The Story of Peanut Butter and the Peanuts Ecological Footprint 1

The Story of Peanut Butter and the Peanuts Ecological Footprint

Zoey Dodson
ENVL 4300
Stockton University
Spring 2016

The Story of Peanut Butter and the Peanuts Ecological Footprint 2

Table of Contents
Abstract.... 2
Introduction.. 3
Discussion.... 6
Peanut Agriculture.. 6
Manufacturing....

Footprint.....................................................................

Conclusion...................................................................

Food for Thought....

References.................................................................... 10
Appendices................................................................... 12
Appendix 1: Byproduct and Product Loss..................................................................

12

Appendix 2: Peanut Butter vs. Meat...

12

Abstract
Peanut butter is a staple food in the U.S. Peanut butter is the largest source of peanut
product consumption on a per pound basis. It became prevalent in America in the late
1800s/early 1900s. . The U.S. is the fourth largest producer of peanuts in the world. This paper
focuses primarily on peanuts, the main ingredient in peanut butter. Peanuts are mostly grown in
the south and along the east coast. Peanuts can use up to 25 inches of water per season.
Machinery used to harvest peanuts is discussed. Tractors that pull this equipment use around 1
gallon of gas per hour. Preparation of the peanuts for peanut butter is discussed. The processes
involved use multiple machines including ovens that use significant electricity. In the footprints

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section, impacts on the environment and quantities of materials needed for different processes
are examined.
Introduction
Peanut butter is a staple in American households. To this day it remains the largest source
of peanut product consumption on a per pound basis. In 2012, peanut butter consumption was
3.93 pounds per person annually (Marzolo, 2016). Every year Americans spend approximately
$800 million on peanut butter and consume over a billion pounds of it (Martinez-Carter, 2014).
Peanut butter sandwiches are something most Americans grow up eating. By the time they
graduate high school, the average American child has eaten about 1,500 peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches. In the United States, peanut butter has been popular since the late 1800s/early 1900s
(Daily, 2012).
The first known creation of peanut butter actually originated from the Aztecs and the
Incas. They would create a paste by grinding roasted peanuts. The invention of peanut butter and
the equipment and processes used to produce it as we know it today, was developed by at least
three people. In 1884, Marcellus Gilmore Edson patented peanut paste in Canada, which he
made by roasting peanuts and then grinding them between two hot surfaces. In 1895, Dr. John
Harvey Kellogg got a patent for his process of using raw peanuts to make peanut butter. Dr.
Ambrose Straub invented and patented a machine designed to make peanut butter in 1903. In
1922, a chemist named Joseph Rosefield developed a method of adding partially hydrogenated
oil to peanut butter in order to keep it smooth and prevent the oil from separating. Rosefield
permitted the company that made Peter Pan peanut butter to use his method in 1928. In 1932, he
decided to supply his own peanut butter, which is how the brand Skippy was started (Daily,
2012).

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The top-selling peanut butter brand is Jif, which has held the spot since 1981. The runner-

ups to Jif are Skippy, Peter Pan, Smuckers, and Smart Balance, respectively (Boyle, n.d.). Sugar
free, sodium free, organic, natural, regular, smooth, and chunky are some of the various types.
Regular peanut butters typically have preservatives so that they dont need to be refrigerated,
while natural peanut butters dont, so it is usually recommended that they be refrigerated.
Chunky peanut butter has finely chopped peanuts, whereas smooth or creamy peanut butter does
not (What are the different types of peanut butter, n.d.).
In order to be called peanut butter, the product must contain a minimum of 90% peanuts
according to the FDAs Code of Federal Regulations. Fat content must be less than 55% and
seasoning and stabilizing agents must be below 10% of the finished product weight (Feutz,
2012). Jifs ingredients in their regular peanut butter are roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses, fully
hydrogenated vegetable oils, mono and diglycerides, and salt (Jif, n.d.). The second top-selling
brand, Skippy, makes their peanut butter with roasted peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil,
and salt (Skippy, n.d.). The ingredients are the same between the two brands except that Jif has
two extra ingredients, which are molasses and mono and diglycerides.

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Figure 1. Diagram of peanut butter supply (Scan-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emission
analysis, n.d.).
As figure 1 shows, there are many components that go into producing and supplying
peanut butter. Covering all of the details of each of these components would likely result in a
lengthy book. This paper will narrow its focus on one of the most important materials needed to
make peanut butter: peanuts.

