UK: Has the potato had its chips?

The British spud has become a victim of changing tastes and the popularity of processed meals. But now the humble tuber’s supporters are fighting back, says Oliver Bennett.The British spud has become a victim of changing tastes and the popularity of processed meals. But now the humble tuber’s supporters are fighting back. Tony Bambridge runs B&C Farming, deep in the UK’s potato belt, north of Norwich. His staff of 19 ‘lift’ 10.5 to 11.5 tonnes of potatoes each year. That’s a lot of spuds. But in the past few years Bambridge has seen ‘a significant decline’. Things look bleak for Solanum tuberosum whichever way you look at it. There’s a serious spud downturn on Bambridge’s farm that he estimates to be about ‘8% to 9% from a few years ago’; not exactly catastrophic, but hardly good news either. More