This is National Peanut Month — celebrating one of the nation’s favorite foods. They are enjoyed in many ways — roasted in the shell as a snack while watching sports events, used in salads and stir-fry recipes, in cookies and, of course, ground into peanut butter. The idea of honoring the peanut began as a special week in 1941 and has been a month long observance since 1974. Americans eat an average of some 6-1/2 pounds of shelled peanuts a year — about half in the form of peanut butter. Even the shells are useful; they can be found in such products as kitty litter, wallboard, and artificial fireplace logs. Growing peanuts to satisfy our hunger is a $835 million a year business. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
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