I've been noticing something lately and, though I hate to begrudge any group it's needful exposure, I question why so much attention has been paid to those individuals who have Celiac's Disease, or some variant.
I am noticing more and more products that say GLUTEN-FREE on the label. My local heath-food store where I buy my daughter's safe granola bars has GLUTEN-FREE signs all over the place.
Have you ever seen a label that say PEANUT FREE? Well, here in America I mean. I understand the Canadians are much better at this than we. (For the sake of honesty, I will advertise ONE product in America that I am aware of that specifically prints PEANUT FREE on their label - Phillyswirls! THANKS Alex!)
Why do you think that is? People with gluten issues will not immediately die if they eat wheat. Generally, many of them can even tolerate moderate amounts of it. Why has such an effort been made to identify products "safe" for a population that, truly, IS safe. Whereas the peanut allergic population must exist in the background reading convoluted ingredient labels, calling manufacturer after manufacturer, and praying that the next bite won't be "it."
Maybe there are just more people who suffer from Celiac's. Could that be it? I don't think so. According to a study referenced on www.celiac.com, about 1 in 133 Americans have a gluten intolerance. Symptoms of someone suffering from a gluten intolerane can range from "mild weakness, bone pain, and aphthous stomatitis to chronic diarrhea, abdominal bloating, and progressive weight loss.3"
Weakness, diarrhea, and weight loss? How about this: Anaphylaxis is a sudden, severe, potentially fatal, systemic allergic reaction that can involve various areas of the body (such as the skin, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, and cardiovascular system). An anaphylactic reaction may begin with a tingling sensation, itching, or metallic taste in the mouth. Other symptoms can include hives, a sensation of warmth, asthma symptoms, swelling of the mouth and throat area, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, a drop in blood pressure, and loss of consciousness. These symptoms may begin in as little as five to 15 minutes to up to two hours after exposure to the allergen, but life-threatening reactions may progress over hours.
So for hours, you have to worry if you are going to die. But no special manufacturing standards or labeling. WHY? OK, let's go back to the assumption that celiac's affects more people. What was it? 1 in 133?
According to The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Netowrk, about 12 million Americans have a true food allergy. That's about 1 in 24. But my gripe is really about peanut allergies being ignored, so let's just look at their numbers. 3 million Americans have a peanut or tree nut allergy. That's what, about 1 in 98 or so.
So there are more people allergic to peanuts, people actually DIE from them, and peanut allergies doubled from 1997 to 2002.
WTF?!
I'm not sure why this realization dawned on me recently. I have no problem with people suffering from celiac's and I know a number of people who suffer from it and I know it is no picnic. But why does it appear that "GLUTEN FREE" is not demonized like "PEANUT FREE" tends to be?
I was reading on www.peanutallergy.com tonight about people flying on airlines and how accomodating, or not so accomodating, they can be. Continental has got to be the worst. They just don't care. How can you look into the face of a 4 year old and refuse to do something as simple as serve pretzels instead of peanuts? Or even just ask the people around him to not eat the peanuts? How can they be so callous? Does this child's life mean nothing to you?
That being said...we don't fly. I'm all about personal responsibility and being in total control of the safety of Sydney's environment. I'm not relinquishing that at 15,000 feet. It kills me to ask our good friends to make accomodations, and still I remain alert.
Anyway, I've run off on a tangent. I'm just trying to get a handle on why the difference in products being marked GLUTEN FREE and the ones marked PEANUT FREE. Maybe it is a liability thing - if you say PEANUT FREE, you had better be damn sure.
Read the rest of Why the difference?
44! I could NOT believe it! The water was actually hanging over the side of the penny before it spilled over. Of course, had a lengthy discussion of surface tension. Finally, we tested the density (and therefore floating capability) of a penny and a Japanese yen. Syd correctly hypothesized that the yen would float, but the penny would not.
