Posted on 10/13/2011 6:02:06 AM PDT by Melissa 24
A London, Ont., school board has banned peanut butter substitutes simply because they could be confused with their peanut counterparts, angering parents already frustrated by efforts to find an acceptable lunch their kids will eat.
In a recent memo, Thames Valley District school board director Bill Tucker wrote that “any products considered to be a peanut butter replacement are no more appropriate in our schools than regular peanut butter.”
Parents were asked to “avoid using peanut butter and peanut butter alternatives because of the difficulty in being able to distinguish alternatives from the real thing.”
“There’s a lot of upset parents,” said Scott Mahon, maker of WowButter, a “safe for school” soy-based spread marketed as tasting “just like peanut butter.” Manufactured one hour north of London, WowButter was specifically named in the district-wide memo.
To combat mix-ups with real peanut butter, WowButter promotes an elaborate step-by-step labeling program. On the first day of school, WowButter parents send a prepared letter to the child’s teacher indicating their intention to pack the product in school lunches. From then on, every sandwich bag or container carried by the child is affixed with a “100% peanut and nut free” label provided by the company.
The company ships across North America, but so far, London is the only school district to raise hackles over the issue, said Mr. Mahon. “This is the frustrating part; we have hundreds of schools across Canada who have requested free samples and information … they’ve chosen the education route,” said Mr. Mahon. “The Thames Valley School Board has chosen to not educate and restrict – it just doesn’t make any sense.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalpost.com ...
Dye the soy stuff green or blue and make the school board eat it. If they like it the kids can have it. Artificial problem solved with artificial color.
Decades? It was only about 6-8 years ago that the airlines were handing them out to passengers.
I was on a flight 2 weeks ago where we were told - because someone in your section (about 15-18 rows in the back of a 767) has a peanut allergy, we will not be serving you peanuts.
Only in the USA (and Canada)!
School districts have indeed instituted such rules.
There are 8 foods that cause the considerable majority of food allergies:
• Cow’s milk
• Eggs
• Fish
• Peanuts
• Shellfish
• Soy
• Tree nuts
• Wheat
It seems odd to me that peanuts have been banned in schools while the others continue to be allowed. Is there some reason for this?
..........in 2002, the last year I could quickly find statistics, there were 26 deaths and 4,500 injuries at Public Schools.
Instead of peanut butter, let’s ban “public” schools AND NEA teachers!
I truly think that is the plan! In our school district, it seemed as if they were begging people to sign up for the free lunch—and breakfast!—program. I can’t tell you how many notices, robo-calls, etc., I received about it. Word on the street is that many people signed up who are not needy (really, how poor do you have to be to not be able to afford a bowl of cereal and sandwich for your child), but who are taking advantage of the system and the fact that the schools seem to want more free-lunch students! Plus, at my son’s school, some busybody parents are trying to shame anyone who sends their kids’ lunches in with any disposable items—Ziploc bags, juice boxes, individually wrapped snacks, etc. It’s maddening.
You posted, in part: IF you insist that a peanut butter ban is needed and must be enforced, then you can’t have people bringing in products that look exactly like peanut butter.
***
There is some validity in what you say, but it leads to some troublesome results: Water must be banned because it looks just like vodka, gin or grain alcohol, which are, of course, prohibited. Similarly, iced tea can easily be visually confused with bourbon, so it is out.
In fact, on the outside, ANY sandwich whose contents are not sticking out looks just like a peanut butter sandwich.
Same people? I guess they are slow learners.
OK...it was a bit of a wise-a** comment...my bad.
Why do they still serve peanuts on airplanes if this such a major issue?
They were banned, for a long time
Although I in no way support the over-the-top reactions and policies of parents, schools, etc. on this subject I will concede that the reactions involved in peanut allergies are often swift and violent especially compared to the others on your list. This is why many peanut-allergic individuals carry syringes/injectors at all times in case of exposure.
About 10,000 children are hospitalized annually with traumatic brain injuries from sports, 2,000 children drown each year, and about 1,300 die in gun accidents.
The number of kids age 1-14 that are killed annually in gun accidents (2008 most recent data) is 62, not 1300. You are off by a factor of 21.
Drowning is 704
“Struck by/against” is 78, and is the only category that would include sports-caused fatalities.
http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10_us.html
LOL
I think on my next flight I will notify the airline that I am allergic to alcohol. Let’s see if they stop serving it for my flight.
Would have been the perfect opportunity to say "That's OK...I have several yummy peanut-based snacks right here in my bag. I think I'm in the mood to share."
You know I have an idiot allergy, think I’ll enroll in their school and demand all idiots be removed from school, along with their substitute idiots.
That’s right up there with the ban on texting at red lights. It’s all about government and its power, which is the priority for liberals.
My wife has a peanut allergy and it can be very serious. She was almost done in by a McDonalds Sundae as a kid. I have kissed her hours after eating peanuts and she would swell up like a blowfish.
But even she is not insane enough to think that peanuts should be banned from the public sphere.
>>If I thought my child would die from peanut butter, I wouldn’t send them to school<<
Oh Holy Lord, thank You for blessing us with the Voice of Reason on this thread!
I got into a tiff with a FREEPER (of all people) who told me her grandkid would die within seconds from the smell of peanuts. Therefore all peanut products should be banned in schools.
I said, “Why in the world would that mother take such a risk with the life of her child?!? That is neglect. Keep the kid at home. Homeschool.”
She was taken aback and told me I was cruel.
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