No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

[kimo55]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

as pres carter would say;

i ain't a fuddy duddy, I'm yer nutty buddy!

[alohabear]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

There's been an explosion in recent years in peanut allergies, and nobody seems to know why; however, it remains true that even casual, across-the-room exposure to peanuts is hazardous to a growing number of people, students as well as teachers.

Global warming? Bird flu?. Heck the media blames "warming and Bird Flu" on everything nowdays.

I agree with Tim, The needs of the many out way the needs of the one. If you are affected by peanuts, you better carry your epipen with you at all times. Why should an "American Classic" like PB&J be banned from school lunches?
What's next?Because of Mad Cow should we ban burgers at school too?

I think our country is so sue happy that we are on constant guard.

[MadAzza]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

One theory holds that for the past 20 years or so, peanut byproducts (mainly, peanut oil) have been used in many more products than they used to be used in. The early exposure to so much peanut material is triggering allergies in keiki.

That's one theory, and it seems logical.

[Adri]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

I agree with Tim, The needs of the many out way the needs of the one. If you are affected by peanuts, you better carry your epipen with you at all times.

The way I look at it is a balancing of the severity of the needs. Is avoiding a relatively minor inconvenience to many worth the possible death of one? The school actually has a student with a severe peanut allergy so it's not a ban based on the theoretical possibility that some student might have an allergy. There has been no mention that I know of of arresting or suspending anyone for accidentally having peanuts or peanut products. I think the ban was an effort to raise awareness of the issue and to try to reduce the possibility of the student being exposed, relying on the good will and good conscience of the other people.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

allergic reactions to peanuts was at one time traced back to infant diets. As an infant they haven't yet developed the necessary antibodies to ward off certain illnesses and allergies. Peanuts/peanut oil is one of those items that if not protected with those antibodies can cause an allergic reaction that can be fatal in infants and young children. That is why most pediatricians don't recommend peanuts to children younger than five years of age.

Also with the lifestyles of young parents breast feeding has become passe with more parents relying on processed formulas that mimick mother's milk but do not contain the necessary antibodies that are found in breast milk.

Children who were raised on breast milk have had fewer allergies than those that weren't.

But the ban on peanuts is because unlike a ban on riding in the back of a pickup truck runs smack to freedom to choose, a child that comes across another item that has been in contact with peanuts (such as building blocks that toddlers put in their mouths) can die just from the passive touch of that same article and doesn't have a clue that their lives were in jeopardy from such an innocent act of just touching something.

Bans on peanuts are very common in many educational institutions across the country and quite common in day care and pre schools. One can feel outraged at this kind of ban but in this situation you have to think of the welfare of the children who can die from simple contact with the stuff and wouldn't it make you feel really bad if your indulgences caused the death of an innocent child?

[Miulang]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

I have never consumed very much peanut butter (rarely did my mom give me PB&J sammiches). Even today, I prefer freshly ground almond or cashew butter to processed peanut butter. There's one really delicious cashew butter/chocolate spread that Trader Joe's sells that's out of this world.

Speaking of nut allergies, I once had a boss who had a bad allergy to "wrinkly nuts" like walnuts. You can imagine the ribbing he used to take from his employees over that one!

Miulang

[scrivener]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

I agree with Tim, The needs of the many out way the needs of the one. If you are affected by peanuts, you better carry your epipen with you at all times. Why should an "American Classic" like PB&J be banned from school lunches?

There's no doubt that we are a "sue-happy" nation, as you put it, but America's litigiousness is an issue separate from what we're talking about here. Yes, democracy means that "the majority rules," but democracy also means something else: Everybody's needs are important. There are a lot of reasons to disdain preferential parking for the cars of people in wheelchairs, but don't you think that in the end, we are a better nation because we look out for these people?

You could argue that a dyslexic student -- who could be brilliant in just about every way, but has difficulty with reading -- costs too much to educate and then let that student languish in special-ed classes that don't meet his or her needs, or you could try to provide the kind of schooling that helps this student thrive. And since estimates range between ten and twenty percent of students in this country having some kind of language-based learning difference, not only will we be a better nation because we look out for the minority, but we will be a better nation because that's a whole LOT of children who will be more likely to graduate from high school and get out into the economy as contributors.

The "majority rules" aspect of democracy is important, but as President Clinton is always quick to point out, it must be balanced with the "everybody matters" aspect. The government is there to make sure that the majority doesn't abuse its power and overwhelm the rights of other citizens. This is why there are no "white" and "colored" lines at the bus station anymore.

Now, four percent is not enormous, if that's how many students have peanut allergies now, but it's certainly not nothing. It means that in a classroom of twenty-five, one student likely has this allergy. If one student in twenty-five was in a wheelchair, do you think classrooms and schools would continue to look the way they do, or do you think there would be changes to accomodate these 4-out-of-a-hundred, 20-out-of-five-hundred, and 40-out-of-a-thousand students? I know it's not a clear, cut-and-dried issue and we might not just say, "that's a lot of students, so let's make every necessary change whatever the cost," but I'm hoping you wouldn't say, "that's still a huge minority, so let's let them take their chances with peanuts."

