We are so honored to have you speak at the Community Food Allergy Conference. I have seen you speak at many conferences including your own Allergy Eats conference.  What inspires you to speak out?

Having lived the food allergy life for 15 or so years now, and being closer to the whole community over the last 5-1/2 years via my work at AllergyEats, I not only know the challenges we all face first-hand, but I’ve gotten to know so many people with experiences that have been much more taxing than my family’s.  Hearing and understanding these experiences, it’s hard NOT to want to use whatever skills I have to affect positive change.  I love being an advocate.  I love affecting positive change.  And, while food allergies are an issue with both the young and old, my love for helping kids is also a major driving factor.  So I try to use my personal strengths, complementing the great skills of so many others in our community, to drive restaurateurs to make changes that help all of us, to influence government bodies to take productive action for our benefit, and to educate others outside our community in a passionate yet reasonable way so they empathize with us rather than fight us.  It’s a day-by-day battle and it’s a team effort of which I’m just one small cog, but with all of us together using our voices, we ARE making progress across the spectrum.  It’s not just a dream.  The progress is already tangible.

What is your message to those within food allergy community? 

My first message to the food allergy community is to recognize that if food allergies are the worst thing in your or your child’s life, you’re lucky!  Now, I grant that there is a small population with such severe and broad allergies that this isn’t true, but for others who might take issue with this I would remind them that our children can live normal lives and do basically everything any other child can (even if it takes time to understand and figure out the logistics).  And our kids have a life-saving device at their side!  Compare that to what seems to be an epidemic of other physical and mental challenges that children are suffering from these days and, yes, I consider us lucky if this is the worst we’ve got!  My second message is, of course, ALWAYS carry your epinephrine.  And my last message is one of hope.  As I said earlier, thanks to the (unfortunately) large size of our community and our collective voices, we ARE making progress.  More of our schools understand allergies and carry stock epinephrine.  More restaurants are becoming allergy-friendly and can capably serve us.  More people outside our community are getting to know others with food allergies and are thus taking this issue as seriously as it deserves.  The trend is our friend!  Sure, there is a long way to go and a lot of people to educate, but the future looks brighter than today (and today is much brighter than the past).

What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your experience as a speaker and advocate in the food allergy community?

First of all, I’ve learned just how wonderful our community is, with an enormous number of passionate and intelligent advocates (including every individual reading this who has educated even just one other person) – which is why we’ve made so much progress so far.  However, the following is equally important.  While we all rightfully get steamed over those who fight us, those who don’t take us seriously, those who post mean anonymous comments online, and those who want to isolate us, I’ve found that the dramatically greater proportion of the “non-food allergy population” is made up of individuals who are caring, understanding, reasonable, and sympathetic toward what we and our children are fighting.  My experience is that when we approach others genially and reasonably, most people respond in kind and with compassion.  I’ve found this to be true with school administrators and teachers, restaurateurs, other parents, caregivers, coaches, and even strangers at a ball game.  However, the respect has to be mutual.  We cannot approach others combatively and expect them to respect us.  When we tell someone what they have to do, especially when they’re unfamiliar with our problem, their inclination is to do the opposite and not want to help.  So, ask for help – don’t demand accommodation – and I think you’ll be surprised at how great people really are.

If you would like to hear Paul speak in person, we hope you will join us this Sunday at the Community Food Allergy Conference in Saddle Brook, NJ.  For more info, click here.

Paul Antico is the CEO and Founder of AllergyEats, the leading guide to finding allergy-friendly restaurants.  He is the father of five children – three of whom have food allergies.  As a passionate food allergy advocate, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), both nationally and for the New England chapter, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Food Allergy Working Group, the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) Advisory Pane for the Consensus Study on Food Allergies, and the National Peanut Board Food Allergy Education Advisory Council. His company also hosts the annual AllergyEats Food Allergy Conference for Restaurateurs and Food Service Professionals – the only industry event of its kind – featuring best-in-class experts, valuable tips and actionable advice to become more allergy-friendly.