Faced with a food crisis thanks to U.S. sanctions, Tehran is turning to spuds to stave off hunger … and protests.

When critics of then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wanted to target him ahead of the country’s 2009 presidential elections, they would shout, “Death to potatoes!” in reference to the controversial leader’s history of distributing the root vegetable to supporters. “We would chant, ‘We don’t want potatoes,’” recalls Jonathan Sameyach, an Iranian opposed to Ahmadinejad, who left office in 2013. Potatoes have since faded from Iranian politics.

Until now, that is. As American sanctions choke Iran’s economy, the country is increasingly looking to spuds as a cost-effective alternative to the traditional imports that have fed many Iranians. In 2017, Iran imported 1.2 million tons of rice, 1.3 million tons of barley and 9.5 million tons of corn, but several top agribusinesses have since stopped selling to the country for fear of violating U.S. sanctions. In February, photos emerged of ordinary Iranians forced to stand in long queues for subsidized frozen meat due to rising prices.

Laura Lagano is breaking barriers as a dietitian by embracing the benefits of cannabis and CBD.

In 1996, when Laura Lagano was in her mid-30s, she gave birth to twins. One of them, Isabella, suffered from seizures and apraxia due to chromosomal duplication, a genetic ailment linked with autism spectrum disorder. A registered and certified dietitian/nutritionist (RDN) with a master’s from Columbia University, Lagano started searching for a holistic approach to alleviate her daughter’s difficulties.

“Isabella actually brought me to cannabis and CBD,” Lagano says. “I’m always looking for new approaches to help with her behaviors and CBD really made a big difference in her life.” She didn’t stop at home. While childhood seizure disorders have been the catalyst for the acceptance of legal cannabidiol (CBD) for years, Lagano, 63, is at the forefront of marketing it as a dietary supplement to combat all sorts of ailments — a booming business that has attracted critics along with the hype. The CBD market reached $591 million last year, according to analysis from the Brightfield Group, and could reach $22 billion by 2022.

As part of our “Who Cares” series, we look at one conservative’s entrance into politics.

In this occasional series, OZY takes to streets and neighborhoods across the globe to ask a simple question: “How was your day?”

Garrett Flicker
Denver, Colorado

Day started off really good. I woke up at home with my beautiful boyfriend. We’re both political scientists. He’s going into the law side of things, and I’m sticking with politics. Went to the gym. I go every day, since I’m recovering from a large surgery in November — a spinal fusion, eight discs outfitted with about 20 screws.

I work as a chief of staff for Rep. Tim Geitner and as secretary for the Denver Republicans. In the 2016 election cycle, my senior year in college, I went from a turf director to a field coordinator to a regional director for the Trump campaign, organizing volunteers for the Western Slope. I was really stuck to my own devices, but I did a good job with what I was given. And in the 2018 cycle, I worked what felt like 120 hours, seven days a week.