[Miulang]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

The issue of a peanut allergy is one of inconvenience for the majority who are not bothered by that allergy. But for the 1 in 4 kids sitting in a classroom, it could be a life or death situation. Same with people who battle celiac disease (allergy to gluten). Damned inconvenience for the majority of us to even think about it, but a major health issue for people intolerant of wheat, which is in just about every procesed baked product out there, not to mention the adhesive on the back of postage stamps, etc.

Miulang

[Leo Lakio]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

Scrivener: please imagine me standing, bowing in your direction, then straightening up and applauding.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

heck it's inconvenient for the rest of us to park elsewhere but it's for the sake of the handicapped.

Funny though I see a lot of really nice cars parked in handicapped stalls (musta been a great settlement) and one thing I've always wondered...are handicapped people poor too? Because I can see allowing close and accessable parking for those afflicted with a physical handicap...but in Municipal parking lots (the Honolulu Zoo for example) the handicapped parking is totally free!

I can see accessable, but free? If they're that poor they shouldn't be at nightclubs with handicapped stalls, or other establishments of decadence where spending money is considered a luxury and not a need. I define "establishments of need" as supermarkets where sundries and items such as consumables are purchased and other life sustaining durable or consumable goods are sold. But a bar?

Accessable but not free.

[scrivener]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

I can't hit you with numbers, but I know a few people who are on Social Security and can't work because of their disabilities. Okay, I guess "can't" is a strong word, to be totally honest, but if I know two people who sorta "can't" work, there must be a bunch out there who truly can't. I can't say anything about nightclubs -- the people I know don't go clubbing.

[alohabear]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

There's no doubt that we are a "sue-happy" nation, as you put it, but America's litigiousness is an issue separate from what we're talking about here. Yes, democracy means that "the majority rules," but democracy also means something else: Everybody's needs are important. There are a lot of reasons to disdain preferential parking for the cars of people in wheelchairs, but don't you think that in the end, we are a better nation because we look out for these people?

You could argue that a dyslexic student -- who could be brilliant in just about every way, but has difficulty with reading -- costs too much to educate and then let that student languish in special-ed classes that don't meet his or her needs, or you could try to provide the kind of schooling that helps this student thrive. And since estimates range between ten and twenty percent of students in this country having some kind of language-based learning difference, not only will we be a better nation because we look out for the minority, but we will be a better nation because that's a whole LOT of children who will be more likely to graduate from high school and get out into the economy as contributors.

The "majority rules" aspect of democracy is important, but as President Clinton is always quick to point out, it must be balanced with the "everybody matters" aspect. The government is there to make sure that the majority doesn't abuse its power and overwhelm the rights of other citizens. This is why there are no "white" and "colored" lines at the bus station anymore.

Now, four percent is not enormous, if that's how many students have peanut allergies now, but it's certainly not nothing. It means that in a classroom of twenty-five, one student likely has this allergy. If one student in twenty-five was in a wheelchair, do you think classrooms and schools would continue to look the way they do, or do you think there would be changes to accomodate these 4-out-of-a-hundred, 20-out-of-five-hundred, and 40-out-of-a-thousand students? I know it's not a clear, cut-and-dried issue and we might not just say, "that's a lot of students, so let's make every necessary change whatever the cost," but I'm hoping you wouldn't say, "that's still a huge minority, so let's let them take their chances with peanuts."

I still think it's nuts(no pun intended). More students have a milk allergy in the schools ,but you don't see the DOE banning milk...do you? These kids just don't eat anything with milk. The Cafeteria (where I work as a manager) receives a lot of special diet requests , but to BAN a everyday food ,that has been a staple in kids lunch boxes for years, is going too far.

[scrivener]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

Yeah, but kids with milk allergies only react when they ingest milk. Kids with peanut allergies (at least, a lot of kids with peanut allergies) react then there are open-containers of peanuts in the room. That's a big difference. I've had colleagues have to leave faculty meetings because something someone brought had peanuts in it. They didn't make a big deal or a fuss; they just quietly got up and left, but it's the kind of thing that should be avoided if possible.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

Yeah, but kids with milk allergies only react when they ingest milk. Kids with peanut allergies (at least, a lot of kids with peanut allergies) react then there are open-containers of peanuts in the room.

Exactly - there is a "dust" from peanuts that can be inhaled; in fact, this dust can cling to other foods and be ingested in that fashion. That is why many products that contain no nut products whatsoever still have a warning on the label that states that the product was processed in a facility that also processes nuts.

[Adri]

Re: No Peanut Butter at a Grammar School ??

True there are kids with milk allergies but as far as I know, the milk actually has to be consumed by the allergic person in order to trigger the allergy. milk particles in the air or just touching an object that has been touched by milk doesn't cause a reaction the way that it does for peanuts for really allergic people.

eta: Oops, don't mean to be repetitive. You guys post fast