Site of the Day for Tuesday, January 29, 2008 2008: International Year of the Potato Today's site, from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, provides a bushel of information on that humble tuber -- the potato, and its year in the sun. Gentle Subscribers will find some surprising and illuminating facts and figures in the presentation, which they may enjoy along with that bag of chips they're munching. "The celebration of the International Year of the Potato will raise awareness of the importance of the potato ... in addressing issues of global concern, including hunger, poverty and threats to the environment. ... Over the next two decades, the world's population is expected to grow on average by more than 100 million people a year.... A key challenge facing the international community is ... to ensure food security ... while protecting the natural resource base on which we all depend. The potato will be an important part of efforts to meet those challenges..." - from the website This slickly designed exhibit features a noteworthy four minute video offering an overview of the potato, past and present, including a recap of its discovery in the new world, its global spread and its ever-increasing consumption. Additional print sections cover in detail the potato's biological elements, including chemical composition, cultivation and varieties, while a statistical review displays facts on global potato production and consumption. A series of potato factsheets are available in PDF format while a children's section highlights a how-to-grow-potatoes project. Dip over to the site for an enlightening presentation on potatoes at: http://www.potato2008.org/ A.M. Holm <admin-sotd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Manage your subscription and view the List archives on the web at: <//www.freelists.org/cgi-bin/webpage?webpage_id=sotd> and <//www.freelists.org/archives/sotd> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSUBSCRIBE by sending a blank email to sotd-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with unsubscribe in the Subject field.