Feeding the People: The Politics of the Potato

by Rebecca Earle

Almost no one knew what a potato was in 1500.

Today, they are the world's fourth most important food crop.

Feeding the People traces the global journey of this popular foodstuff from the Andes to everywhere. The potato's global history makes visible the ways in which our ideas about eating are entangled with the emergence of capitalism and its celebration of the free market.

The potato's story also reminds us that ordinary people make history in ways that continue to shape our lives. Potatoes, in short, are a good way of rethinking the origins of our modern world.

Feeding the People tells the story of how eating became part of statecraft, and provides a new account of the global spread of one of the world's most important foods.


"In following the global travels of the peripatetic potato, Earle brilliantly illuminates both the origins of dietary advice that promised the key to happiness and the everyday ingenuity of farmers and cooks who really do feed the people." Jeffrey M. Pilcher - author of Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food

"If they’re delicious when you choose to eat them, but penitentially bland when you’re told you have to, you may be eating potatoes, which, as Rebecca Earle argues in her brilliant study of the shape-shifting tubers, provided the first taste of the tension between personal freedom and public well-being within the modern state." Joyce E. Chaplin - author of The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius

"Potatoes have inspired great books and great recipes. Rebecca Earle describes some unalluring dishes, but her history - cultural, culinary, social, political, and environmental - is the cream of the crop: for coverage, scholarship, breadth and depth of erudition, vividness in exemplification, and fluency in writing no previous work can touch it." Felipe Fernandez-Armesto - author of Out of Our Minds: What We Think and How We Came to Think It

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Food, Food and Drink, Food History, Cooking

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Khushi]

DNFed after attempting to read 3+ times. reads way too essayish for my taste, despite the super interesting content :(

[Gette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating but dense history. I esp like the illustrations, which include the Parmentier tombstone at Pere Lachaise Cemetery, who is credited with introducing the potato in France,
and Van Gogh’s The Potato Eaters.

[Susan Brunner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book’s full title is Feeding the People, The politics of the Potato. This is an interesting look at history through the lens of the potato. There are stories that it was the elite that introduced the potato in different parts of the world. They can make great stories. However, Rebecca Earle disputes this and talks about how it was the ordinary people that adopted the potatoes in different parts of the world.

I have been reading a lot of history through a number of lenses and different angles recently. Others I have recently reviewed is history through the lens of music and the mosquito. This is another view of history. This is story telling through food, especially the potato. So, this is potato and history.

Potatoes rank fourth in value with regards to foods. It is behind wheat, maize, and rice in volume. It is the fifth most valuable crop. Rebecca Earle talks about how lots of ordinary people accepted and adapted to the potato long before they drew the attention of the elite.

It is interesting that the governments at one time got very interested in what their people were eating. This started in Britain at the time of Boer War (1899) because the government found 40% to 60% of the people too malnourished for recruitment for the war. Britain also found the same problem going into WWI (1914). With the Enlightenment, people thought there was a relationship between the health and vigor of the population and the wealth and power of the state.

Rebecca Earle talks about the potato through different periods of time after it becoming available to Europe in the 16th Century. Mostly it was regarded as a good nutritious food, but not always. Elites sometimes thought of the potato as a source of excellent nutrition for the poor and at other times thought of potato eaters as lazy.

Some reviewers have criticized what they call her formulistic writing, but personally, I found the book interesting and the history of the potato fascinating. Unfortunately, I cannot give links to reviews because the papers where they are, are locking anyone out who is not a subscriber. Potatoes were unknow outside the Andes before the 16th century. Now they are everywhere.

I like to hear authors speak about their books. However, I could not find any video by Rebecca Earle. I did find some essays by her and some reviews of her essays and book. See the links below. If you like her essays, you can go on and get the book. It is an easy and interesting read.

How the Humble Potato Fuelled The Rise of Liberal Capitalism by Rebecca Earle is an essay that she wrote. It is an interesting essay and well worth the read. A review of this essay by Carissa Chew is on the Retrospect Journal. You can read another essay of Rebecca Earle at The Conversation. It is entitled Beyond porridge: pigeon in a kettle and other prison-cell cuisine.

Oliver Wiseman reviews this book and one on coffee at The Critic. Diego Arguedas Ortiz at BBC gives a history of the potatoes and mentions Rebecca Earle. There is a review of this book also at Potato Grower. The reviewer says the book is potato centric with recipes woven throughout.

