Peanut Butter Recall--And The Second Coming

I love peanut butter. In fact, I love it so much that when I heard of the salmonella outbreak at a major peanut butter manufacturer this week I thought that this must be a sign of the end times. But then when I had a chance to reflect on this I began to see this as just one more indication that it is the right time to start and join a CSA.

My 14 year daughter is a vegan. She decided this path of nutrition for herself about three years ago. Since then we have been very supportive and have made sure she gets all that she needs. She has compromised on Milk and cheese as long as it is certified organic. Her decision to take on this lifestyle has nothing to do with PETA, tree-hugging, or the environment. Her decision comes from a deep love and spiritual connection to animals.

So this week when heard of the peanut butter recall, we panicked because we thought we were going to have to throw out the huge supply of relatively expensive peanut butter crackers that we just bought for her. However, the kind we buy, Lance, is not from the same company. In fact, I went to the Lance website and found the following, which was a relief.

"100% of the peanut butter used in Lance brand sandwich crackers is made by Lance. We do not use any peanut butter in our Lance brand snacks from Peanut Corporation of America (or "PCA"), which has been the focus of the FDA's investigation. Our company is committed to maintaining stringent quality and safety standards for our products, which includes extensive microbial testing of the peanut butter used in Lance sandwich crackers."

http://www.lance.com/html/contact/pbRecall.aspx