Joel Stein - Possible Food Allergy Advocate?

Joel Stein has probably become a household name by now for those in the food allergy community. If you haven't yet heard of him, Joel Stein is the man responsible for the article entitled "Nut allergies - a Yuppie invention". The article was published in a January 2009 addition of the "Los Angeles Times" creating a lot of negative buzz in the food allergy community.

In the article Stein accused parents of creating their child's peanut allergies as a way of getting attention or as he puts it, "Your kid has a parent who needs to feel special." You can see why the article didn't go over very well with parents of peanut allergic kids. In fact it didn't sit right with anyone living with food allergies period.

It is clear that the lack of research and knowledge on the subject of food allergies played a key role in Stein's opinions that, "it is strange how peanut allergies are only an issue in rich, lefty communities." However, Dr. Robert A. Wood author of "Food Allergies for Dummies" writes that "some of the highest rates of asthma and allergies are in the inner city...". This
suggesting that food allergies are increasing across the country, across social classes, and across all racial divides.

Obviously also unaware of the fact that even the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) doesn't track the number of deaths caused by food allergies. Stein went on to claim, "Since food allergies kill about as many people as lightning strikes each year" we probably don't need  to put "may contain" warning labels on products. He also deemed it unnecessary to ban peanuts from schools.

Here is the twist. Joel Stein recently wrote an article for "TIME Magazine" appropriately entitled, "A Nut Allergy Skeptic Learns the Hard Way". It is in this article that Stein announces that his 1 year old son had been diagnosed with a nut allergy.

Upon reading this new article I have to admit I did have a brief moment of joy as I thought to myself, "karma is a bitch." This feeling was short lived though as I then thought of his son and how he, as well as every other child with food allergies, didn't ask for this. I then started to view Joel Stein as one of us. He is now the father of a child with a life-threatening food allergy. Does he know yet what he has stepped into? Probably not.

It will take some time before Stein and his wife really realize the challenges of having a food allergic child. Stein writes, "We're not banning nuts from our house, and we aren't going to send Laszlo to a nut-free school." Only time will tell.

My hope is that Stein will now use his platform as a way to educate others and create awareness about food allergies. He has the opportunity to become a powerful advocate for our children. Having publicly been on the opposing side of this new epidemic I beleive Stein has the ability of getting the message through to people we as a community otherwise would not be capable of reaching.

That said, I wish the Stein family the best of luck!