On World Food Day, the United Nations launched the International Year of the Potato which will spotlight the humble vegetable discovered in Peru that has become a staple in diets around the globe and the world's fourth largest source of food.
The year-long homage to the potato will take place in 2008 but there was a preview Thursday with a display of several dozen varieties and some samples of potato chips and cooked spuds.
Peru's Agriculture Minister Ismael Benavides said the International Year of the Potato is especially important for Peruvians because potatoes were discovered in the Andes mountains "and then became a worldwide crop."
