Dietary Update on Potatoes Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. For whatever reason, advocacy groups are going after potatoes, first trying to declassify them as vegetables, and now trying to say their starch content makes them a grain.Food Direction CEO, and National Potato Council consultant, Beth Johnson says it’s become far too political …
JOHNSON … “I would say that advocates are there to promote their particular perspective and they, for whatever reason, believe they don’t have a bias, while the industry does have a bias. And, I think, again, that’s very inaccurate because they interpret the research the way they choose to interpret the research.”
Research, Johnson says can be bias, but it doesn’t mean it is just because you’re funding it …
JOHNSON … “I think what would be most beneficial is if we could find some kind of process to identify good research whether it’s funded by industry, the government, a third party, what have you.”
Johnson says we need a middle ground …
JOHNSON … “I think we’ve really fallen far from trying to reach scientific consensus because we’ve got such fighting against each other and these advocates really believe that anything that is done by industry or pushed by industry must be wrong, and that’s just not true.”
And her parting note, Johnson says “eat more potatoes.”