www.eventmarketer.com: Following the high-profile death of Disney influencer Dominique Brown last December, who reportedly experienced a severe allergic reaction at a holiday event in L.A. hosted by fandom merch brand BoxLunch, food allergy safety—but most importantly, food allergy inclusivity—is in the spotlight.
4 comments:
As a vegetarian, although not an allergy, I often find myself struggling to find a dish that I will enjoy and is vegetarian. Our society centers heavily on meat as the main course with vegetables being the side dish. When it does come to vegetarian options, often they are limited and mostly salads or some other side dish that is not super filling. I understand the struggle of looking at a menu and immediately seeing a whole bunch of options that you can’t eat. It’s restricting and makes me enjoy the event less. Considering this, I am really happy to see that people are working towards a more diet/allergy inclusive work enviornment. Whenever there are deliberate vegetarian options I feel more included and welcomed immediately, knowing that I was though of and planned for. In any scenario people shouldn’t feel excluded from dining because of something they can’t control or have to worry about their wellbeing. I hope that this kind of allergy free practice continues to get better and more widespread throughout the event and entertainment industry.
It's really cool to see that food allergies are being increasingly taken into account while event planning. My mom has quite a few severe food allergies, as do several of my siblings, and growing up heading to any event was always a highly stressful situation because we were never sure if there would be safe food for them to eat. It made going out of any kind an always-stressful event. I am sure this stress carries through for any other event-attending adult. As veganism and vegetarianism have become more popular and well known dietary restrictions within the public eye, it has been really nice to see improvements regarding food inclusivity. It feels a little strange to call it that, but its very true. There requires a level of active forethought and accommodation regarding dietary needs in order to make everyone feel included and welcome to eat with everyone else. It is good to see strides being made. Hopefully this accident motivates companies and events to be more careful, because allergies are often so woefully overlooked.
While I do not have an allergy, many people in my family do, and I hear how excited they are when there are allergy friendly options available. It is so important to have information available about the food that is being served because, like sidewalk ramps, that information will benefit everyone at the venue. Many times I have wondered what that flavor I was tasting is, and there is no information on the ingredients, even major ones. Having allergen menus will alleviate so much fear and allow people to enjoy the event to the fullest and not worry about having an allergic reaction. For events that are worried about budget for food, there are more options that having every food option have all major allergens removed. Even having a limited selection of food that is major allergens free, and a wider selection of some major allergens free, and a section that is one or two allergens free. No matter what option there should still be a list of ingredients and those ingredient’s ingredients for each item.
I cannot say I think about allergies in my daily life because I am fortunate enough to not have any. And I unfortunately am not the only one and that is how these fatal accidents happen. Something that I learned the other day, is that we are not supposed to ask the performers if they have allergies. Instead we are supposed to ask if they have anything they want to tell us. And then I read articles and I am like so what? Why would we put “privacy” over safety. Stage managers already hold a lot of things in confidentiality and they are responsible for the safety of the room. But how can they keep anyone safe if they do not have access to all the information they need. I feel like allergies do not hold as much weight as they should and are easily brushed off. I hope to find a system that works for me to keep those around me safe regardless of what info I do or do not have.
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