A recent report from Deloitte Canada found that increasingly, Canadian consumers are calling on food producers to introduce more sustainable practices. To affect climate change, some consumers are adopting plant-based or conservationist diets. With plant-based foods growing +8% by in 2021, it’s important to meet the need – and demand – for sustainability with plant-based options. Peanuts are a sustainable crop for the land, our communities and our health.
- As a naturally sustainable crop, peanuts can feed future generations in an affordable way
- Peanuts are “zero-waste” plant – everything from roots to hulls can be used in processing
- Peanuts require less water and have the smallest carbon footprint of any nut
- Peanut plants are nitrogen fixing, which means they take nitrogen from the air and produce their own in the ground, which benefits other crops and the soil
Recent research from the American Peanut Council on peanut sustainability found the following:
- From 1980 to 2020, total yearly U.S. peanut production has increased 166% without significant increases in peanut acreage.
- Due to improved peanut varieties, research and education efforts, today’s peanut farmers can produce over 4,000 pounds per acre, compared to just 2,500 pounds in the early 1980s
- Over the last 40 years, peanut growers have seen a 42% reduction in emissions per pound of peanuts.
- Greenhouse gas GHG emissions per acre have decreased by 17%, reflecting a reduced application of inputs and not just an increase in yield.
Information provided by the National Peanut Board and the American Peanut Council