Before potatoes, the number one source of food for most people in Europe was simple wheat. Potatoes are cheaper, require less preparation and provide a significantly higher caloric count than other food steps. Despite that, natural suspicion of this alien food compounded with fear stoked by religious authorities would soon outweigh the ability of potatoes to keep a family alive on a war-ravaged continent. The arrival of the potato would eventually displace it as the principal food of poor classes.