Sustainability Efforts
Are Potatoes a Sustainable Product?
In the United States, over 1 million acres of potatoes were harvested in 2020, making them the leading vegetable crop in the nation. Potatoes are also the fourth leading food crop in the world. There are over 4,000 varieties of native potatoes and millions of them are used for value-added foods such as potato chips, flour and french fries.
Keystone is committed to sustainability practices at each step of the process. This is accomplished through innovative practices related to energy, water and minimizing food waste.
The Importance of Sustainability in Potato Production
Many farmers and potato production companies have introduced sustainability techniques that help ensure healthy crops season after season. Caring for potato crop soil is a year-round practice and includes crop rotation and planting cover crops once the potatoes harvested. These methods add nutrients back to the soil in a natural way while reducing erosion over time.
Implementing sustainable processes can help reduce harmful effects on the environment by addressing major concerns. Some of the primary issues that face potato production today include:
- Food waste: Food waste between production and consumption is a major concern. It’s important to know how producers harvest, store, process and package the potatoes to account for sustainability.
- Water security: Process potatoes use a great deal of water. Keystone uses state-of-art processes to minimize waste water.
Buying from sustainable potato producers means you’re doing your part for more consistent, eco-friendly potato products that consumers want to see.
How to Help Make an Impact
Purchasing value-added potatoes from co-operative potato growers such as Keystone you are supporting sustainable business practices. Here are some additional ways you can help limit the carbon emissions footprint in the potato production industry.
Buy Local
We are proud to be a PA Preferred member and all of our fresh-cut potatoes are made from locally sourced farms. Buying locally sourced produce has many benefits. Less travel and processing time between the farmers’ hands to your customers means there are fewer fossil fuels emitted.
Include More Potato Products
Here are some other ways potato products beat others in their environmental impact:
- Compared to rice and pasta, potatoes had the lowest levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Potatoes only require about 53 gallons of water to produce around 2lbs, whereas rice requires nearly 294 gallons to produce the same amount.
- Potatoes can grow almost anywhere around the world, helping local farmers provide for local markets.
By incorporating more potato products in your business or wholesale manufacturing company, you can assure your consumers they’re contributing to sustainability and supporting environmentally friendly products.
Locally-grown And Sustainable Potatoes
Contact Keystone Potato Products In Hegins, Pennsylvania
If you’re looking for environmentally friendly potato products, Keystone Potato Products is your local solution. Our location also offers convenient shipping and efficient delivery along the east coast.
Our whole peeled, fresh-cut potatoes, potato flakes and flour provide you and your customers with versatile, 100% usable products that save you time and money. Call us today at (570) 695-0909 to learn more about our innovative solutions and high-quality potato products. You can also complete our intake form to get in touch and request a sample.