An index of the books I have reviewed are on my website at Books. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating read! I wish there was more to read! Oh, and more recipes. I finished reading Feeding the People written by the very talented Rebecca Earle several days ago but wanted to savor the experience and how to describe it before writing my review.

This book takes us on the incredible journey of the humble potato. Some things I knew but the majority and/or depth of the material presented was new to me. It may not be everyone's plate of mash but why not? I'm a history geek and a food geek - this is the perfect book for me. I often wonder what prompted someone to put THAT in their mouth. I mean some things look more like something we can eat but other things? Ugh, how, why, what were they thinking? Now, a potato, I grew up with it, I love them, every variety I've had the pleasure to try in many delicious ways. But the first person to try it must have noticed an animal eating it, right? It was growing wild so that means you'd have to know there was something to dig up and where. It probably looked like a rock or something equally inedible yet someone was brave enough to try it. For all they knew it was poisonous! They didn't even know how to prepare it. They had to learn how to cultivate it as well. My hat, and apron, off to that brave, observant person. I love potatoes and it seems to have fans the world over.

The ups and downs of the potatoe's popularity made for an interesting read. Well everything was interesting, I found myself wanting to share many of the facts and conclusions with any and all within hearing distance. Those of the "upperclass" , whether politicians or just plain nosy and bossy, sure had a lot to say about the wonderfully versatile potato but luckily us regular folk just keep doing what we're doing. Let them fight over who gets credit, who should or should not eat them. They come up with those vile recipes that they forced on people who needed something more nutritious. History shows you can't stop them or their crowing about it. With this terrific book, now we know the real deal. Hope someone makes a documentary of this book, I bet there are many who are interested in the origins of what we eat.

The author did a lot of research into this subject and it shows. I hope she writes more about food history, it is a fascinating subject and she writes so very well. This may be a non-fiction book but it reads like a fiction. By that I mean that there are twists and turns, excitement all the things that some may think can not exist in an informational text. Well, Feeding the People will disabuse them of that notion. Read this book!

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating read! I wish there was more to read! Oh, and more recipes. I finished reading Feeding the People written by the very talented Rebecca Earle several days ago but wanted to savor the experience and how to describe it before writing my review.

This book takes us on the incredible journey of the humble potato. Some things I knew but the majority and/or depth of the material presented was new to me. It may not be everyone's plate of mash but why not? I'm a history geek and a food geek - this is the perfect book for me. I often wonder what prompted someone to put THAT in their mouth. I mean some things look more like something we can eat but other things? Ugh, how, why, what were they thinking? Now, a potato, I grew up with it, I love them, every variety I've had the pleasure to try in many delicious ways. But the first person to try it must have noticed an animal eating it, right? It was growing wild so that means you'd have to know there was something to dig up and where. It probably looked like a rock or something equally inedible yet someone was brave enough to try it. For all they knew it was poisonous! They didn't even know how to prepare it. They had to learn how to cultivate it as well. My hat, and apron, off to that brave, observant person. I love potatoes and it seems to have fans the world over.

The ups and downs of the potatoe's popularity made for an interesting read. Well everything was interesting, I found myself wanting to share many of the facts and conclusions with any and all within hearing distance. Those of the "upperclass" , whether politicians or just plain nosy and bossy, sure had a lot to say about the wonderfully versatile potato but luckily us regular folk just keep doing what we're doing. Let them fight over who gets credit, who should or should not eat them. They come up with those vile recipes that they forced on people who needed something more nutritious. History shows you can't stop them or their crowing about it. With this terrific book, now we know the real deal. Hope someone makes a documentary of this book, I bet there are many who are interested in the origins of what we eat.

The author did a lot of research into this subject and it shows. I hope she writes more about food history, it is a fascinating subject and she writes so very well. This may be a non-fiction book but it reads like a fiction. By that I mean that there are twists and turns, excitement all the things that some may think can not exist in an informational text. Well, Feeding the People will disabuse them of that notion. Read this book!

[Emmalita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like potatoes. I like history. A book tracing the history of the potato, it’s global spread and it’s use in statecraft is right up my ally. Rebecca Earle’s Feeding the People: The Politics of the Potato is a dense and interesting read. I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I would love love love to see this adapted into a documentary series. The book is packed with ideas and it travels the globe. From the spine of the Andes in South America to being the forth most important food in the world, the potato intersects with colonialism, Enlightenment philosophy, economic systems, statecraft, revolutions, and more. Dr. Earle is working with so many strands, and she weaves them deftly into a compelling story that I want Netflix numbers of people to hear it.