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Discussion
Peanut Agriculture

Figure 2. Regions in the United States where peanuts are produced (Scott, 2012).
In 2013, the United States wass the fourth largest peanut producer, behind China, India,
and Nigeria, respectively (Marzolo, 2016). Over half of the peanuts grown in the country are
used to produce peanut butter (Daily, 2012). In 2014, peanut yields were 3,932 pounds per acre.
Peanut production is primarily located in the Southeast, the Southwest, Virginia, and North
Carolina (seen in figure 2) (Marzolo, 2016). In 2000, land used for peanut crops took up
approximately 0.365 to 0.439 acres per 1000 peanuts (Ramsey, 2010).

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Despite the name "peanut (Arachis hypogaea), which suggests that the plant is a nut, it is
actually a legume (Scott, 2012). The seed, which is the edible peanut, initially grows above the
surface, but later develops underground. The plant, which is an annual, is planted in April or
May typically, when there is no risk of frost. Peanuts can be harvested about 120 to 160 days
after being planted (Marzolo, 2016; Scott, 2012). In order to achieve a plentiful yield there must
be about five months of moderately consistent warm temperatures (Scott, 2012). Peanuts given
sufficient water can take in up to 25 inches of water per season. In 2008, peanuts in the Southern
Plains received about 424,000 gallons of water per acre (Ramsey, 2010). It can be quite difficult
to maintain the right amount of moisture, as they require different quantities of water throughout
its various growth stages. During the stage of peak flowering and pegging, the peanut plant is
especially susceptible to drought stress. At this stage the peanuts will ordinarily need between
0.25 and 0.30 inches of water per day. If the plants stored soil moisture content is diminished by
more than 50% during this critical period, resulting yields and the amount of fruiting sites will
decrease (Godsey, 2012).
In order to harvest the plant, most farmers will use two machines called a digger and a
combine. The digger is used to pull peanuts up from the ground, shake off excess dirt, and invert
the peanuts into a windrow to be field cured. The combines purpose is to pick up vines, thresh
pods from the vines, detach the pods from the vines, remove stems on the pods, and then place
cleaned, undamaged pods into a hopper (Roberson, 2000). Both of these machines are typically
pulled using a tractor. Tractors use around one gallon of diesel per hour (What is your average
fuel consumption per hour?, 2013). The national average fuel used for the equipment during
harvest is 12 gallons of diesel (National scan-level life cycle assessment, 2012).

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Manufacturing
Peanut butter is made from roasted peanuts. Manufacturers dry roast the peanuts through
either a batch or continuous method (Peanut butter, n.d.). A 12 oz. jar of peanut butter contains
approximately 540 peanuts (Daily, 2012). After roasting, the peanuts are cooled by suction fans.
Once cooled, the seed coats are removed taken off through heat blanching or water blanching.
Heat blanching is done by heating the peanuts to 280F for up to 20 minutes, which detaches and
breaks the seed coat. With water blanching, the peanuts are rolled through sharp blades that cut
the coat, and then they are exposed to a scalding water bath for a minute and then a pad, which
rubs off the coat. After the cooling and blanching processes, the peanuts are sorted using
blowers, high-speed electric sorters, and magnets. The last step before packaging is grinding.
The peanuts are grinded using a grinding mill, and this is also when the other ingredients are
added. The peanut butter is packed into jars through vacuum packaging and then placed into
cartons (Peanut butter, n.d.).
Footprint
Between the farm, shelling, blanching, roasting, processing, retail, consumer use and
disposal, 2.64 kg of CO2 equivalents is created per kg of peanut butter produced (National scanlevel life cycle assessment, 2012). The 2006 to 2008 average carbon footprint of peanuts was
1,035 pounds CO2 equivalents per planted acre, 0.34 pounds CO2 equivalents per pound
production for peanuts with shells, and 0.47 pounds CO2 equivalents per pound production for
shelled peanuts (Ramsey, 2010).
For transportation, combustion of 1 kg of diesel produces 3.17 kg of carbon dioxide.
Gasoline combustion has a similar carbon dioxide emission at 3.15 kg. Combustion of 1 kg of

