I like peanut butter. Grandma always bought natural chunky but creamy is good too. I alway prefered plain white bread and some jam. As a kid, pb&j sandwiches were a staple of life. Come on, what is better, as a kid, than a pb&j with a Coke and Fritos corn chips? Add a Ding Dong from Hostess cakes and you got a real lunch.
Even today, as a grampa, I like a pb&j. Now, I know there are people with food allergies and those allergies can be very serious. My oldest son is allergic to peanut butter and my youngest son is allergic to fish, so I know very well about the seriousness of food allergies. I still had Resses Peanut butter cups, Skippy Peanut Butter, peanut butter M&M’s and breaded fish sticks in the house. My wife and I taught our sons that, since they were the ones with food allergies, they were the ones responsible to avoid those foods that they were allegic to. I, myself, am allergic to penecillin, so it is my responsability to inform my doctors and healthcare providers of my allergies, not someone elses. I certainly would not demand that, since I am allergic to penecillin, no one else should be able to take it. The majority of people could benefit from that medicine and it would be selfish of me to demand that penecillin could not be near me.

While in America, peanut allergies account for less than 1% of the population yet schools are labeled as ‘peanut free zones’. That means that while 99% of the rest of the children are not allergic, they are being punished by not being able to enjoy a pb&j. As a matter of fact, many parents have been verbally accosted because they prepared a pb&j sandwich for their children. Do not get me wrong as I am not promoting smearing peanut oil on your hands and grabbing door knobs. But we, as a society, have gone too far to protect the future generations.

Look what happened in a Target store as reported by ABC in Houston Texas on April 12th of this year. A mother was shopping with her child in tow. Her child was hungry and as any good mom would, came prepared. She pulled out a small pb&j sandwich for her child so she could finish shopping in relative peace. Then, she was verbally accosted by what could be concidered a rabid woman accusing this mother of placing other children at a deadly risk. If memory serves, Target stores has anticeptic wipes to wipe down shopping carts. Besides, like I taught my kids, they are the ones that need to be careful and aware since they are the ones that are different. As one mom stated on a social forum…

“I don’t think you did anything wrong (outside of seeking comment via social media from a public that enjoys brutalizing people in an anonymous forum.) My son has life threatening tree nut allergies. I do not expect the rest of the world to change to accommodate him,”

That is it in a nutshell, pun intended. We, as a society, are expected to accomodate 1% of the population and put up with anger and vitrial. It should be the 1% to change and accomodate the 99%. By that I don’t mean that they have to eat peanut butter and live with the consequences. And I am not saying we should all wear peanut oil soaked gloves and give facial massages to people with peanut allergies. But we, as a society, should be more considerate to each other. People without allergies to peanut butter should feel free to eat one without Ninja-mom popping out and bashing someone or shaming them for enjoying a nutricious snack and still be sensitive to the 1% who are.

By the way, my son who is allergic to fish is an accomplished chef that sometimes has to deal with and cook fish. He has taken the necessary precautions when dealing with foods that he is allergic to. Some say his food is the best prepared including fish.