Every day my inbox fills with approximately eleventy gazillion Google Alerts filled with news and reports on allergies, every anaphylactic, and honestly, it's a pretty overwhelming Inbox of Doom. For the most part, though, I eagerly read these articles, and I generally agree with the opinion pieces about how the world needs a little more empathy in helping people with life-threatening allergies.
I don't get my back up when peanut allergy jokes are made in movies. I don't care if people hand out candy containing peanuts for Halloween (um, hello, I've been gorging on them all day). I don't expect the world to stop eating nuts just because my son can't eat them but I absolutely do think my kid deserves to feel safe at school. I do think food manufacturers should label accurately and strive to keep people safe. And I also think people need to be less dismissive and more supportive of the people dealing with these allergies. A little compassion goes a long way, but in the end, it's up to me to protect my son, and teach him to protect himself.
In this campaign to spread awareness of allergies, I really don't get stuff like this alarmist post about a Starbucks Allergy Alert. These kinds of alerts aren't doing anyone any good, are they? Freaking people out about how dangerous Starbucks can be to those with an allergy is less than helpful, really. Instead of blaming Starbucks, how about we educate people on managing their expectations of safety in places like these?
Here's the reality: Yes, Starbucks is totally delicious. And yes, they also sell a ton of allergen-containing products, from their drinks to their food items. So, no, it's not a safe place for people with allergies. Period. End of story. How is that even an expectation? How is this something worthy of an alarmist alert? This place sells muffins containing nuts. There's dairy everywhere. It's gluten central. And here are people whining about cross-contamination. Really? Apparently common sense ain't so common.
When you're dealing with a potentially life-threatening allergy, it isn't up to the 17-year-old barista behind the counter to know what's in your drink, it's up to you. It's not up to that kid to sanitize the counters to rid everything of reaction-causing proteins, it's up to you to realize the risk you take whenever you eat outside your own home. It isn't up to Starbucks to make everything safe for everyone, it's up to you to make decisions about where you will eat (or where your family will eat). Eating in restaurants isn't a basic human right, so I'm not really sure why people have this expectation of food vendors. I'd never put my life in the hands of a McWorker, so I certainly wouldn't do so with my son's life.
Check the labels yourself. Make phone calls to corporate offices. Call manufacturers. Research before you eat anywhere. Ask questions. Protect yourself as best you possibly can, but for Pete's sake, don't leave it up to anyone else. As an allergic person, when you choose to eat anything you haven't cooked yourself (or made from scratch), you have to understand the risk of human error whether it's via cross-contamination, misinformation or any other kind of mistake. I don't trust "allergy-safe" menus after hearing horror stories about mistakes made. I don't trust "may contain" labels after all the recalls in the news. I don't trust anyone else's judgment when it comes to what's safe for my son to ingest.
It's not up to the world to remove the allergens from your life, it's up to you to protect yourself from them.
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