ALLERGY CONTROVERSY
The peanut is back
June 10, 2008
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Andrea Gordon
FAMILY ISSUES REPORTER
Patti McIntosh knew she was dealing with an unlikely hero when she started researching her new children's book about global malnutrition.
The story's star is the peanut – one of the Western world's most controversial foods because of its potentially fatal allergens.
In Ollie's Field Journal: A 9/10ths Happy Story From Africa, it takes the form of peanut paste prescription, a ready-to-use peanut butter-like concoction that restores the health of starving children in Niger and other African countries, thanks to its calories, protein and vitamins.
"I definitely knew we were dealing with fear of peanuts in the West," the Edmonton author said in a phone interview. Even her 8-year-old nephew cocked an eyebrow.
"But we knew the success rate of the peanut paste prescription ... so from our perspective it wasn't a concern."
Still, the narrator Ollie had to address it. "Don't worry, there are not as many allergies (in Africa)," she tells her readers.
These days, a good news story involving peanuts is as hard to find as PB&J in a school lunchroom. That's because peanuts and peanut products wreak terror among the estimated 1.5 per cent of Canadians who are severely allergic, especially children and their parents.
But might the lowly legume be due for a makeover, at least among allergy-free peanut lovers?
McIntosh's book doesn't shy away from citing its merits as a therapeutic food. The peanut paste, commonly known as "Plumpy'nut," was created in France in 1999 and has been used by Médecins Sans Frontières in Niger and other countries, boosting the health of nine-tenths of malnourished children who consume it four times a day.
According to the Peanut Bureau of Canada, a marketing arm of the American Peanut Council, consumption of peanuts has increased here over the past three years despite the bad rep. A 2008 survey of 1,500 Canadians conducted for the bureau by Leger Marketing found nine out of 10 respondents considered peanuts and peanut butter healthy sources of protein and nutrients, and 89 per cent kept it in their homes.
Even representatives from Anaphylaxis Canada say it's time to stop demonizing the maligned groundnut and instead focus on public education and protection of those with allergies.
Excessive anxiety does more harm than good to allergic kids, their friends and other parents, says executive director Laurie Harada, who calls for a balanced approach. Often allergic children dislike being singled out and recently there have been incidents of bullies taunting certain kids by exposing them to the allergens.
Peanut-bashing can also lead to "allergy fatigue," which causes people to stop paying attention to the real risks, adds Harada, whose 14-year-old son is severely allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish.
"You don't want a food vilified, whether it's peanut butter or milk."
The controversial legume has pretty much been peanut non grata for the past decade or so as a result of an increase in food allergies and the fact that peanuts can trigger anaphylaxis, the most dangerous of allergic reactions, which can cause difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness and death.
Banned from daycares, classrooms and summer camps, the fear has sparked a barrage of "peanut-free" marketing. Over-anxious parents demand hospital testing before letting their tots have their first taste – even if they have no family history or symptoms of any allergies.
It wasn't always this way. Peanuts and crackerjack are the glorified staples of baseball fans. Kiddie entertainer Fred Penner gave peanut butter a shout-out in his hit song "Sandwiches."
In Truman Capote's 1950s novella Breakfast at Tiffany's, heroine Holly Golightly babbles about how her brother grew to 6-foot-2 thanks to his peanut butter binges.
And in 1974, multimedia artist Vincent Trasov dressed up as the Planters' company icon Mr. Peanut – including top hat, monocle, white spats and cane – and ran for mayor of Vancouver. He got almost 4 per cent of the vote. Today, he might well be arrested for posing a threat to the community.
Nancy Racz of Vittoria, Ont., has watched the events unfold from southern Ontario's peanut fields. Racz co-founded Kernal Peanuts in Vittoria back in 1979, before allergies were top of mind.
While demand for peanuts in and out of the shell still outstrips Kernals' supply, she says sales of the company's all-natural peanut butter have been cut in half in the past 20 years. And schools no longer come to tour the farm and production facility.
She's allergic to shellfish, so she knows the importance of protecting those at risk. "But it's a little bit frustrating because I think a lot of people jump on the bandwagon."
These days, kids are growing up accustomed to peanut-free environments and are aware of food allergies. Groups like the American Peanut Council collaborate with Anaphylaxis Canada on public education, pushing for accurate food labelling, preventive measures to protect those affected and research into potential treatments.
But there are signs that folks have reached a limit.
Last month, the Calgary mother of a peanut-allergic 5-year-old demanded that city residents stop feeding peanuts to squirrels, fearing her daughter might come in contact with discarded shells – something one expert called an unlikely source of allergic reaction.
A CBC News story prompted more than 85 online responses, most of them outraged, telling the woman to take responsibility by watching her daughter, carrying an epinephrine auto-injector to treat any allergic reaction, and teaching the girl to protect herself.
Meanwhile, Harada says the priority should be educating the public about common allergy misconceptions. For example, while peanuts cause the majority of food- induced reactions and fatalities from anaphylaxis, the other two leading causes should not be overlooked. They include tree nuts (such as almonds, walnuts and cashews) and shellfish. Other common food allergies include cow's milk, eggs, soy, sesame seeds, wheat and fish.
"People don't understand it's not just the prevalence of peanuts."
She says kids must be taught to protect themselves, be alert and recognize risks – but to put the risks in context so they don't live in a constant state of fear. Harada feels empowering her son to take care of himself in a world where most people don't have life-threatening allergies is the best defence.
"He's got to learn how you advocate for safety, and how can you help those around you understand, without an overblown sense of entitlement."
Toronto Star