I've heard/read that, prior to the Irish potato famine in 1845, an Irish person would eat an average of at least 10lbs of potatoes a day; assuming 5 potatoes per pound, that would be 50 potatoes a day per person. From what historical sources are these numbers drawn, and are they considered to be accurate?
Are you sure that figure is for human consumption? It seems far too high to be realistic, but if it's a total for the potato harvest it could include crops used for animal feed and wastage as well?
hi, you may be interested in a couple of previous posts
Can anyone verify that pre-Famine Irish men really ate 12-14 pounds of potatoes a day? - see particularly the response from /u/Urizen23
no real discussion of numbers, but may be tangentially interesting "An 1846 source claims a working [Irish] man needed at least 8 pounds of potatoes a day to survive if nothing else were available." - How would these potatoes be prepared in pre-Famine Ireland?