Happy Peanut Butter Day to all who celebrate (who comes up with these things?)! As a peanut butter fanatic, I don’t need a day to celebrate my favourite food, but I will use this opportunity to raise awareness of the unfair and unjust prohibition of peanuts and tree nuts.

If you’re a parent, you will be aware that nuts are banned in most schools and other kids’ activities.

This is the policy at my daughter’s school, which is pretty standard.

Our school is a nut allergy aware school. While we cannot prevent or eliminate allergens in the school, we remind everyone that we have students and staff in the school who have severe allergies to certain foods, especially peanuts, peanut butter and other nut products. We encourage families to take this into account when bringing snacks and foods into the school.

Technically it’s not an explicit ban, but they make it pretty clear that you shouldn’t send any peanuts or tree nuts to school.

It’s something we have gotten used to without even questioning it. Our daughter has grown up on sunbutter sandwiches, even though they don’t taste nearly as good as a classic PB&J. But I want you to question it. Why are peanuts banned? Why are tree nuts lumped in with peanuts? Are nut allergies more common or more severe than other food allergies? Are there unintended consequences to blanket bans on nuts?

According to FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), peanut and tree nut allergies are as common as egg and milk allergies, each affecting about 2% of children. And yet, milk and eggs aren’t banned in schools.

Yes, there are kids with severe nut allergies, but there is no evidence that nut bans help prevent reactions. A big 2021 meta-study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, suggests education and having epi-pens handy is much more effective than food bans.

Even amongst kids with allergies, they’re 20x more likely to die from a road injury than the food they’re allergic to. If you want to keep kids safe, you’re better off banning those high-grilled pickup trucks than banning nuts, or supporting school streets.

Plus, nuts are a super healthy form of protein and fat and a great snack for school-aged kids. In their absence, kids or snacking on far less healthy treats with more plastic packaging.

Recently, a school in Yellowknife reversed their blanket nut ban. In Grade 3 and higher, you can bring whatever food you want, including nuts. In Grades 1 and 2, nuts are only banned if there is someone with an allergy in the classroom. While in Kindergarten, nuts are still banned. It’s a sensible policy in line with what the experts tell us.

So to celebrate Peanut Butter Day, I’ll be writing to our principal and PAC to see if we can start a conversation about allowing nuts in school. I don’t expect it will be an easy change, but our kids should be able to snack on a handful of cashews or eat a delicious peanut butter sandwich for lunch. 😋