Botanists and others count potatoes – including French fries – as “starchy vegetables.” The UK's National Health Service does not. Who is right? The next iteration of the US Dietary Guidelines, due out in 2025, may have the final answer because its Advisory Committee is asking the question.
The U.S. guidelines give nutritional advice by breaking food into five groups—vegetables, grains, fruit, dairy and protein. Potatoes, in all of their forms, currently fall into the vegetable group. But the Advisory Committee is considering moving them into the grains group. This move is being resisted by both the potato industry and “The Grain Chain,” a grains-industry coalition. The former group believes the helpful nutrients in potatoes, including potassium and vitamin C, make their vegetable classification appropriate. They also argue that potatoes are “gateway” vegetables that make kids, in particular, more likely to eat other vegetables if potatoes are involved. The grains group is concerned that if Americans replace some grains (like rice) with starchy vegetables (like fries) based on new guidelines, this will exacerbate nutrient shortfalls.
The nutritional science behind this issue is not as simple as it might seem. It is clear that some versions of potatoes are less healthy than others. Deep frying, for example, diminishes the health benefits of potatoes. And perhaps like corn, some kinds of potatoes should be treated differently. Under U.S. dietary guidelines, corn on the cob is considered a starchy vegetable, while cornmeal is a grain.
In the end, the Advisory Committee's goal is to make sure everyone is getting enough nutrients in their diets by eating the appropriate amount of food from each of the five groups. We will probably have to wait until 2025 to find out into which group the beloved potato lands.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has sparked the question, setting the table for a round of spud-sparring among scientists, potato growers, potato lovers and parents. Kids, especially, want credit for eating veggies in the form of fries.
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FAQs
Potatoes, in all of their forms, currently fall into the vegetable group. But the Advisory Committee is considering moving them into the grains group.
Do french fries count as a vegetable? ›
Potatoes, in all of their forms, currently fall into the vegetable group.
Do potatoes count towards vegetable intake? ›
We're sorry to say that despite technically being a vegetable and having high nutritional value, potatoes do not count as one of your five a day. This is because they mainly contribute to the starch in our diet – however, this doesn't make them any less important to eat!
Are potatoes classified as vegetables? ›
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins received a call yesterday from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Thomas Vilsack who told her the USDA will officially support keeping potatoes classified as a vegetable, and not a grain.
What are french fries classified as? ›
Legal issues. In June 2004, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), with the advisem*nt of a federal district judge from Beaumont, Texas, classified batter-coated french fries as a vegetable under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.
Are french fries considered plant based? ›
While most fries are vegan, there are a few that actually contain animal ingredients: McDonald's: These fries are cooked in oil with “natural beef flavoring,” which doesn't contain any actual meat, but it does contain dairy.
Are chips technically vegetables? ›
While potato chips are technically considered "vegetable chips", since they are the most common form of chips, any other kind of vegetable-based chip is grouped in a separate category.
What counts as vegetables? ›
A vegetable is the edible portion of a plant. Vegetables are usually grouped according to the portion of the plant that is eaten such as leaves (lettuce), stem (celery), roots (carrot), tubers (potato), bulbs (onion) and flowers (broccoli). A fruit is the mature ovary of a plant.
Is a potato a vegetable in the FDA? ›
Potatoes Are a Vegetable
Starchy vegetables and grains are two vastly different food groups that play distinctly different roles in contributing nutrients to the diet. Unlike grains, white potatoes are a strong contributor of potassium, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and fiber.
Are corn and potatoes considered vegetables? ›
Corn, potatoes (sweet potato and taro), and peas fall into a special category of vegetables called “starchy vegetables”. The carbohydrate content can be similar to foods that we often think of as “carbs” like rice, bread, and pasta.
Based on a little-noticed change to obscure federal rules, the USDA now defines frozen french fries as “fresh vegetables.” As bizarre as it might sound, a federal judge in Texas last week endorsed the USDA's decision in a court case, saying the term “fresh vegetables” was ambiguous.
What's the difference between french fries and fries? ›
Fries, known as chips in Britain and Ireland and french fries in the United States and Canada, are thinly-sliced, deep-fried potatoes, often served as an accompaniment to other foods, but sometimes as a main course. The exact origin of fries is disputed by historians, journalists, and cultural commentators.
What qualifies a food as a vegetable? ›
Fruits and vegetables comprise different parts of the plants from which they grow. Fruits come from the flowering part of a plant and contain seeds. In contrast, vegetables are the edible parts of a plant, such as the leaves, stem, roots, and bulbs.
Are McDonald's french fries veg or non veg? ›
Do McDonald's French Fries contain any animal extract? Are they separately cooked in pure 100% vegetable oil only? Hi Anusha, French fries at McDonald's India are 100% vegetarian and do not contain any animal extract. All the vegetarian and non-vegetarian products are fried separately.
What things count as vegetables? ›
Cup of Vegetable Table
| Amount that counts as 1 cup of vegetables |
|---|
| Other Vegetables | Bean sprouts | 1 cup, cooked |
| Cabbage, green, red, napa, savoy | 1 cup, chopped or shredded raw or cooked |
| Cactus pads (nopales) | 5 pads 1 cup sliced |
| Cauliflower | 1 cup, pieces or florets raw or cooked, fresh or frozen |
33 more rowsSweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes and turnips do count towards your 5 A Day because they're usually eaten in addition to the starchy food part of the meal. Potatoes play an important role in your diet, even if they don't count towards your 5 A Day. It's best to eat them without any added salt or fat.
