Doug Velting
George Washington Carver was born in 1864 to enslaved parents who died when he was just a very young boy. Despite this difficult background, Carver was able to eventually become a teacher and scientist at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He was a brilliant professor with a particular interest in botany and spent his life improving the agricultural methods of the Deep South.
In the late 1800s, cotton was the major cash crop for this region. It was easy to grow, harvest, and, most importantly, easy to sell. But it took a serious toll on the ground, as well as being susceptible to disease and attack.
The boll weevil is an insect about a quarter inch long that specializes in eating the valuable cotton bolls. George Washington Carver heard that the boll weevil decimated the cotton crop in Texas and was heading east. He wrote articles in the local newspaper warning the cotton farmers to switch from growing cotton to peanuts. He set up meetings across Alabama pleading with farmers telling them about the boll weevil and urging them to grow peanuts saying that God gave peanuts to us as a healthy food source.
At this time the peanut was used primarily as food for pigs, so the farmers thought Carver was crazy. The farmers kept growing cotton in Alabama even as the boll weevil destroyed the cotton crop in Louisiana. Finally, the tiny killer came to Alabama by the millions and destroyed the cotton crop.
Now the farmers pleaded with this scientist from the Tuskegee Institute to help them plant and grow peanuts. Soon the fields of Alabama were covered with peanuts. George Washington Carver went to work in his lab and continued his research discovering more uses of this small but healthy and versatile nut.
He discovered that by grinding and pressing the peanuts, you can get peanut oil and the remaining protein-rich powder could easily mix with flour and meal. A pound of peanuts can provide more protein than a pound of choice sirloin steak. This great man of God and man of science taught the farmers and all who would listen that the peanut was useful in many recipes, from cookies and cakes to ice cream and candy.
George Washington Carver brought a whole new agricultural crop to the Deep South and brought the world a great healthy food item in the form of the lowly peanut. This great man of science always gave credit to God stating,
I was glad the Lord had shown me the miracles in His creation – the peanut. God was good to me.
One of his students made this comment, “It’s just that sometimes the Lord’s world and the world of science seem divided. How do you, or rather can you bring them both together?” Professor Carver gave a thoughtful look,
“No one needs to bring them together. Everything we have in our world of science springs from the world God has created for us. Take the flower for example; it starts as a lowly seed to grow and blossom. Soon it will again produce seed to grow another flower. This is the cycle of life that is part of God’s creation. Creation is His way of sharing His majesty. Science is simply a study of what Almighty God has given us to enjoy.”
