In the applied ethics department....

In 1999, André Briend, a French pediatric nutritionist, formulated a a
highly nutrient-enriched peanut paste called "Plumpy'nut."

And this remarkable creation has become a very powerful tool in
fighting malnutrition in some of the poorest areas of the world.

"Plumpy'nut is a high protein and high energy peanut-based paste in a
foil wrapper. It tastes slightly sweeter than peanut butter. It is
categorized by the WHO as a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF).

"Plumpy’nut requires no preparation or special supervision, making it
easy to deploy in difficult conditions. Plumpy'nut is very difficult
to over eat and keeps even after opening. It has a 2 year shelf life
when unopened. The product was inspired by the popular Nutella spread.
It is manufactured by Nutriset, a French company, that specializes in
making food supplements for relief work in their factory near Rouen in
northern France. The ingredients are: peanut paste, vegetable oil,
milk powder, powdered sugar, vitamins and minerals, combined in a foil
pouch. Each pack provides 500 Calories...."

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy%%27nut

or

http://tinyurl.com/5m98zu

This inspiring 60 Minutes video explains the significance of this
development:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1bUiYgjlGyc&feature=related

Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization Médecins Sans Frontières
("Doctors Without Borders") has been in the forefront of the
distribution efforts of this nutritious food. Here's their U.S.
website, if you might like to help them in this effort:

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

That a nutritionist could develop such a product in the quiet of his
laboratory and could thereby eliminate a huge amount of human
suffering is just a triumph of the human spirit!

And the fact that it involves peanut butter is just so much the
better, as far as I'm concerned!

Bravo for Dr. Briend!! Do we give him a Nobel Prize in Peace or in
Medicine? (Perhaps BOTH!!)

P.S. According to Wikipedia, Plumpy'nut was inspired by Nutella, "a
hazelnut-based sweet spread created by the Italian company Ferrero in
the 1940s." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutella