THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Peanut

Lisa Karen Miller

“When I was young, I said to God, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the universe.’ But God answered, ‘That knowledge is for me alone.’ So I said, ‘God tell me the mystery of the peanut.’ Then God said, ‘Well, George, that’s more nearly your size.’”                                        

    George Washington Carver

          In 1894, George Washington Carver became the first African American to earn a Bachelor of Science degree. Due to his research and inventions, he is linked inextricably with the peanut. 

          His idea of crop rotation was a turning point in agriculture. 

          He observed that years of growing crops like cotton on the same plot depleted the soil of nutrients.  His experiments with peanuts proved that they could fix nitrogen in the soil, making it fertile for subsequent crops.

          Farmers quickly took to this idea, as it increased yields and profits.  It had an unforeseen consequence, though: a surplus of peanuts.  

          Carver set to work.

          He invented over 300 consumer and industrial uses for the nut, including milk, paper, cosmetics, soaps, and wood stains. 

          He did not, however, invent peanut butter.

          Peanuts are called ground nuts in West Africa.  When I lived there, I would buy a pound of roasted nuts in the open-air market and take them to the woman in the village with a mechanized grinder.  She would grind them on the spot, adding only a little salt.  The result was the best-tasting and freshest peanut butter I have ever eaten.

          You can make it with your food processor, but it’s just not the same somehow.  You don’t get to hold her baby on your lap and hear how much weight he’s gained since you were last there.

          In 1921, Carver appeared before the Ways and Means Committee of the United States House of Representatives on behalf of the peanut industry, which was seeking tariff protection. After his impassioned plea, he got a standing ovation.

          The tariff protection was granted too. After that, he became “The Peanut Man.”

          Peanut allergies have skyrocketed in recent decades.  Why do we suddenly have so many food allergies? 

          One idea science is exploring is the Clean Living Theory.  We live such sanitized lives in industrialized nations that our immune systems may be overreacting to the otherwise harmless proteins in peanuts and other foods.

          I can recommend Colin Harrison’s thriller The Havana Room, a novel about the tragic and bizarre consequences of a peanut allergy. 

          This Black History Month, say a little prayer of thanks that God granted Mr. Carver’s wish.  

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller