A Diet of Starch

A common theme throughout Bolivia is the value of potatoes. Almost every meal, dish, and soup has some form of potatoes. Since a large geographical portion of Bolivia is in the Altiplano or mountain region there is a limit to the type and variety of produce and vegetables that can be grown. Much of the region is at high elevation and the brutal climate at 9,000 - 13,000 ft does not accommodate a diversity in agriculture. Thus, making the highly adaptable tuber (yes that is an official category of food), the potato, a cash crop of many communities. The problem with such abundance and lack of variety is that many people literally live on a diet of potatos. They can cook a wicked good dish with potatoes (fried, grilled, roasted, deep fried, oven baked, boiled, freeze dried, chopped, diced, sliced, mashed... you name it) but they have no idea how to use a stem of broccoli or some green beans in a meal. You can't go more than a few steps in the market without seeing a vender with a bucket or bag of potatoes they are selling. The picture above gives you an idea of this phenomena.