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Not wanting to be completely petty, isn't this true of all viable hybrids? Some acquisition of genes from both sides is demanded to make a distinction worthy of speciation.

Not that I don't love spuds.

Nightshades are problematic for stressed and old people because the plants have mild poisons. Old people and addicts tend to not be able to handle the poisons in tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and chilis.

But for people that are nightshade-tolerant potatoes are an excellent food crop.

IIRC, someone was annoyed that do-gooders wanted to remove potatoes from the food stamp programs, because the potato is actually an almost-complete food. This has morphed into The Potato Diet, which calls for eating potatoes and only potatoes for a short period of time.

  From the start of October through November in 2010, 
  Voigt consumed only spuds, a few basic seasonings 
  and small amounts of oil for cooking. His endeavor 
  drew attention from NBC’s Today Show, CBS News, Fox, 
  NPR and the UK’s Daily Telegraph.
  
  Voigt documented his journey through a blog 
  ( 20potatoesaday.com ). Tired of potatoes 
  getting a bad rap as being nothing but fattening 
  starch and carbs, he wanted to make a statement 
  that proved potatoes were very nutritious.
- https://spudman.com/article/all-potato-diet-eight-years-late...
Can you tell me more about nightshade intolerance among addicts?
Iirc the mild poisons in nightshades trigger the learned helplessness response in people who are on the jagged edge of sobriety.

I think I remember where I read this - check your protonmail address.

Where does the idea that potatoes are "almost-complete" in terms of nutrition come from? If you look up nutrition facts for potatoes:

-1 potato contains 110 calories

-Lets say our hypothetical adult will eat 10 potatoes to hit 2200 calories

-The only nutrients which potatoes provide more than 10% recommended daily value are Iron, vitamins C and B6. The iron is not heme iron and therefore may actually be worth less, but we'll say it's enough just for the sake of argument. Potassium and phosphorous are close at 9% and 8%, but everything else is lower.

-The fat content is negligible, which is a problem because your brain is made out of fat

-20 grams of incomplete protein means your body can't repair muscle or bone adequately.

-No cholesterol, which also has negative outcomes

This is a high calorie starvation diet.

> There are around 140 species of wild potato in South America, growing from Mexico in the north all the way down to Argentina and Chile in the south.

Super nit, but do authors think Mexico is in South America?

I dislike potatoes because they are not trve roots but are instead tubers. Beetroot and radishes are where the real stuff is happening. The potato is a vegetable of stupefaction, radishes make you hyper-intelligent.
Off-topic but I have to say that potatoes are incredibly easy to grow, and doing so is very worthwhile.

I have a small planter on my balcony at the moment which is thriving with leaves, and in a few weeks I'll dig out the harvest to see what I got. People grow them in very poor soil, and even in literal bags of compost, or buckets. They're easy-going and almost trouble-free.

Growing chillis, tomatoes, or herbs on window-sills is kinda fun and rewarding, but growing a "proper crop" feels even more rewarding. And surprising because you have to wait until you dig things up to see how well you did!

This week’s episode of the BBC podcast The Infinite Monkey Cage was 42 minutes of Science Comedy dedicated to the spud, featuring the same expert as the OP.

Most interesting fact I learned was the effort going toward making potato seeds (not seed potatoes).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002fxn7

There are more than 4000 varieties of potatoes available in shops around the world.
> There are around 140 species of wild potato in South America, growing from Mexico in the north all the way down to Argentina and Chile in the south.

This one always bothers me. Mexico is in North America.