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April 15 (Reuters) - The potato, the world's third most important food crop after rice and wheat, is emerging as an alternative to expensive cereals and advocates say it could hold the key to global food security. The following are key facts about the potato:

-- To boost demand, Peru's government has started to serve bread made from potato flour in its schools, hospitals, prisons and to members of its armed forces. The move counters high wheat prices, but is also a point of Andean pride. The potato was first domesticated in Peru some 8,000 years ago, but the average Peruvian eats just 176 pounds (80 kg) of potatoes a year, compared with 376 pounds (171 kg) in Belarus, the world leader in per capita potato consumption.

-- To make potato flour for bread: boil potatoes. Dry, peel and then grind them into a fine powder. Added bonus: bread made from potato flour is safe for people with an allergy to gluten, which is found in most grains.

-- Vodka was first made from potatoes in Poland around the turn of the 20th century, halving the cost of making vodka from wheat. Some five kg of potatoes are needed to produce one liter of vodka.

-- The potato, sometimes dismissed as a fat-filled, fried food, is actually nutritious. A medium-sized potato has around 110 calories, contains almost no fat and is full of vitamins and complex carbohydrates, which release energy over time. Potatoes come in many colors -- for example white, yellow, purple and blue -- and contain antioxidants, thought to help prevent cancer.

-- Most of the world's potatoes are consumed fresh, but they can also be used to make less-perishable products, like alcohol, chips and biodegradable golf tees.

-- The potato is the obvious inspiration behind the classic Mr. Potato Head toy, introduced in 1952 by Hasbro Inc., and followed one year later by his wife, Mrs. Potato Head. The plastic toys, which starred in the blockbuster movies Toy Story and Toy Story 2, are brown, hollow potatoes that have detachable eyes, ears, arms and feet.

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