An order of french fries.

• Author: Durning, Alan Thein
• Position: Environmental impact

One Potato's Story.

The Quick Take

A group of Russians came to the United States to look into developing a french fries business--supplying frozen cut potatoes to meet their country's growing demand for western-style fast foods. They met with a consultant, a former countryman who now worked as a food market research analyst for one of the major burger chains. The consultant took them out to one of his company's restaurants, picked up a large order of fries, and between mouthfuls gave his clients some advice.

"Fries have been a huge success here," he told them. "I see three reasons. First, they give you a high profit margin. One potato, and you got a whole box of fries! Second, with all that fat and salt, they're addictive--the fat gives them that mouth-feel people crave, and the salt makes the customers thirsty and increases their purchases of drinks, so the retailers see that as an added value. And third, the fries are frozen, so you can keep them as long as you like. No worry about sprouts growing out of your potatoes, and no waste."

The Harder Look

The consultant's information, as far as it went, was essentially correct. One 10-ounce potato makes about 90 fries--the number in a large fries sold at McDonald's or Burger King. That amount of potato sells for about 15 cents in a grocery store, but brings $1.25 in the restaurant. And the fat and salt, which add little cost, do indeed seem to stimulate demand. In 1960, 92 percent of the potatoes Americans ate were fresh; by 1990, Americans were eating more frozen potatoes (mostly french fries) than fresh ones. People who used to sit down to eat their potatoes mashed or baked, from a plate, were now eating them from a paper box, while driving.

Unfortunately, the consultant's account left out much of the story. While the Russians might build a new potato processing plant and thereby create new jobs for their community and fat profits for themselves, this plant could--depending on how the business is managed--end up being more of a curse to its community than a blessing. A more comprehensive account of how french fries are produced explains why.

Whether the fries are ordered at a road stop in Ohio or at a beach concession in Florida, they probably originated on a potato farm in the upper Snake River Valley of southern Idaho. That valley and the Columbia River Basin into which it flows produce 80 percent of U.S. frozen french fries.

The growing season is 150 days. The potato plants are watered...