The federal regulators who make big decisions are considering a ban on the only thing left handed out on airplane rides.This ban would completely ban serving peanuts on commercial all flights.
Proponents claim the ban would make people feel safer from harm to almost 2 million Americans who have peanut allergies.
"The peanut is such a great snack and such an American snack," says Martin Kanan, CEO of King Nut Companies, the people who packages the peanuts served by most U.S. airlines. "What's next? Is it banning peanuts in ballparks?"
Get this, there was an option besides banning peanuts, there could have been a "peanut-free zone" flight when a passenger asks for one. But taht wouldn't be good enough.
Spokesman Bill Mosely said the department is responding to concerns from travelers who either suffer from peanut allergies or have allergic children, "some of whom do not fly" because they're afraid of exposure.
Advocates say the confined spaces where the air and dust particles get re-circulated is the problem.
"It's a different environment when you're basically 30,000 feet in the air," said Chris Weiss, the group's vice president of advocacy and government relations. "If you're sitting around a bunch of people and all of a sudden they're all handed packages of peanuts, that could release enough peanut dust into the air to trigger a reaction."
Continental, United, US Airways and JetBlue have already stopped serving packaged peanuts, American Airlines doesn't serve packaged peanuts, but it does have a trail mix and other snacks that can contain peanut ingredients.
"The peanut industry feels like we're being picked on," said Armond Morris, a peanut farmer.
"If we're going to go targeting food products, maybe we just need to ban all food" on planes.
