Potatoes are not man-made in the sense of being artificially created from scratch, but they have been significantly modified by humans through selective breeding over thousands of years.

The wild ancestors of potatoes originated in the Andes region of South America, where Indigenous peoples domesticated them over 7,000–10,000 years ago. Early farmers selectively bred potatoes to be less toxic, larger, and more nutritious, shaping them into the staple crop we know today. Modern potatoes are very different from their wild relatives due to this long history of human cultivation and genetic selection.

More recently, potatoes have also been modified through biotechnology, such as genetically engineered varieties designed for disease resistance or longer shelf life.