The Democratic Party's Big Problem
Is the Democratic Party built for this moment or are we asking the right questions?
As someone who is allergic to cheese, milk and other byproducts of cow titties, many options on the latchkey kids' menu were not available to me. Even worse, we were too poor to afford extravagances like Hot Pockets and luxury-brand Lunchables, so pizza, cereal and grilled government cheese sandwiches were off limits. The sound of the cream truck meant nothing to me. And, as the Apostle Paul once wrote to the Thessalonians:
“For what is a baloney sandwich if there is no cheese?”
Still, I needed something between breakfasts of icingless Pop-Tarts (the icing contains milk) and my home-cooked dinners. And because my family’s homemade jelly recipe would put the entire Welch family to shame, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches became my go-to DIY meal. I mean, I ate them a lot. My afterschool struggle sandwich diet was probably responsible for the golden era of peanut farming (you’re welcome, Jimmy Carter).
When I attended college, I was even poorer. And since I no longer had access to my aunt Marvell’s free jelly, I had to buy my own jam products. According to an analysis by one AI platform (Chat PB&J), retail jelly sales increased 24.2% during the early ’90s. I did that (probably).
I finally escaped from the peanut butter and jelly plantation. I’m still allergic to cheese and other milk products. My aunt still sends batches of homemade jelly (mostly for biscuits). My light bread consumption has not waned. But because I can now afford other options, I rarely eat PB&J, causing a downward trend in the peanut industry.
While my historic impact on the peanut butter and jelly market is undeniable, some naysayers give Smuckers the credit for attracting Black men. Others attribute the decline in peanut sales to allergies and the availability of non-nut spreads. Even though I have never grown a nut or made a jar of fruit preserves, you might be shocked to learn that the executives at Skippy or the marketing team at Peter Pan have never reached out to ask me:
“How do we fix peanut butter?”
This story is about the Democratic Party.
