Scientists have identified the potato pathogen that devastated Ireland (2013)

Post by episode0x01 » Thu, Jul 13, 2023, 6:35 AM UTC

roschdal wrote: post #7

EGreg wrote: post #6

It’s one thing to have a bad crop. It’s another to have your government enforce some heartless economic system at the expense of people’s lives, and utterly fail at helping them by accepting foreign aid from other countries. Just as the Holodomor[1] and Great Chinese Famine[2] were the result of misguided or malicious “socialist” collectivization efforts by Stalin and Mao, the Irish Potato Famine[3] and the much late…

> the Irish Potato Famine and the much later famines in the Bengal regions were the result of misguided or malicious “capitalist” efforts by the British state and empire to enforce who gets to eat. Interesting, tell me more about how the economic system in Britain caused the famine in Ireland.

Post by dingaling » Thu, Jul 13, 2023, 6:54 AM UTC

walrus01 wrote: post #9

roschdal wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the Irish Potato Famine and the much later famines in the Bengal regions were the result of misguided or malicious “capitalist” efforts by the British state and empire to enforce who gets to eat. Interesting, tell me more about how the economic system in Britain caused the famine in Ireland.

English-based land owners of massive agricultural holdings in Ireland were literally exporting huge quantities of food from Ireland at the same time that people were starving.

Post by defrost » Thu, Jul 13, 2023, 6:56 AM UTC

roschdal wrote: post #7

EGreg wrote: post #6

It’s one thing to have a bad crop. It’s another to have your government enforce some heartless economic system at the expense of people’s lives, and utterly fail at helping them by accepting foreign aid from other countries. Just as the Holodomor[1] and Great Chinese Famine[2] were the result of misguided or malicious “socialist” collectivization efforts by Stalin and Mao, the Irish Potato Famine[3] and the much late…

> the Irish Potato Famine and the much later famines in the Bengal regions were the result of misguided or malicious “capitalist” efforts by the British state and empire to enforce who gets to eat. Interesting, tell me more about how the economic system in Britain caused the famine in Ireland.

Post by fauigerzigerk » Thu, Jul 13, 2023, 7:01 AM UTC

Roark66 wrote: post #5

creyes12345 wrote: post #2

Requiring calorie-heavy diets to carry out their punishing workloads, [the Irish impoverished tenant farmers] were soon consuming between 40 and 60 potatoes every day.

I'd imagine how much actual calories that is depends on the size of the potatoes. When potatoes fail, they often do so by producing tiny tubers. The smallest I personally ate were less than an inch in diameter. Also,people who don't do any farming don't realise how much effort goes into pest/disease control. Especially with potatoes the main pest around here(central Europe) is Colorado Potato Beetle (if that is the c…

Post by gmerc » Thu, Jul 13, 2023, 7:05 AM UTC

Roark66 wrote: post #5

creyes12345 wrote: post #2

Requiring calorie-heavy diets to carry out their punishing workloads, [the Irish impoverished tenant farmers] were soon consuming between 40 and 60 potatoes every day.

I'd imagine how much actual calories that is depends on the size of the potatoes. When potatoes fail, they often do so by producing tiny tubers. The smallest I personally ate were less than an inch in diameter. Also,people who don't do any farming don't realise how much effort goes into pest/disease control. Especially with potatoes the main pest around here(central Europe) is Colorado Potato Beetle (if that is the c…