The War On Peanuts

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Tuesday, December 02, 2008 4:20 PM PT

Trends: North Carolina is the fifth-largest peanut grower in the U.S., yet peanut-allergy nazis have persuaded even officials in that state to crack down on PB&Js.

---

Read More: Health Care | Education

---

Take Union County Public Schools, the fastest-growing school district in the Tar Heel state. Officials there recently sent letters home to parents asking that they no longer pack peanut-butter sandwiches or cookies in their kids' lunches.

If they abide by the restriction, a certificate with their child's name will be placed on display at their school "in acknowledgment of the voluntary commitment to safety your family has made."

The district's also shaming parents into washing their kids' hands in the morning before they go on the bus, lest they transfer the dangerous peanut molecule and endanger a seat mate.

The move isn't isolated to North Carolina. It's a national trend. Other states have banned peanuts altogether from schools, while others have created peanut-free zones within schools.

A Washington lobbyist group is behind the anti-peanut push. It's stalking schools with fears about children going into anaphylactic shock if they so much as touch something peanutty.

"Just a small amount of food on your hands can get on desks, books, playground equipment," warns the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.

Peanut allergies have emerged as among the most common allergies in kids, according to the CDC. They've doubled since 1997.

Nobody knows for sure what's driving the increase. But some doctors think it's media hype and parental neurosis. CDC studies show about 25% of parents think their kids have food allergies when only about 4% really do. And only 1% actually have peanut allergies.

Another reason for the so-called epidemic is more parents are randomly removing peanuts in their babies' diets, thereby lowering their tolerance in later years.

A child with a food allergy is up to four times more likely to have other related allergies like asthma than a child without a food allergy. So is it really the peanuts or something else causing reactions?

We're all for keeping kids free of lethal food reactions. But in the case of peanuts there appears to be an overreaction. Some parents have even gone out and bought peanut-detector dogs for their kids.

CDC data show food allergy deaths are extremely rare, with peanut-related deaths almost nonexistent. And kids really at risk of death by peanut carry epi-pens. Punishing other kids for such an extreme minority is, well, nuts. The health benefits of peanuts to the other 99% far outweigh the risks. A handful of peanuts twice a week halves the risk of heart attack. Peanuts have the lowest glycemic index and decrease the risk of diabetes.

Schools should do some independent research before banning a cheap source of protein for kids — especially in the middle of a recession.