I saw this article on CNN.com today.
"Peanuts on Northwest Airlines prompt protests". Passengers on Northwest Airlines have been protesting the return to peanuts of Northwest Airlines flights this month. The change comes a few months after Northwest merged with Delta Airlines, which is based in Atlanta Georgia. Georgia is the leading peanut producing state in the United States. Many passengers with peanut allergies have be crying out to ban peanuts on flights. Many people have had reactions from the peanuts during the flights. Many of the passengers are saying replace the peanuts with pretzels, like many other airlines have already been doing.
I'm torn here. The libertarian side of me wants to keep civil liberties, the other side of me wants to be healthy and safe. I'm one of those passengers. Granted, I've never flown on Northwest. I can say my allergy is very severe, if I touch or eat a peanut, I'm going to have a very severe reaction. If I smell them, I'm going to feel terrible. I don't think they should ban them, although it wouldn't really hurt. It's not that important if people don't get their peanut "fix". How hard is it to replace peanuts with pretzels? They are healthier for the most part, minus the salt. I think these facts would help my point as well. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 3 million Americans are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts, while nearly 7 million are allergic to seafood. Combined, food allergies cause 30,000 cases of
anaphylaxis, 2,000 hospitalizations and 150 deaths annually."
I wouldn't mind seeing a ban on peanuts here. It's easy to replace them with something else to eat. Other airlines already have gotten rid of peanuts or made a system to have a peanut free plane ride. I don't see why Delta and Northwest haven't already gotten rid of peanuts. How hard is it?
