In a congressional food fight, champions of the humble white potato scored one for spuds. Idaho and Washington senators rarely agree on anything. But in deciding that white potatoes ought to be included in the special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children - commonly called WIC - Idaho conservatives Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, and Washington liberals Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell all joined hands.
They and other lawmakers from potato producing states told Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that new dietary guidelines for excluding white potatoes from the WIC program are unsatisfactory.
And they won.
The Senate Appropriations Committee included language to make white potatoes available to roughly 9-million recipients of WIC benefits. And on the other side of the Capitol, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson returned from his primary election victory to drop a companion bill in the House hopper.
Proponents of the spuds argue that white potatoes are nutritious, cholesterol and fat-free.
Some public health experts, however, point out that the nutritional value depends on the skin being left on when white potatoes are cooked, and that the WIC program ought to emphasize other less starchy fruits and vegetables.
They argued that evidence shows white potatoes are associated with weight gain, obesity and diabetes, and ought to be ditched.
But the lowly spud is on a political winning streak. In 2011, the Agriculture Department tried to limit potatoes to two servings a week in subsidized school lunch programs. Congress and the potato lobby thwarted that plan.
But the lowly spud is on a political winning streak. In 2011, the Agriculture Department tried to limit potatoes to two servings a week in subsidized school lunch programs. Congress and the potato lobby thwarted that plan.