Food Allergies on the rise….
According to today’s Houston Chronicle, children with food allergies becoming a cause of concern in our classrooms. I am not sure what the average size of the class is now, but I would imagine it would be between 20 and 30 students. The paper reported that there were at least two children who had food allergies per classroom, on average.
I remember being in a classroom (I am a life-long learner) and remember that there were no peers with any food allergies. In fact, most children who brought their lunches brought a PB & J sandwich with all the trimmings: milk, cookies, chips and the occasional fruit.
The two most offenders on the food allergy list are… get this…. milk and peanuts. I am not a medical doctor, nor am I a chemist. I am not a gardener…. What I know is this: Milk is infused with genetically modified hormones, and peanuts are affected by the GM soy crops. And I quote: It is interesting to note that in the five years immediately after GM soy was introduced, US peanut allergies doubled. It is known that a protein in natural soybeans cross-reacts with peanut allergies, i.e. soy may trigger reactions in some people who are allergic to peanuts.63 Given the startling increase in peanut allergies, scientists should investigate whether this cross-reactivity has been amplified in GM soy. http://www.responsibletechnology.org/docs/145.pdf
We are doing this to ourselves. It is time for us, as a community, to take responsibility for our food supply. Europe has already banned the use of GM foods. We in the US can do the same.
Until next time,
Polly