Potatoes: They're not just for side dishes anymore.

Among the most maligned and misunderstood of vegetables, the lowly potato may be poised to save the world. Or, at least, many of the world's hungry and poor, according to the United Nations, which has declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato. It is a concept that at first might sound amusing but hardly could be more serious or timely. Far more than just the source of such guilty pleasures as vodka, chips and stuffed skins, the inexpensive spud might be one overlooked response to the growing grain-based world food crisis. Potatoes could help offset the kind of shortages and soaring prices of rice, wheat and other basic food commodities that are igniting riots and leaving stomachs growling around the globe.