University of Georgia experts say recent removals of
peanuts from school lunchrooms are overreactions that can unfairly hurt Georgia farmers.

A few New York and California school districts have pulled peanuts and peanut products
from their lunchrooms in an attempt to protect allergic children.

A U.S. Department of Transportation ruling would
have forced airlines to either remove peanuts from flights or designate peanut-free seats.
But Tuesday, Congress put a provision in the $520 billion Omnibus Appropriations
Conference Report that will block the ruling.

In Georgia, where peanuts are a major crop, actions banning peanuts could pose
problems.

"Even a 1 percent decline in the consumption of peanut butter and snack peanuts
would cost Georgia farmers around $5 million," said Don
Shurley, an agricultural economist with the UGA College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

"The total impact on the state’s economy, and on the economy of many small towns
and rural communities, would be more than $15 million," he said.

Schools are major users of peanuts and products such as peanut butter, Shurley said.
Almost 90 percent of the peanuts used in peanut butter, and two-thirds of those in snack
foods, are "runner" peanuts.

These peanuts are grown mostly in the Southeast and in Texas and Oklahoma.
"Georgia alone grows about half of all the U.S. runner-type peanuts," he said.

Growers worry that hastily formed school policies could have a ripple effect on other
markets, including retail customers.

Peanut consumption had been climbing. A 3 percent rise last year was the second
straight year of increasing consumption after a dramatic decline in 1991-95.

Banning peanut products and creating peanut-free areas in school systems were prompted
by parents of children who are allergic to the high-protein legume.

Peanut allergies can be among the deadliest food allergies. But they are also among the
rarest.

"About 5 percent of all young children will develop some kind of food allergy. But
most outgrow it by their teen years," said Connie
Crawley, an Extension Service nutritionist and
registered dietitian with the UGA College of Family and
Consumer Sciences.

"Peanut allergies seem to be one of the few that people don’t outgrow."

While a person’s sensitivity to peanuts can vary, one severe condition that can be
prompted by peanut allergies is called anaphylaxis.

"The condition results in facial swelling, throat swelling and problems with
breathing shortly after the allergic person eats peanuts or a food containing
peanuts," Crawley said.

"In some severe cases," she said, "a person can get sick from just
breathing dust from a peanut plant or kissing someone who has recently eaten peanuts. It
can be very dangerous. But not everyone who is allergic has such a serious reaction. Some
have only a rash or an upset stomach."

Crawley knows the dangers faced by the tiny percentage allergic to peanuts. But she
still doesn’t support removing peanuts from school lunch nutrition programs.

"No one should make knee-jerk decisions when dealing with food allergies,"
she said. "If we did, schools wouldn’t be serving dairy products, since the largest
percentage of food allergies are milk allergies."

Crawley said only six foods cause most food allergies.

"Peanuts are very nutritious. They shouldn’t be restricted unless a doctor
pinpoints an allergy," she said. "People should never try to diagnose
themselves, either. That’s why doctors conduct skin tests — to be accurate."

Crawley said in her 20-year career as a nutritionist, she has never had a child client
who was allergic to peanuts.

"You aren’t going to find peanut-allergic children in every school," she
said. "But when an incident does occur, it can be a dangerous reaction. Children
known to be this sensitive must carry medication to prevent anaphylactic shock."