Peanuts, which are scientifically classified as legumes rather than tree nuts, grow in underground pods and serve a variety of purposes, including human consumption, livestock forage, and soil enrichment. The United States represents the largest market for peanut butter consumption globally, with the average American consuming more than 3 pounds of the spread annually. This popular food requires a significant amount of raw material to produce, as a standard 12-ounce jar of peanut butter contains the components of approximately 540 individual peanuts. Legally, products labeled as peanut butter in the U.S. must consist of at least 90% peanuts, with the remaining portion typically composed of salt, sweeteners, and stabilizing oils.

The history of peanut farming in America is closely linked to two former U.S. Presidents, Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter, both of whom cultivated the crop before entering the White House. Jefferson grew peanuts at his Monticello estate in Virginia during the late 1700s, documenting the process in his farming journals, while Carter expanded his family's peanut farm in Plains, Georgia, into a successful commercial enterprise during the 1950s. While historical lore often credits George Washington Carver with the invention of peanut butter, the first patent for peanut paste was actually granted to Marcus Gilmore Edson in 1884, decades before Carver published his famous agricultural research on the crop.

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