We have long opposed unconstitutional taxpayer subsidies for peanut production and for other farm products. But we also oppose government dictation that threatens peanut farmers’ livelihood.
Peanuts have been served on commercial airline flights for decades, but the federal government now is considering forbidding that. The reason is that some Americans are allergic to peanuts, and a few have severe allergic reactions.
We sympathize with allergy sufferers, but is it really government’s job to set those rules? Will bagged peanuts next be banned from grocery stores because someone with an allergy might get too close to them and have a reaction? Must roadside stands in the Smoky Mountains cease and desist from selling boiled peanuts? How about ballparks? Must they also give in to a government “peanut patrol”?
This may seem like a minor issue, and surely nobody would be greatly harmed by not being served peanuts on a plane. But a government that is powerful enough to abridge our personal liberty on such a small matter is powerful enough to take away our freedom on much more important matters.