Space Potato Hits the Streets

gasmanpopey writes to tell us that sweet potato seeds sent to space as a part of China's Shenzhou VI mission are hitting the streets as a part of special Valentine's day meals. While supporters are trying to claim better flavor and better nutrition there doesn't seem to be anything beyond a pure novelty angle.

LADA on ISS

[mulhollandj]

The LADA program has grown many things including cabbage, peas, radishes, etc. http://www.sdl.usu.edu/programs/lada/ [usu.edu]

Probably does taste better.

[jbeaupre]

If you are going to go through the trouble of sending seeds into space, you're also likely to do two things: choose a good varietal and take extra care when raising the plants. So I'd be surprised if these weren't tastier and more nutritious compared to the average tuber stock grown in the average field.