Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Like anyone who's been following the news, I've been horrified by the news coming out of Myanmar and China in the aftermath of their terrible tragedies.
By all accounts, the survivors, many of them children, face starvation if supplies cannot reach them in a timely manner.
And they're not the only ones. Just today, while munching my nice, warm bagel I read about a mother in Ethiopia who is desperate to feed her 3-year-old daughter--the child weighs less than 10 pounds.
10 pounds! That's approximately what my large-sized and thankfully healthy babies weighed at birth. Suddenly, I had lost my appetite.
What does all of this have to do with food allergies? Just that it makes no sense that our well-fed kids can suffer a fatal allergic reaction if they die from eating certain foods, while other children can die. from want of food at all.
I thought about all the efforts I make to ensure my daughter avoids certain foods. And then I thought about the mothers in Myanmar, China, Ethiopia and the world over who strive to make sure their children get just enough food to barely stay alive. And for some reason, I felt guilty.
Food is such a huge part of life. That's what makes food allergies so difficult. When I was growing up, I was told how lucky I was to have enough to eat, a home etc. The message was that to be "picky" was to be impolite. When you consider the plight of the world's hungry people, to be "picky" seems immoral.
Only food allergies aren't about being picky. They're about survival, too. I guess the guilt stems from my ability to negotiate specific foods for my daughter, when so many mothers can't negotiate food at all.
The only good thing about guilt is that it can motivate you to help others less fortunate. Which is what I'm going to do.
Also, I'm thankful for what we do have. And thankful that I can choose the foods my family eats--even if I also have to deal with food allergies.
Has anyone else ever thought about this? Or am I just having one of those days?
Saturday, May 3, 2008
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Thankfully, some leading chefs are working to make restaurants safer for the food allergic.
For one, there's Ming Tsai, a famous chef in Boston (you may have seen him on the Food Network in "East Meets West" or most recently, as a guest judge on "Top Chef Chicago"). Chef Tsai is a food allergy hero!
His young son has severe food allergies, including an allergy to all nuts--just like my daughter. Because of his personal experience with food allergies, Chef Tsai's restaurant, Blue Ginger, in Boston is leading the charge to make restaurants safe for everyone.
As a spokesperson for FAAN, Chef Tsai also recently testified at the Boston Statehouse about creating policies that would require all restaurants in Massachusetts to maintain a high level of awareness about food allergies. Chef Tsai is highly aware of the danger of nut allergies, which makes him cool in my book!
I'm especially excited that an Asian chef known for Asian food is taking the lead here. Asian food is one of the big "no-nos" for anyone with nut allergies and maybe someday this can change. I miss my Chinese food and Thai food!
But there's more help on the way, right here in Chicago. Chef Dominique Tougne of Bistro 110 has 2 children with severe food allergies. He was recently profiled in Living Without magazine on this very subject. At Bistro 110, he says that they will accomodate food allergies and in fact, do this each day with increasing regularity. I've been to the restaurant and the food is great, plus it's located in a fun part of the city. I'm looking forward to taking my daughter there.
That said: always call ahead. Kitchens get busy, so also try to go at "off" times. You're more likely to get the special treatment you need when chefs aren't in the thick of lunch or dinner rush.
Thank you, thank you to these two chefs for their amazing efforts! I hope many more chefs will follow their lead.
