[Flickr: stevensnodgrass]

Economists are reporting that the price of peanut butter at supermarkets may be going up soon. Worldwide demand for cotton, which is planted in rotation with and alongside peanuts, is at an all-time high, prompting some farmers to consider planting more cotton than peanuts this year to take advantage of the higher prices they can get for cotton.

This could mean a smaller supply of peanuts in the marketplace, which could lead to higher prices for peanuts and peanut butter.

Higher prices for peanuts? When I heard this I began to think about all of the terrific places that serve complimentary peanuts and wonder how they might be affected.

I have fond memories of eating at a restaurant chain called The Ground Round as a kid. I remember the endless baskets of free popcorn and roasted in-shell peanuts that waitresses would bring by—it was perfect to keep our small hands busy while we watched the cartoons and silent movies they'd project on a screen in the dining room. Plus, it always ensured that no one could finish their dinner once it arrived!

These days, I know a lot of people who get excited about the free peanuts at the burger chain Five Guys . And while practically nothing on an airplane is free anymore, I always smile when a Delta flight attendant hands me a half-ounce bag of snack peanuts.

As the founder of Peanut Butter & Co. (and often nicknamed "The Peanut Butter Guy"), I know better than anybody what a great snack and wonderful source of energy that peanuts are. I sure hope that higher prices doesn't mean that any generous company offering complimentary peanuts will have to pull back.

Do you have a favorite spot to eat or drink that offers free peanuts?

About the author: Lee Zalben was a PB&J-loving kid that grew up to be the founder and president of Peanut Butter & Co., which began as a Greenwich Village sandwich shop serving nothing but peanut butter sandwiches and expanded to include the now-famous line of all natural flavored peanut butter. Lee is a graduate of Vassar College and enjoys traveling the world in search of interesting foods made with peanuts, tree nuts, and seeds. When he's not working, eating, flying or writing, he enjoys scuba diving and training elephants.