Potatoes, however, provide an effective tracer precisely because their penetration into the kitchens of ordinary people does not coincide neatly with their prominence within political discourse. Their sudden elevation within eighteenth-century political discourse throws a spotlight onto new features of modern statecraft. Moreover, because they are such a fantastically successful global foodstuff they allow us to sketch a more global story about the links between everyday diets and the modern state.

By World War Two, the potato had become an important tool for all populations impacted by the war. Governments promoted potato consumption and civilians and soldiers alike latched onto the potato for nutrition when food was scarce.

Soviet peasants, who during the war relied almost entirely on foods they grew themselves, more than doubled their potato consumption. ‘They ate potatoes for breakfast, for lunch and for tea; they ate them all ways – baked, fried, in potato cakes, in soup, but most often simply boiled,’ recalled one Russian.

Dr. Earle also includes a few potato recipes, none with vicodin though. I have no intention of making the Jellied Meat and Potato Salad, though I would love to see it made.

For all it’s density, it’s not a long book. nearly half the book is source citations. If you get nerdy about history and food, this would be a great addition to your library. And someone, please get this in the hands of a producer with Netflix or the BBC.

[Luka Novak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of introduction of potato to Europe and its spread into European colonies later. Earle challenges traditional view that potato was forced upon reluctant peasants from above, by few visionary and smart rulers, Frederick the Great is often cited as such. Instead she posits that potato found its own way into European agriculture, was willingly adopted by peasants and it was only later that state got involved. she argues that potato was adopted by farmers for personal use, but since it was grown in gardens for personal use it was invisible to tax collectors as such cultivation was not taxed. It was only later, in 18th century when potato became so widespread it transitioned from small scale garden cultivation for personal use to large scale field grown product for sale that state took notice.

she then charts how opinion of state on potato swung from one extreme to the other. From crop that was filling and easy to grow and so encouraged to feed growing populations, to being scorned as food of the poor and peasants being held back by clinging to it to again crucial part of diet during world wars. Mixed in are various philosophers' opinions that argued for one or the other side.

What is interesting is that she utterly neglects two important parts of potato history. One is War of Bavarian succession (1778-79), where there was little fighting but soldiers still died from starvation. It was potatoes that kept various armies better fed, thus establishing the plant as crucial to war economies. Other is Irish potato famine (1845-52). It's very odd she ignores this as whole "Irish are potato eaters and English are not" is repeated motive through the book and Irish reliance on the crop is something English philosophers and politicians often remarked as the thing that is holding Ireland back and prevents its development.

Overall an interesting read that challenges traditional perception on how potato became such crucial part of world's diet and a book that covers little known but important parts of history.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feeding the People: The Politics of the Potato by Rebecca Earle is an engrossing read about the intersection of food and politics.

I admit that I find histories that connect the mundane daily aspects of life to the larger, often political, aspects. This volume does a great job of presenting the potato as both a staple of many people's diets as well as a site of conflict over governmental intrusion. Basically, over time, we have been both encouraged and discouraged from eating the potato. We have been told what ways to use it and what ways to avoid using it for our health. Yet we don't want the government to tell us what to eat at the same time that we insist they protect our health and safety through inspections and standards.

The part that spoke most directly to me, mainly because it involves a philosopher I have studied and read extensively, is where Earle brings Foucault's understanding of power into play. Particularly the idea that some people are helped to live while others are prodded toward death. Diet and how foods are promoted and provided play just one part of the larger picture, but an essential one. The most affordable is often the least healthy. The most healthy foods are often priced out of the reach of those people who are considered expendable.

Utilizing the history of the potato Earle offers a glimpse at how food is never simply sustenance, even dating back to the times we might have thought it would. The tendency to use food as both a marker of privilege and a tool for oppression is highlighted in this fascinating story.

While written for an academic audience, the writing is accessible to most readers. It is deceptively dense, in that it presents a great deal of information without being too dry or "scholarly" for a popular readership.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Anuradha Sowmyanarayanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

FEEDING THE PEOPLE (THE POLITICS OF POTATO) BY REBECCA EARLE deals with the most favourite vegetable of both children &adults. YES! Your guess is right, it is none other than the tuber shaped root vegetable POTATO. “Potato is the fifth most valuable food crop’’. This above line from the book ensures that how potato is being cultivated worldwide in a large scale?

The book carries a lot of information about potato which will surely excite the reader to complete the book at the earliest. The book is well structured with contents, figures, conclusions, recipes, abbreviations & Introduction.

