Students across America are heading back to school--but in many places they aren’t heading back with a staple food of childhood in their lunch boxes: the peanut-butter sandwich.
That’s because a growing number of schools are banning peanuts and peanut products from their cafeterias, in response to worries about allergies. Last week, notices went home to parents in Sioux Falls, S.D. “We are a peanut-free school,” said the principal of Mark Twain Elementary, according to the Argus Leader.
Something tells me that the real Mark Twain would crack jokes about this policy. If the trend picks up, teachers won’t have to worry about teenagers smoking cigarettes or sniffing glue in the bathrooms--they’ll have to worry about kids sneaking a PB&J fix.
I suppose that’s an improvement: You’ve come a long way, baby. But the finest improvement will come when biotechnology renders the entire matter obsolete through the invention of peanuts that don’t cause anyone so much as to sneeze.
As any parent knows, peanut butter is one of those uncommon foods that is both nutritious and delicious: It pumps protein into the bodies of kids, who actually love to eat the stuff. Moms and dads wouldn’t want it to be the only thing their children put in their bellies, but it certainly can be a good part of a healthy, balanced diet--as well as an enormous relief for the parents of picky eaters.
The problem is that a small number of people are allergic to peanuts. Among kids, the figure is perhaps 1 percent. Some will outgrow it as they reach adulthood. Others won’t. For a very few, the allergy is severe. Mere skin contact with peanuts can cause hives to break out. In the rarest of cases, peanuts are actually life threatening.
What if it were possible to grow peanuts that don’t trigger allergic reactions?
Last year, scientists at the University of Florida published research in the journal Plant Science about a peanut gene that codes for a protein with no apparent allergic effects. The commercial application of such a discovery would be boon to everyone, from peanut farmers who want a market for what they grow to allergy sufferers who merely want to keep themselves safe--and perhaps even enjoy the simple pleasure of a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich.
Compared to corn and soybeans, peanuts are a minor crop: Only a little more than a million acres were harvested in 2006. Because of this, the genetics of the peanut haven’t been studied as extensively as they have in other plants. We could be on the frontier of great discoveries that benefit both growers and consumers.
The peanut industry understands this. Last year, the American Peanut Council embraced the concept of GM peanuts. It would like to use biotechnology to create peanuts that yield more oil, use less water, and come with built-in pest protection.
Any of these traits would be beneficial to Americans, who are said to consume about six pounds of peanuts and peanut products per year.
Yet each one pales in comparison to the Holy Grail of GM peanut research: the allergy-free peanut.
When it comes to biotechnology, I’m an optimist. But I won’t fool you. The allergy-free peanut isn’t right around the corner. It won’t appear in grocery stores this year or next. We’ll be fortunate if it shows up before today’s kindergartners graduate from high school.
That’s quite a while to wait, but science can take a long time--and patience is usually a virtue. The good news is that researchers are accepting the challenge. “A lot of people are starting to try to get into the field because of the urgency,” said Soheila J. Maleki of the Department of Agriculture, according to a recent article in the Baltimore Sun.
We should wish them the best and give them our support. In the meantime, I’ll dream of the day when American kids can carry peanut-butter sandwiches into their schools without feeling as though they’re smuggling in contraband.
Dean Kleckner, an Iowa farmer and grandfather of 11 school-age children, chairs Truth About Trade & Technology.
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Students across America are heading back to school--but in many places they aren’t heading back with a staple food of childhood in their lunch boxes: the peanut-butter sandwich.
