Potatoes in Decline?

Are potatoes in Idaho, make that the nation, in decline? A recent newspaper article claimed that the potato industry is fighting declining interest on the part of consumers. Those are fighting words to Frank Muir, president and CEO of the Idaho Potato Commission. “You know we have a challenge with demand. Demand is more the per capita consumption. Per capita consumption has been declining over the past 25 years. That can be for a lot of different reasons. But when we look at year-to-year changes in absolute grocery store sales, it will actually very year-to-year. It will be up a little bit, it will be down a little bit. I would call the category right now stable rather than a declining category. It's a very mature category when you think about it. Potatoes have been around forever. It is part of how America was colonized, by being able to carry them across the country. That is certainly how Europe was colonized, was on the back of the potato, that is how armies moved across nations to take over other countries, it was on the back of the potato. As far as I am concerned, there are always opportunities. We need to look at ways to help consumers understand that the potato that they love to eat because it tastes so good, is actually still good for them. We have gotten to allow a lot of liberal thinkers out there to try and portray the potato and some negative light. This is because of the way that potatoes can be prepared.