School 'Peanut Gallery' Raises Eyebrows [Peanut Butter Sammich eaters segregated]

Fox News Online ^ | 1/4/05 | Jeff Goldblatt

[TheBigB]

YORKTOWN, Ind. — Savannah Dowling is a typical 8-year-old girl; much of her protein comes from peanut butter sandwiches.

However, if she wants to bring one to Central Indiana's Pleasant View Elementary School, she has to eat it at a special table in the cafeteria to accommodate one first grader with a severe allergy. Soon she'll have to take her lunch to an area the school is calling the "peanut gallery" so the one child with the peanut allergy isn't affected.

"I don't think everybody should have to suffer because of one kid," said Mike Raper, a critic of the idea and fiancé of Savannah's mother. "I think it's a terrible precedent. Basically, because there's nowhere to draw the line. You've got people allergic to milk, wheat. My own son's diabetic. There's just no where to draw that line."

School Superintendent Mary Ann Irwin called it "one of the most challenging" accommodations the school has made for its students.

[Liberal Classic]

I've not been tested for celiac or coeliac (spelling?) disease, though I suspect I may have the condition.

[bananarepublican23]

I bet that peanut-allergic kid's going to be REAL popular.

[Ditter]

Yes I am aware of all the names that MSG is called. The most powerful are Disodium guaynalate and disodium insonate (probably misspelled). I try to avoid all of them by cooking vegetables and meat simply and ordering the same when I eat out. But I seem to have most of my problems with the ones labeled MSG and DG and DI.

I have read estimates that 30% of the population is allergic to MSG but many only slightly and most have no idea what has caused their problems.

[Liberal Classic]

I hadn't heard of those two yet. I learned something new. I had no idea it was close to one third, either. I thought it was a small fraction of that. Interesting. Good eatin', Ditter.

[Ditter]

Back a few years ago when I started having reactions to MSG I bought a dictionary of food chemicals. I could look up everything that was listed on any food product and find out what it was and what it was used for. I think I loaned it out and forgot who I loaned it to, you know how that goes LOL. My copy would be out of date now after 15 years but I just avoid anything with additives that I don't recognize. Happy eating to you too.

[whd23]

In other words 1%. So potentially 00% of the kids could be eating in the peanut butter segregated area.

I'm not sure I follow your math... < /wise guy >

[Bikers4Bush]

HA!!! It was supposed to read 99%.

Figures that I'd screw it up!

[Liberal Classic]

I'm going to add those two to my list. I'll have to see if I can't find a dictionary of food chemicals at the library some time. Sounds like a good idea. As a rule of thumb I try to avoid eating anything which contains ingredients I can't pronounce, or whose ingredient list longer than one in length of text. This leaves out a lot of stuff. :)

[Betis70]

>>I do have celiac sprue, an autoimmune disease that keeps me from eating wheat, rye or barley.

Oh my! I can't imagine a world without bread, beer, or pizza.

My allergies are pretty tame in comparison, though Aleve (naproxen) would probably kill me.