The potato is arguably one of the most influential edible plants in all of human history.  It has saved countless lives, serving as a source of nutritional value that would otherwise be lacking in most rural societies.  The potato provides essential proteins, vitamins, minerals, and calories that make it a highly profitable product for farming.  These factors made it an essential source of food in Ireland during the 19th century.

The potato provides exceptional nutritional benefit per pound.  A poor family can have all the nutrients they need with minimal amounts of land easily by farming the crop.  In ireland for many this was the only source of food.  Famers were often too poor to afford a diverse diet of meats, vegetables, grains, and fruits that would provide the nutrients necessary.  Instead, the humble and hearty potato allowed thousands of tenant farmers to be relatively healthy for their economic situation.  The potato is a relatively easy plant to cultivate, maintain, and harvest.

The dependance on such a basic food was not an environmental necessity, it was a political and social consequence of England’s harsh rule of ireland.  After the transfer of religious authority due to a disagreement between English royalty and the Vatican.  This led to a schism where England created its own Anglican Christianity.  For the traditional catholics of ireland it only created increasing tension.  Along with this social discrimination the Irish were also a poor people who often were uneducated, landless, and destitute.  These factors created a very harsh and ruthless rule of English nobles that persisted well into the late 20th century with later revolts.

At the time of the Great Potato Blight the Irish were beaten and abused as ever.  The increasing taxes of a failing British Empire put even greater pressure on the tenant farmers to deliver on their rents.  When the blight infected large amounts of the necessary crop starvation wasn’t the first thought that weighed on many, it was the ability to pay rents.  It was only with the following harvest being tainted by the diseases that food began to become scarce.  Two bad harvests in a row did not just cause many to be evicted, it starved thousands more.  Those that didn’t starve became susceptible to a variety of diseases that burned their way through village after village.  Unheard of illnesses such as Scurvy began to afflict the population as food became a thing of the past.  The culprit behind such a massive scale of suffering, Phytophthora infestans.  The disease rots potatoes from the inside, rendering them inedible.  Due to the violence with which it spreads entire stores would be reduced to black mush within days of harvesting.

For those that could afford it, a passage to America offered hope of a better life away from the tyranny of the british.  At first the new labour force that could be exploited was welcomed in the newly industrialized cities of America, but soon the refugees of hunger became unwelcome.  With the passing years the Irish were seen as dirty, uneducated, and violent people that only brought with them disease and crime.  Signs saying “No Irish” were posted in major cities to deter new immigrants from applying for jobs.  It was this social ostracization that, like the Italians before them, led to the formation of crime syndicates and ghettos.  Without a legal job to pay the bills many turned the more illicit practices in large cities that allowed for a steady source of income.

Years later science provides a way to avoid such a devastating event from occurring.  Potatoes infused with the DNA of a resistant species have recently been approved for both production and consumption.  While this seems to arrive far too late for the thousands of people who starved during the famine, it marks progress in protecting both ourselves and our food from deadly pathogens that have and will kill thousands.  The fact that only potato DNA is being used eliminates almost all risks associated with other genetically modified organisms (GMO).