Calling the no 1 spud

Are Chinese people ready for potatoes in their buns and noodles? Mike Peters explores.

To get China excited about eating more potatoes, what we need is a really good mascot. Fortunately, the US has one waiting in the wings. Dear Mr Potato Head, Greetings from China! You are probably as surprised to get a letter from Beijing as I am surprised to be writing to, well, a plastic doll with really ugly shoes. After all, as Buzz Lightyear said in that famous movie: "You are a TOY!" But Buzz Lightyear and Woody also won the hearts of millions of fans - who remember you from the same movie - and that's where you come in.

You see, China has a lot of mouths to feed. And while Chinese people love rice like life itself, rice requires a lot of manual labor and a LOT of water. China doesn't have as much water as it needs, and as deserts creep into farmlands thanks to climate change, it's getting less practical to grow rice in many places.