Safety Nuts

Goober peas, pig nuts, monkey nuts, ground nuts, or just plain peanuts, whatever you want to call them; the lowly peanut is both the most egalitarian nut, as well as the most feared. While peanuts are cheap, accessible, and satisfying, they are also one of the most common food allergy culprits, affecting one in two hundred people. For some with severe peanut allergies, even the most insignificant contact can trigger severe reactions that can be fatal.

Peanuts, as much enjoyment the other 99.5 percent of the population derives from them, are no laughing matter.

Just last year, Kroger, the supermarket chain, was forced to recall countless tubs of Kroger Deluxe Chocolate Paradise Ice Cream (sold in over 17 states) as the ice cream may contain tree nuts (strange to think that no one can be certain in this day and age) and wasn’t labeled accordingly. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a proposal severely limiting the customary distribution of packages of peanuts on airplane flights. “DOT believes that a severe peanut allergy counts as a disability — and federal law prohibits air carriers from discriminating against individuals with a disability,” according to a DOT sponsored website. The DOT outlined three distinct options: banning airlines from serving peanuts; banning them only on flights where a person with a peanut allergy requests it ahead of time; or requiring a peanut-free “buffer zone” around an allergy sufferer if they ask ahead of time (many public schools already ban peanut butter and peanut-based foods out of concern for students whom suffer from nut allergies).

The motivation for these draconian measures stems from a place of relative good: an attempt to protect those with moderate to severe peanut allergies. However, some at American Department of Agriculture’s Food Allergy Research Group in New Orleans believes that the source of many of these extreme and deadly peanut allergies are a collection of distinct proteins found in the nuts. Researchers studied 900 varieties of peanut, looking for naturally occurring mutations which left them with lower levels of the dangerous proteins. Out of this research came a “low-risk” peanut with significantly reduced levels of the allergy-causing proteins that could be massed produced. This development has the potential to bring hope, and a little bit of security, for those who live day to day in fear of what lies beyond the nutshell.

Ice cream bans, peanut-free zones, and genetically modified peanuts, all to safeguard a fraction of the population? Is this altruism and self-sacrifice or is it extreme measures that infringe on the rights of the majority? Is the peanut worth fighting for (I am sure the peanut lobby would think so) or should we keep them locked up, heavily regulated, and far away from those whom they would do harm? Feel free to weigh in.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Jennifer C.

5:28PM PDT on Mar 22, 2012

Thanks for this great article.

send a green star

Debbie C.

2:52AM PDT on Mar 22, 2012

I am so glad I am not alergic to nuts. I've heard stories about kids being alergic to them. I can't image being a kid and not being able to have a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich!!!

Eternal G.

5:35PM PDT on Mar 18, 2012

Hmmm NUTS!

KS G.

12:17AM PST on Mar 5, 2012

Thanks for the article.

Ra S.

1:23PM PST on Mar 2, 2012

It doesn't take a lot of effort to keep peanuts out of places where they are most likely to cause serious problems. And product recalls are appropriate if a food contains things it didn't claim to contain. Also, peanuts aren't nuts, they are legumes. People who have peanut allergies are only allergic to nuts if they also happen to have a nut allergy (since you can have multiple allergies). Just as people allergic to nuts can eat peanuts, unless they also have a peanut allergy.

Kara C.

8:48PM PST on Feb 27, 2012

Today a pregnant friend got yelled at by a woman at the train station for eating peanuts because "if somebody is allergic they will die" and "your baby will be allergic if you eat nuts ". All this safety has gone too far people can't spend their whole lives in bubble wrap because of a minority.

Chad A.

4:10AM PST on Feb 26, 2012

I like nuts but I have alleriges wo I am pretty much limited to common nuts as minor ingredients-pine nuts will close up my throat.

Cindy B.

6:28PM PST on Feb 24, 2012

It's very difficult for me to imagine an allergy SO SEVERE that even BREATHING THE SAME AIR as a person who's, say, eaten the allergen earlier and may still have a few MOLECULES on his breath -- could send the allergic person to the hospital or even kill him.. That's just utterly amazing to me. Surely it's very, very rare.

I think if I had a kid who was that allergic to ANYTHING, especially something most people commonly use/eat/touch, I'd home-school him.

Ruth R.

10:45PM PST on Feb 23, 2012

No, have different kinds of organic and non-genetially modified nuts, seeds, and snacks offered on airlines.

Cynthia B.

6:59PM PST on Feb 23, 2012

let's not go overboard People with these allergies know and read labels
Of course manufacturers should place the warning on packages