UNITED NATIONS declaration of 2008 as the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF POTATO itself talks much about potato and the role of it in providing food security and eradicating poverty. Rebecca Earle’s work on one such staple food is worth a wider appreciation.

Recipe of Sichuan stir fried potato silvers, Truffles; etc along with the mention of German cook books, first printed recipe book, potato- tithe all makes an interesting read.

In this book, issues like food sovereignty, guild system, peasants &potatoes, first written description of a potato and many more are discussed. Readers are fortunate enough get all these details at just the turn of a page. ”No plant is as universally useful as potatoes”- this line from the book, proves the richness of the plant and the nourishment provided by it.

Eminent personalities like Columbus, Douglas, William Coles, James Vernon, Adam smith, philosopher Mencius and many Historians were found mention & few of their opinions were also included in this book. This states about the thorough research methodology implemented.
People related to the study group of food science can benefit a lot from this book.

(PDF of the book provided by NET GALLEY for review)

[Anjana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not imagine that a book about potatoes could be this extensive. I read a book about chiles earlier this year, and now it's the potato. However, the book is not just about the crop but what it implies as a whole from the point of view of a government experimenting with limits to their control over the population that they head/control and the resistance that people were willing to exhibit. The entire span of the narrative is vast and wide in context. We cover the history of the 'discovery' of potatoes by colonial powers and all that was done to literally seed into the lives of many. There are conflicting controversies regarding what people thought about it at certain times, many of which the author debunks. It carries so much weight as to how and why the potatoes were given importance. Most of the information was fascinating. This is one collection that will spark conversation because it is hard to believe what this unassuming piece of produce has in its history. To quote a line of the book - "nutrition and economic and political stability underpin the concept of food security".
The concept of food security is also scrutinized in this volume. Since it was never a person who chose to grow or choose the potato without consequences, people higher in their respective societies sometimes made choices for them. It moved between being an elite thing to a poor man's food multiple times. This one absurd situation would show what centuries of different rules did with the potato. Obviously, to someone who is not such a frequent reader of non-fiction (namely me, although I am getting better), it is a heavy tome with a multitude of data points. It took me a long time and multiple sittings to work my way through it all. I am not sure it will be to everyone's taste, but anyone who looks at the summary (and maybe my review) and then picks it up will enjoy it.
I received this book as an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

[Rina Di Raimo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fascinating read! I was not expecting to like the book this much, mostly because I never thought potato and its history were so interesting.
The author recounts a thorough history of potato through different periods after it was brought to Europe during the 16th century. And while some people might think potatoes' history starts there, the truth is people in the Americas have eaten wild potatoes for 12,000 years.

Governments and monarchies weaponized it because it was regarded as nutritious. Even if, for the longest time, what ordinary people ate was not of much interest to the state, it was vital that they did, in fact, eat. Famine and food riots were disasters the elite wanted to avoid, and a superfood like the potato helped with that.
But disease and starvation were behind the corner for Europe in 1845. Ireland was struck by a potato blight that infected potato crops. During the Great Famine, roughly a million people died only in Ireland, and over 100,000 people died all over Europe, influencing a revolutionary wave that started in 1848.
By WWII, governments promoted potato consumption among soldiers and ordinary people, especially when food was scarce; people would eat only potatoes all day. And because it was easy to cultivate for millions of people became the only sustenance for months.
I recommend picking up this book if you are into food AND history as much as I am.
P.S. Loved the recipes, by the way!

Thanks to the author, Netgalley, and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Rekha O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say that it took me a while to get into this book. There is so much information, and it is so well-researched, that the detail can become overwhelming and a little boring. But I am glad I persevered. Being a big potato fan myself (and married to an Irishman who wants 3 different types of potato at Christmas) I was looking forward to understanding how this humble vegetable influenced history. It was incredible to witness the journey of the potato from 16th Century America to the modern world.

The potato has been embraced, shunned & lauded throughout history. It's been considered healthful and the key to producing big soldiers and happy peasants. It's also been criticised for making people lazy and stupid as well as lacking in nutrition. It's been used as a political tool to control the masses and a subversive way of avoiding taxes.

I learned that the potato is 'a truly global food, because it was nutritious and easy to cultivate, and - crucially - because it was not an internationally traded commodity.'

[Rekha O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say that it took me a while to get into this book. There is so much information, and it is so well-researched, that the detail can become overwhelming and a little boring. But I am glad I persevered. Being a big potato fan myself (and married to an Irishman who wants 3 different types of potato at Christmas) I was looking forward to understanding how this humble vegetable influenced history. It was incredible to witness the journey of the potato from 16th Century America to the modern world.

