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What's In, What's Out: Letter to the Editor
It is with dismay and disappointment that we at the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) read “The List” (what’s in, what’s out, Style section, Jan. 1), which declared peanut allergies to be “out.” While fully understanding that this list is meant to be lighthearted and taken with amusement, we find it disheartening that the writers at the Post chose to be so cavalier in including a potentially life-threatening medical condition such as a peanut allergy on a list that was otherwise filled with pop culture references.
The rise in the number of children with food allergies has been documented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the CDC, one out of every 25 children has a food allergy, representing an 18 percent increase between 1997 and 2007. A peanut allergy is most certainly not a fad to be categorized as “in” or “out.”
Every day, we strive to bring awareness about the severity of food allergies to those who may not understand that it is a matter of life and death for many. It is unfortunate that an institution as venerable as the Post chose to treat it so lightly.
Julia Bradsher
Chief Executive Officer
The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network
11781 Lee Jackson Hwy., Suite 160
Fairfax, VA 22033
(800) 929-4040 or (703) 691-3179
faan@foodallergy.org
Published on WashingtonPost.com, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010.
About FAAN
Founded in 1991, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is the world leader in information about food allergy, a potentially life threatening medical condition that afflicts approximately 12 million Americans, or one out of every 25. A nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Va., FAAN has approximately 25,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and 58 other countries. It is dedicated to increasing public awareness of food allergy and its consequences, to educating people about the condition, and to advancing research on behalf of all those affected by it. FAAN provides information and educational resources about food allergy to patients, their families, schools, health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, the food industry, and government officials. For more information, please visit FAAN at www.foodallergy.org, www.faankids.org, and www.faanteen.org.
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