History

• Potatoes had their origins in the Andes in South America. As explorers learned about the food, they brought potatoes back to their mother countries, where people planted the tuber. Eventually, the potato became a staple crop in Europe and the plant now grows on every continent in the world. A study directed by Dr. Zeresenay Alemseged with the California Academy of Sciences found bones in Ethiopia that show early humans used stone tools that enabled them to eat meat as long as 3.5 million years ago.
  
  

Features

• A meat and potato diet doesn't necessarily exclude other vegetables. Some recipes combine meat, potatoes and vegetables for complete meals like soups and stews. Some cooks top meatloaf with mashed potatoes, and scalloped potatoes and ham combine the potatoes, meat and dairy to make a main dish. Popular meat and potato meals are steak and baked potatoes, fried chicken and mashed potatoes and hamburgers with french fries.
  
  

Considerations

• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than half the annual potato crop in the U.S. goes toward the production of frozen french fries, potato chips and instant potatoes. The balance of the crop sells mainly as fresh potatoes. The USDA also reports that the average American eats 130 lbs. of potatoes each year. Conversely, annual meat consumption in the U.S. was higher by weight than potatoes. According to the USDA, Americans ate 144 lbs. of meat annually in 1950, and the estimates for 2007 show Americans eating 222 lbs. each year, with the largest increase in poultry consumption.
  
  

Benefits

• Potatoes are widely available in grocery stores and in restaurants and provide nearly half of all the daily needs for vitamin C, and have high fiber, potassium and iron. Meat has the highest protein levels of any food, along with vitamin B12, iron, amino acids and calcium. Cooking meat and potatoes is easy for even the most inexperienced cook and the tubers have a long shelf life in a cool, dark place, while meat is easy to refrigerate or freeze.