'Embrace the smartpotato'

Today's consumer wants everything smart. Smartphone, smart TV, smart house… but smart food? Smart ingredients? food chemistry? "No, no", writer Rosanne Hertzberger recently stated at a meeting organized by Aviko. "The technophobic public wants artisanal and natural food. Simple, fresh and homemade." 

Rosanne Hertzberger, author of the book 'Ode to the E numbers' about the technology in our food, denounces the mythologisation about food and the many fables that are sold. As a speaker at Aviko Potato's polar meeting on 14 June, she made this clear. Her motto is: “If there is a robot that can peel my potatoes cheaply, I would rather not do it myself. Give me a bag of mashed potatoes or fresh carrots. I don't have to deal with chopping, cutting, peeling and baking. I will not prepare and mash chicken, pumpkin and potato for my son if Olvarit can do it too. During that time you can also read the newspaper. Or no, you can read a newspaper and study law and probably also become a partner at a law firm.”

Growers facilitate emancipation
In addition, technology has freed women from her household time and again. “The man wasn't going to do that housework, it was Bosch, Whirlpool, Miele, washing machine and dishwasher; with a little help from the Organon.” And Hertzberger thanks also the potato growers. Thank you for bringing your potatoes to Aviko to be peeled and sliced, because I don't feel like doing it myself, but I'm still happy when my son is able to see my son at the end of a busy working day. delicious potatoes. You feed us with it, but you also facilitate emancipation. You give me more time.”

High-tech better than natural
Technological advances in crops and their breeding are producing multi-resistant high-yield F1 hybrids. Even better than natural, says the writer-cum-microbiologist. “It's high-tech. This technology has ensured that the new Hylander onion from Bejo hardly has to deal with fungicides anymore, because thanks to this technology resistance to mildew has finally been introduced. Now you can, as it were, vaccinate against it. All that technology means that in a tomato greenhouse you no longer need to spray.”

Breeding seed potatoes is shooting with hail
The potato grower also uses all kinds of smart chemistry and technology to deliver beautiful large starchy potatoes. However, potatoes are less easy to breed. They have huge amounts of genetic material, tetraploid, and with each crossing you might get the traits you want, but also a whole lot of genetic material that gives traits that the breeder isn't interested in. Breeding seed potatoes is a bit like being a sniper only allowed to shoot with a shotgun.”

Now there are really good precise rifles for sale. Herzberger refers to cisgenesis, in which genetic material from other potato varieties is introduced. “In addition, there is the CRISPR-Cas technology that simplifies and speeds up the introduction of that new material. You even already have do-it-yourself CRISPR-Cas technology boxes for education. But breeders should not touch it with their fingers! For Europe, these methods are still behind a big lock, hidden away by politicians and green organisations.

Ecomodernism is the future
Driven, chosen, encouraged by a technophobic audience, who want everything smart but their food. Who don't know that potato growers are embracing technology. With precision irrigation, fertilization and spraying. Not too much, not too little, organic where possible. “You are chemists, meteorologists, geologists, biologists, engineers all at once. Behind the scenes, you'll find a lot of smart technology and chemistry to help produce all that food. Or is that 100 percent natural? I do not know. In any case, it is advanced and efficient. Less agricultural land is needed each time to produce the same amount of food.”

Embrace smart food
The writer therefore thinks it is time to embrace smart food with an open and proud attitude. “The smartpotato, which we are particularly good at in the Netherlands. So that that phytophthora-resistant potato will arrive soon. That future is called ecomodernism. Less fertilizer, less pesticides, less waste, more yield per hectare that we can feed millions of cities with."

"A future where we embrace all technology to minimize pollution and climate change. Our crop, and our agriculture, our food production, food processing and preparation is an engineering problem, with chemistry and technology that you can tinker with to make it better Hopeful and something to be proud of!”

Rosanne Hertzberger is a writer, columnist and microbiologist. Photo: Aviko Potato

Just vaccinate that potato @ryhertzberger about a technophobic Europe https://t.co/6E7XQRg0OF pic.twitter.com/kqksucndgO

— NRC (@nrc) June 17, 2017

Speaking today at the annual meeting Aviko potato in Dronten. What a fascinating world! pic.twitter.com/4XzeHkYvYb

— Rosanne Hertzberger (@ryhertzberger) June 14, 2017

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