Ruth Desmond

Ruth Desmond (c. 1906 – September 30, 1988) was an American consumer advocate best known for her work to have the Food and Drug Administration increase the amount of peanuts in peanut butter.^[1][2] She was known as the "Peanut Butter Grandma".^[3][1][4]

Desmond founded the Federation of Homemakers in 1959^[1] out of her home in Arlington, Virginia.^[4] She founded the federation in reaction to the fact that, during the cranberry crisis of that year, cranberry sauce was being sold (and consumed by her family) despite it being contaminated with a carcinogenic pesticide.^[4][3] She pushed government agencies to adopt food safety policies, including regulations on nitrates in baby food, additives in jelly beans, and caffeine in soft drinks.^[1]

Desmond once sued the United States Department of Agriculture for allowing hot dog manufacturers to place the words "all beef" and "all meat" on their labels even though they included other ingredients.^[1] After the court ruled in her favor, she telephoned the Justice Department and told them it would be an injustice if they appealed.^[1]

Desmond died September 30, 1988.^[1][4]

References

1. Sugarman, Carole (October 5, 1988). "The 'Peanut Butter Grandmother'". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
2. Boyce, Angie M. (2016). "'When Does It Stop Being Peanut Butter?': FDA Food Standards of Identity, Ruth Desmond, and the Shifting Politics of Consumer Activism, 1960s–1970s" (PDF). Technology and Culture. 57 (1): 54–79. doi:10.1353/tech.2016.0016. PMID 26971728. S2CID 207268504.
3. Blitz, Matthew (10 February 2016). "Why Midcentury Lawyers Spent 12 Years Arguing About Peanut Butter". Mental Floss. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
4. Clark, Krissy (October 27, 2017). "Meet Ruth Desmond, a concerned citizen who changed the face of food regulation". The Uncertain Hour (Podcast). Marketplace. Retrieved March 21, 2020.