You say potato? The USDA says "starchy vegetable."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to limit how many starchy potatoes American schoolchildren eat each week as part of the federal school lunch program, beginning next year.
A bipartisan group of senators from potato states such as Maine, Idaho and Colorado says the USDA proposal is half-baked, and lawmakers will try to block the rule Monday with an amendment to the 2012 agriculture spending bill.
"The much-maligned potato is actually a very affordable, nutritious vegetable," says Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leading the pro-potato forces in the Senate. "The issue is really in the preparation."
Collins concedes she's biased. Potatoes are Maine's most important cash crop.
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