The potato has been embraced, shunned & lauded throughout history. It's been considered healthful and the key to producing big soldiers and happy peasants. It's also been criticised for making people lazy and stupid as well as lacking in nutrition. It's been used as a political tool to control the masses and a subversive way of avoiding taxes.

I learned that the potato is 'a truly global food, because it was nutritious and easy to cultivate, and - crucially - because it was not an internationally traded commodity.'

[The Book in my Carryon · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband and I have long, curious discussions about the origin of the foods we eat, so when I was given the chance to read an advanced copy of Feeding the People: The Politics of the Potato, I jumped on it.

My expectations were pretty set — I’d close the book with a satisfying amount of knowledge about where the potato came from, how it fit into the bigger picture of western civilization, maybe some awesome bits of trivia to share at a dinner party some night. A better understanding of a food we all take for granted.

Rebecca Earle blew my expectations out of the water, and that was both a good thing and a bad.

This is no easy read. It is dense and scholarly in a way that transported me back 35 years to college — I was tempted to take notes in case there was an exam at the end. Feeding the People intricately and accurately and fully explores the compete history of the humble spud, and anchors everything in historical context. For me that was fabulous, but it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

I admit, I skimmed over paragraphs and even whole pages from time to time — again there was just so much information, and I felt like I could get the message without slogging through all the verbiage.

I’ll read this book again, and I’ll get more out of every time. That’s the thing I love about good, hefty, well-researched and well-written nonfiction. And Feeding the People is definitely all that.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkably Well Researched. This is a history likely unlike any you've ever read - a look at the changing philosophies of government as they relate to the rise and fall of the potato. This is certainly one of the more novel histories I've read, and perhaps because of the author being aware of such novelty and the criticism it can often engender, is also the singular most well documented book I've ever read - literally 42% of the edition I read was bibliography and index. (More normal in my experience is closer to 25-30% even on the more complete side.) Certainly a very interesting approach, filled with various bits of history I had not known and/ or considered in such detail. Very much recommended.

[Dale Dewitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was detailed and interesting analysis of how the potato has brought so much benefit to people around the world. I love that the author decided to highlight such a basic item and make it such a wonderful read.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this book has illustrated the ebs and flows of potato popularity, rejection scapegoating for poverty and exaltation as a power food in times of need in war and modern day food security. Read this book to learn about how the humble potato crop is so much more than meets the eye.

[Lance McNeill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly baked

A third of the book is notes and references, so I was a little disappointed with the depth of the meat in this potato book. It wasn’t quite worth the price of the ebook, in my opinion- charge about a third less since a third of the book is works cited.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book about the history of the potato as a food in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Earle traces the tension between individual food choices and state control whilst exploding myths about how potatoes came to be a staple crop around the world.

[Federico Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting information explained in the right context but with a cumbersome and repetitive narrative

[Josh McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done global history. Interesting and in depth. Love potatoes. The recipes are a great addition.

[Lilli Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for school! Ask me anything about the potato I dare you

[Annie Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, easy to read history!

[Jifu · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)

In Feeding the People Rebecca Earle provides in-depth coverage and discussion over all the different roles and symbols that the potato has taken over the last several hundred years across the world. Digging deep through primary sources, Earle reveals that the potato has been everything from a lauded keystone of state food security in the 18th century amongst European governments, a symbol of proletarian poverty, associated by Spanish-descended rulers in Peru as part of the backwardness of indigenous Andean peoples, used by colonial powers in Africa, Asia as a sign of “civilization,” and today it is once again being supported by entities like the UN and the government of China as a cornerstone of food security. To say the least, it is a surprisingly large, and at times curiously contradictory array that I never would have expected from so humble a root vegetable.

The style of writing does tend to lean more on the scholarly side, and the wealth of detail admittedly gets very thick at points. However, each one of the six chapters is outfitted with both a clear introduction and a summarizing conclusion at the very end. I personally found to be quite helpful in keeping me on track with the main themes and therefore ensuring I will never be able to look at a tuber the same way ever again.

I never thought that I would ever be in a situation where I would be confidently declaring a book to be hands-down the best history of the potato available, yet here I am. In light of the amount of sheer research that Earle has poured into this topic to unearth its rich past, and considering how exhaustively she has covered its many different facets, it is hard to imagine her having missed out on anything. It’s not just the most detailed history of the potato I think that I’ll ever come across, but this is one of the most vigorously detailed microhistories that I have ever had the opportunity to read.