Ala. With a tractor in the background, farmer Carl Sanders tossed his cap to the ground and stared back at the video camera set up beside a Midland City peanut farm. Sanders spent the next few minutes answering a producer s questions about peanuts. The footage will eventually air on National Public Television stations nationwide as a profile on the health benefits of peanuts. Sanders, who is president of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, said the segment would be a boost for peanut farmers as well as educational for people who might not realize the nutritional value of the legume.
Peanuts are a good source of folic acid and protein as well as Vitamin E and iron.
Research has shown that folic acid is important for women of childbearing age because it can reduce the chance of certain birth defects. Since 1998, the Alabama Peanut Producers Association and the March of Dimes have worked together to get the health message out to public. That s good for peanut farmers and healthy babies are good for everybody. The relationship between the March of Dimes and the Alabama Peanut Producers Association has spawned a nationwide effort to inform consumers of the benefits of peanuts, Sanders said. While no air date has been set, the five-minute segment could air multiple times in certain markets.