A brief history of the peanut… and peanut consumption today
The peanut plant is generally thought to have originated in South America but is now chiefly grown in China, India, and the US.
Peanuts contain more protein weight for weight than any other nut, which is perhaps not surprising as technically, peanuts are in fact legumes, similar to beans and peas.
US peanut production - which is now concentrated in Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Texas and Virginia - started to rise around the earlier 1900s owing to the growing popularity of peanut butter, candies, and other peanut products, a need for more plant oils during World War I, and the research of Dr. George Washington Carver.
Peanuts and peanut butter account for around 67% of US nut consumption
While US production has been around 2m tons a year for several years, 2012 was a bumper year, with 3.4m tons produced in the US, Golden Peanut VP business development and Peanut Institute chairman Fritz Holzgrefe told delegates.
Today, around 62% of US consumption is in peanut butter, 20% in snacks and 18% in candies.
As for overall nut consumption in the US, according to USDA’s economic research service data from 2009, peanuts and peanut butter account for around 67% of consumption followed by almonds at 13%, pecans at 4%, walnuts and pistachios at 2% apiece, and other tree nuts at 12%.
In Europe, by contrast, peanuts and peanut butter account for around 33% followed by walnuts at 23%, almonds at 15%, hazelnuts at 10% and other tree nuts at 19%.
