Peanut butter is also a popular food. Worldwide, peanuts are grown chiefly for oil. The peanut plant is unusual because its pods develop underground. For this reason, peanuts are often called groundnuts. Other names for peanuts include arachides, goobers, mani, and pinders.
Peanuts are an important crop, especially in the warm regions of the world.
Farmers in Africa and Asia grow about 90 percent of the world's peanuts. The leading peanut-growing countries are China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States. Peanuts are a nutritious food. There are more energy-giving calories in roasted peanuts or peanut butter than in an equal weight of beefsteak. Uses of peanuts As food.