Salt-Tolerant Potatoes May Save The Planet

Trending News: Could These Dutch Potatoes Solve World Hunger?

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Long Story Short



Long Story

The lack of fresh water is probably the biggest problem facing our planet and these salty spuds could be the solution.A farmer and a couple doctors from the Netherlands have been able to engineer potatoes that drink diluted seawater without the use of lab-based genetic modification — just plain old farming. Considering that most of the world’s water is salinated, using saltwater to grow our food may help solve world hunger.Sometimes even the biggest and most life-changing things start from a single seed, and in this case, the seed is that of a Dutch potato. Marc van Rijsselberghe, a 59-year-old organic farmer from the northern region of the Netherlands and two doctors named Dr Arjen de Vos and Dr Jelte Rozema have created a potato that drinks diluted saltwater.

Incase you aren’t catching on yet about how big of a deal food that drinks saltwater is, consider that the World Bank, NGOs, activists, and pretty much everyone considers water scarcity to be the biggest problem facing human kind. And the facts and figures are there to prove it. Currently, 783 million people don’t have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation, according to United Nations numbers. Tack on the amplified effects of climate change and the need for alternate sources to feed our growing population becomes pretty crystal clear.

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Potato seeds were recently shipped to Pakistan where their success will depend on whether they can adapt to the Asian climate or not. Still, “It’s a game changer,” said Dr de Vos to the Guardian. “We don’t see salination as a problem, we see it as an opportunity.”

Having recognized the problem of water scarcity, several governments and companies have been trying to convert salt water into drinking water. According to the Guardian story, 70% of the drinking water in Saudi Arabia is reprocessed saltwater. But, you need to have some deep pockets — as the oil-rich Saudis do — to be able to afford this kind of process and its also not great that the leftover brine becomes waste.

But nevermind paying, according to these Dutch miracle-farmers, desalinating water is the wrong approach. “Up until now everyone has been concentrating on how to turn the salt water into fresh water; we are looking at what nature has already provided us with,” van Rijsselberghe said to the Guardian.

The team that goes by the name Salt Farm Texel are starting to get noticed for their work. Last week, the GMO-free potatoes beat out 560 other projects from 90 countries for a prestigious award from USAid.

With extra grant money, who knows what can happen and what other salt-thirsty products they will be able to farm. Dr de Vos hinted to the Guardian that they have tested saline strawberries that still taste sweet and not too salty despite the seawater. Another thing Dr de Vos said might be made in the future is saline grass, which could be watered without wasting fresh water. Hello guilt-free golf!

But seriously, isn’t it nice to hear something positive in the fight against climate change once in a while?



Own The Conversation

Will saline potatoes catch on and make a difference in combatting world hunger?

Disrupt Your Feed: How is it possible that nobody tried to make saline potatoes before? Somehow this just seems too good to be true.

Drop This Fact: One out of every five deaths of children under five is from a water-related disease, according to NGO The Water Project.