Personal Injury Law

March is National Peanut Month - Really?

By Bill Marler, Esq.

Someone emailed me the link to www.peanutbutterlovers.com (website for everything) and a note that March is National Peanut Month – 'a time to celebrate one of America's favorite foods.' According to the site, 'National Peanut Month had its beginnings as National Peanut Week in 1941. It was expanded to a month-long celebration in 1974.' The site also asks to 'Show your Peanut IQ by sharing some of these fun facts with your friends this month:

Peanuts are not actually nuts at all! They are legumes, like beans, peas and lentils.

Americans eat 3 pounds of peanut butter per person every year. That's about 700 million pounds, or enough to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon!

Peanuts may be a favorite food, but we've found many uses for their shells too! You might find peanut shells in kitty litter, wallboard, fireplace logs, paper, animal feed and sometimes as fuel for power plants!

Two peanut farmers have been elected President of the United States: Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.

One acre of peanuts will make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.

I would add not too forget the Salmonella Tennessee outbreak linked to nearly 700 illnesses in 2006-2007 and the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak linked to nearly 700 illness in 2008-2009.

I was also reading 'Agwired' (OK, could not sleep) and found this – 'The Atlanta Motor Speedway is declaring Sunday, March 8, as 'Georgia Peanut Farmer Appreciation Day' during the Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race in recognition of Georgia's official state crop.' According to the press release:

It's a show of support to Georgia-based peanut farmers who have been suffering due to the recent difficulties facing the industry, with the whole salmonella in peanut products problem.

Hmm, what about the 'suffering due to the recent difficulties' of 677 sickened? 150 hospitalized? The nine dead? I knew I hated NASCAR.

Full post as published by Marler Blog on March 07, 2009 (boomark / email).