The Maine potato packs a powerful punch

13 years ago

The Maine potato packs a powerful punch

By U.S. Sen. Susan Collins

(R-Maine)

The little white potato is in the middle of a big fight in Washington, D.C. these days.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a proposed rule to alter the nutritional standards in the School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. This rule would limit the servings of certain vegetables, including white potatoes, corn, lima beans, and green peas, to one cup per week in the National School Lunch Program and prohibit serving these vegetables in the National School Breakfast Program altogether. I oppose this rule.

Unfortunately, a column that recently appeared in a Southern Maine newspaper, made a number of specious arguments in favor of the USDA proposal to limit or eliminate vegetables such as the potato. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, I am working to set the record straight and to prevent this rule from being implemented.

The truth is that the potato is fat-free, cholesterol-free and low in calories. It also is sodium free. It has plenty of Vitamin C; in fact, eating one medium-sized potato gives you 45 percent of the recommended daily value of this great antioxidant. And it has more potassium than bananas, is a great source of fiber and, as a complex carbohydrate, it offers a great source of energy. The potato contains many more nutrients than iceberg lettuce, which USDA has not proposed limiting. This just doesn’t make sense.

Rather than limiting or eliminating the potato from our school breakfast and lunch programs, I have asked USDA to work with schools and focus on healthier ways to prepare this vegetable. I agree that french fries are not the healthiest choice, but a baked potato can be an excellent source of potassium and fiber for our children. In fact, school food service administrators in Maine tell me that many kids rave for baked potato bars where they can top potatoes with broccoli, shaved carrots, beans, chives, vegetarian chili, and salsa.

Potatoes are also a cost-effective option for our schools. USDA’s proposed rule would unnecessarily impose additional and unanticipated costs of up to $7 billion over five years on our school systems, which are already struggling with tight budgets.

I recognize the need to improve the nutritional standards in the school meals programs, and I support USDA’s goal to increase the availability of all fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in these programs and to ensure the foods served in our schools are delivered in a fashion that meets the nutritional needs of children. But we also need to allow our schools the flexibility to make reasonable and suitable substitutions among affordable fresh and nutritious food options. This is a sensible way to keep costs at a reasonable level and ensure schools can provide consistent access to critical nutrients for children.

I grew up in Aroostook County. One of my first jobs was picking potatoes for a local farmer, Gilman Albair. Mainers are proud of our potato industry, which has made major contributions to the economy of the County and our state for more than two centuries.

That is why I have led, and will continue to lead, the fight in the Senate against USDA’s proposed rule. I have urged Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reconsider this proposal. I am also leading an effort to prevent federal funds from being spent to implement new nutritional standards that would unfairly discriminate against certain vegetables, like the potato, in the school breakfast and lunch programs. I am concerned that this rule would send the wrong message. It would not only limit access to healthy vegetables, but potentially cause considerable damage to Maine’s potato industry which, according to the Maine Potato Board, employs more than 6,000 people and pays more than $32 million in state and local taxes. This rule would inflict needless harm to the industry and would unjustly perpetuate the myth that potatoes themselves are unhealthy.

Given the sound nutritional facts and the economic implications for Maine’s potato industry, I will continue to press the USDA to reconsider its decision.