but classifiers call it starchy. Hence, it may soon earn an infamous inclusion in the grain section of the oncoming…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs potato a grain? 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