National Peanut Lovers Day – March 15, 2025

History of National Peanut Lovers Day

Peanuts, like every popular crop today, have come a long way. While the peanut is now cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions across the world, it is believed that the plant is native to South America. By the 1700s, the plant made its way to North America through Spanish explorers. Subsequently, Spanish returnees took peanuts to Europe with them, and cross-continental merchants took peanuts to Africa and Asia.

Although several commercial peanut farms existed in the U.S. as early as the eighteenth century, they were only a handful. For a long time, peanuts were almost exclusive to the southern U.S. This was largely due to the crop’s tedious cultivation and harvesting techniques, and partly because peanuts were believed to be food for the indigent. It wasn’t until after the Civil War that the demand for peanuts took off and grew beyond the southern U.S.

At the close of the nineteenth century, technological innovations simplified the production, harvesting, and processing of peanuts. This led to the growth and popularity of the industry. With high-tech, automated machines, it’s now easier to produce, package, store, and market peanut-based derivatives like butter, oil, and various tasty treats.

Four varieties of peanuts are common in the U.S. — the Runner, the Spanish, Valencia, and Virginia. The Runner is the most popular variety, constituting about 80% of the peanuts cultivated in the U.S., while sweet-flavored Valencia is the least cultivated type, accounting for less than 1% of peanut production in the U.S. Today, the U.S. exports peanuts to different countries around the world, with the crop contributing about four billion dollars to the economy annually.