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diesel or gasoline produces 0.00045-0.000514 kg of methane. For nitrous oxide, 0.000080.000093 kg is produced. The national weighted average of peanut transport is 25 miles.
Processing and packing of a 16 oz. jar of peanut butter uses about 130 Wh of electricity
and 5.5 gallons of diesel. 11 grams of poly/aluminum is used to make the lid, 1.3 grams of paper
to make the label, and 28 grams of PET is used to make the jar.
For a 16 oz. peanut butter jar, 32% of consumers dispose their peanut butter containers by
recycling. 54% of the containers go to landfills, and 14% gets incinerated (National scan-level
life cycle assessment, 2012).
Conclusion
Food for Thought
Even focusing on just peanuts, which are a single component of peanut butter, there is an
endless amount of materials needed to produce the product. Besides the apparent things like
water, machinery, and labor needed just to grow the peanuts, there are also pesticides applied to
the fields, gasoline and electricity needed to run machinery, the amount of land cleared to plant
the peanuts, etc. There is an infinite web of materials needed to produce other materials.
Everyday objects, like peanut butter, use so many resources. Most people do not stop to think
about what goes into seemingly simple objects, and thinking about just one of these can make us
consider everything needed to create what we use along with the emissions that come from
production processes that impact our environment. Being more conscious about the huge amount
of resources used to create practically all of the objects humans have and utilize, should make us
more aware of the need to create and use things in a way that is as sustainable as possible.

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References
Boyle, M. (n.d.). The popularity issue. Bloomberg Business. Retrieved from
http://www.bloomberg.com/ss/10/08/0812_popularity_index/23.htm
Daily, K. (2012). The history of peanut butter. Huffington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/peanut-butter-history_n_1222585.html
Feutz, M. (2012). Peanut butter. Agricultured. Retrieved from
http://agricultured.org/peanut-butter/
Godsey, C. (2012). Water requirements of peanut. Oklahoma State University. Retrieved from
http://extensionnews.okstate.edu/archived-articles-1/2012-archivedarticles/Irrigation%20and%20water%20use%20Peanut.pdf
Jif. (n.d.). Jif regular peanut butter. Retrieved from
http://www.jif.com/products/creamy-peanut-butter
Martinez-Carter, K. (2014). As American as peanut butter. Pacific Standard. Retrieved from
http://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/american-peanut-butter-73234
Marzolo, G. (2016). Peanut profile. AgMRC. Retrieved from
http://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/nuts/peanut-profile/
National scan-level life cycle assessment for production of US peanut butter. (2012). University
of Arkansas. Retrieved from
http://www.uark.edu/ua/cars/Subpages/Reports/Peanut_Report.pdf
PB&J numbers. (n.d.). The PB&J Campaign. Retrieved from
http://www.pbjcampaign.org/numbers
Peanut butter. (n.d.). How Products Are Made. Retrieved from
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Peanut-Butter.html

The Story of Peanut Butter and the Peanuts Ecological Footprint 11

Ramsey, S. (2010). Final results US peanut resource efficiency measures. IHS Global Insight.
Retrieved from
https://www.peanutsusa.com/images/phocadownload/WebDocsGeneral/Keystone%20Pea
nut%20Sustainability%20Report%20August%202010%20Final_RevSep-23.pdf
Roberson, G.T. (2000). Peanut harvesting equipment. NC State University. Retrieved from
http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/topic/agmachine/farmequip/harvest/peanut_harvest_guide.htm#
Diggers
Scan-Level Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Analysis for U.S. Peanut Products. (n.d.).
University of Arkansas. Retrieved from
https://www.peanutsusa.com/images/phocadownload/WebDocsGeneral/University%20of
%20Arkansas%20Sustainability%20Proposal.pdf
Scott, M. (2012). Climate & peanut butter. NOAA. Retrieved from
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-peanut-butter
Skippy. (n.d.). Skippy peanut butter. Retrieved from
http://www.peanutbutter.com/products.php
What are the different types of peanut butter? (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-peanut-butter.htm
What is your average fuel consumption per hour? (2013). Retrieved from
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/276285-what-your-average-fuelconsumption.html

The Story of Peanut Butter and the Peanuts Ecological Footprint 12

Appendices
Appendix 1: Byproduct and Product Loss

Figure A-1. The percentages of byproduct and product loss for 16 oz. peanut butter containers
(National scan-level life cycle assessment, 2012).
Appendix 2: Peanut Butter vs. Meat
Although peanut butter production has a significant impact on the environment, it is not
nearly as much as consuming livestock. Compared with animal-based meals, eating peanut butter
sandwiches saves about 2.5 pounds on carbon dioxide emissions, 133 gallons of water, and 24
sq. feet of land. Plant growing has lower emissions and uses less resources than raising livestock,
because livestock requires more nutrients (food), water, and space to grow generally (PB&J
Numbers, n.d.).