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

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

#41

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 wonder how they ate the potatoes? Cooked in what way and with what additions like butter etc.?

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

#42

[flagged]

"Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet tropes."

You are right, I shouldn't have posted that comment. I'm new to Hacker News and should have better read the Guidelines. I apologize.

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

#43

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.

You have to eat the skins to get the vitamins and minerals

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

#44
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure how that's relevant?

It's relevant because if 99.99% of British people had nothing to do with the famine, saying that "the British" were a "pathogen" is somewhere between weapons grade bullshit and outright hate speech.

Ireland continued to to export food to the rest of the UK throughout the famine. Arguably all British peoples who had cheap Irish imports benefited.

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

#46
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure how that's relevant?

It's relevant because if 99.99% of British people had nothing to do with the famine, saying that "the British" were a "pathogen" is somewhere between weapons grade bullshit and outright hate speech.

99.99% of Americans had nothing to do with Abu Ghraib either.

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

#47
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure how that's relevant?

It's relevant because if 99.99% of British people had nothing to do with the famine, saying that "the British" were a "pathogen" is somewhere between weapons grade bullshit and outright hate speech.

That relies on an uncharitable reading of the OP.

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

#48
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, a harvest failure for a single crop does not cause that kind of devastation.

it does when the crop is the single staple crop used by most of the population

Ireland was a net exporter of food throughout the famine

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

#49
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, a harvest failure for a single crop does not cause that kind of devastation.

it does when the crop is the single staple crop used by most of the population

Which it was because everything else was being exported to England.

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

#50
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've got a wealth of Irish history to catch up on it seems. https://youtu.be/yvKTG8pE_70?t=516

Honestly, I thought the Irish potato famine was caused by a potato plague. That's all...

During the famine, Sultan Khaleefah Abdul-Majid of the Ottoman Empire offered £10,000 to the Irish people to help ease the suffering. Queen Victoria intervened and requested that he reduce the donation to £1,000 since she had only allocated £2,000 herself.
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