Stores are increasingly putting signs up about allergens. Not all of them are friendly.
Someecards has a card for us now.
Do you guys feel there's more or less of this kind of stuff happening now?
Follow me on Facebook or Twitter
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Examples of Food Allergy Backlash
I've been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks. So, instead of writing a long blog post, I think I'll just leave a few things here that I've recently run across.
Stores are increasingly putting signs up about allergens. Not all of them are friendly.
This is from an album entitled "Guess What Mark Is Allergic To." His oh-so-helpful co-workers put these notes on food at work.
Someecards has a card for us now.
From Your Food Allergy Is Not My Problem.
Do you guys feel there's more or less of this kind of stuff happening now?
Follow me on Facebook or Twitter
Stores are increasingly putting signs up about allergens. Not all of them are friendly.
Someecards has a card for us now.
Do you guys feel there's more or less of this kind of stuff happening now?
Follow me on Facebook or Twitter
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think the main problem is that people think only of themselves and never about others, unless it benefits them. Not the way I was raised but somewhere along the line, people decided they only had to look out for them and no one else. It's sickening.
ReplyDeleteGREAT post! I think there will always be some cranky people and some folks who live for the controversy and wanting a good fight.
ReplyDeleteSince food allergy prevalence is growing, I think people are becoming more aware and therefore a bigger target.
The very sad part about this is that children are being raised by folks whose self indulgence priority, rather than teaching, "I don't know much about that disease, let's go ask more about your friend..."
Thanks for pulling these together for us! I'll share on FB and on Twitter!
FAB.. if you don't mind, I might actually link to your blog. For the past two weeks I've been preparing a blog post about this very thing - the backlash some of us experience when it comes to food allergies. I think food allergies are still, for the most part, perceived by many as a lifestyle choice and not a medical condition. Just last month I came across a comment made by a parent that stated: "if kids with nut allergies could die from eating nuts, then perhaps that's the way it should be, because it's just natural selection weeding out the weak." But there's so much of that out there now. Oh where to start...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these. There could be a whole other post on food allergies on TV and in the movies- the good, the bad and the ugly...
ReplyDeleteWe need awareness, not insensitivity!
I've been seeing it quite a bit from other moms, which is pretty rough. I just actually wrote a post responding to them all. "Dear Insensitive Peanut-Obsessed Momma, Get Off Your High Horse" http://ow.ly/pzT25
ReplyDeleteThat first one I could see as trying to be funny... not as much written down as said in a joking tone. Sometimes I want to say that to people. Why the heck are you even in this store/restaurant!???
ReplyDeleteI have food allergies and I feel that it is my responsibility to ensure my own safety. I cannot and should not depend on others to look out for me. I'm sorry that people feel like other people aren't sensitive to their issues but if you don't have food allergies, why would you think about it? Do you think about people with asthma before you put on cologne or perfume or hairspray which can aggravate their situation. If we had to think about EVERYONE and all of their issues all the time,we'd never have to time to live. You have to own your health. I don't have a problem with the first picture at all because I agree. If you need to be careful about what you eat or you might DIE, then why are you eating something from a source that you are not certain of. Its common sense.
ReplyDeleteSo moms with food allergies can't shop for their families?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I honestly have a hard time believing you have a food allergy. I don't disagree that people with food allergies have to watch out for themselves, but there's a difference between helpful signs and baiting. These examples are BAITING.
Joanne, one of my very first columns was about the unfairness of allergy portrayal in the media:
http://foodallergybitch.blogspot.com/2012/01/yucking-it-up-hollywood-and-food.html
I started this blog to explore food allergies, and I have ended up instead mostly exploring cognitive bias, prejudice and polarization.
AllergyMom, of course you're welcome to link to the blog. I do think it's important to food-allergy parents to understand that they are not dealing solely with education. We also have to deal with the emotional and political issues that food allergies bring up in order to successfully advocate for our kids.
ReplyDeleteWell, the first picture is taken in a FISH STORE or where FISH IS SOLD so if you have an allergy to fish and shellfish then really.. what are you doing there.
ReplyDeleteYes I really do have food allergies but I'm not stupid and expect everyone to cater to me.
Sorry - not buying it.
ReplyDeleteIf you had allergies, you would understand how confusing labeling laws are.
If you had allergies, you would not be so contemptuous.
If you had allergies, you would understand how hard it is to deal with family meals.
If you had allergies, you would understand the difference between warnings and ridicule.
If you had allergies, you would understand that there are allergies to different species of fish, and that fish and shellfish are COMPLETELY different allergies.
But thanks for trolling! You're a great example of the polarization that's out there.
I'm the one who took the first picture, and it was in a seafood-only shop in Boston, so I can assume they were being sarcastic..
ReplyDeleteAnd that makes it better?
ReplyDeleteIf you saw that same sign in a candy store, targeted at diabetics, would you think "oh, funny." There's something about food allergies that make them a target.
These are mostly children. With a medical condition. Who already miss out on so much in life. And yet, there's always someone, ready to take that pot shot.