As I walk through the halls of Revere High School, I notice an increase of “Peanut and Tree Nut Free Zone” signs decorating the doors of many rooms. Each time I see these signs, I recall the groans of fellow students after principal Phil King broadcasted over the announcements his enforcement of these zones on the first day of school. Complaints include, but are not limited to the following: “Ugh, but I’m totally starving,” “I don’t have a food allergy, I should be allowed to eat whatever I want,” and “What the heck is the big deal?” The big deal? My life is on the line.

As a Revere High School student with a severe allergy to peanuts and all forms of tree nuts, I greatly appreciate the policies that the school is installing. Having a food allergy means interrogating others on every shred of food that you did not make yourself. It’s Suzy Q’s birthday today, and she brought in cookies? I now have to probe her mind to find out with 100% certainty as to whether or not the cookies are safe for me to eat. Frankly, it is exhausting, and it is totally out of my control. I have no clue what brand of ingredients someone puts in his or her food, whether that product was processed in the same facility as peanuts or tree nuts, whether the food made contact with any other food that contained peanuts or tree nuts and so on.

Fellow students, you must understand that the issue cannot be solved by simply bringing foods that do not contain nuts. The Kids With Food Allergies website explains the concept of “cross-contact,” when any trace of an allergen whatsoever comes into contact with a food or item not intended to contain that allergen. For example, your facility-processed cookies that you enjoy so much? They most likely were slapped on the exact same conveyor belt as that brand of cookie’s nut-brand treats. If so much as even unnoticed nut dust contaminates a certain food, I will react. If food has touched any trace of nut or nut dust whatsoever, I will react. If a surface has not been wiped clean after contact with peanuts or tree nuts and I touch it, you guessed it: I will react.

People have told me “maybe you should just not eat anything anyone brings in.” I certainly already do not eat it; I really do not feel like possibly stabbing my thigh with my EpiPen today, in all honesty. Not eating the stuff others bring in will not fully protect me, though. You could have touched nuts, and then touched a door handle or a similar object in the building. Not knowing you touched the door handle, I could touch it, have unknowingly contaminated my hand, and either have a tactile reaction, or possibly go off to lunch and eat my clean food with that contaminated hand. Stressful to think about every waking moment, is it not? Nuts are like a germ for me; the same way we tell students with colds to keep germs from spreading, please keep the school nut-free.

The FARE (Food Allergy Resource and Education) website reports that in the United States alone, approximately three million people possess allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. These allergies are almost always life-long, and increase in severity each time a reaction occurs. Currently, my allergy acts up when I consume any size particle of peanuts or tree nuts, ranging from a whole nut itself to a few grains of nut dust. If I continue to have reactions, which are not fun at all, by the way, my allergy will worsen. My allergy could go so far as to become airborne; my throat would literally start to swell closed as a stranger a few feet away munches indifferently on a PB&J.

Businesses may put warnings about processing in the same facility as foods known to cause allergic reactions, such as peanuts or tree nuts, but not for the perceived reasons concerning safety of consumers. They do so to cover themselves legally, because food safety is supposedly too expensive. They don’t want to spend the money to buy extra conveyor belts to keep their food nut-free. They would rather cut corners than ensure the health of their customers. The point of business is not to satisfy customers to their fullest extent, it’s to turn a profit. My health doesn’t matter to them, my wallet does.

Perhaps people with airborne food allergies need to be homeschooled and kept from learning with other students in the Revere Locals Schools public school buildings (emphasis on public school, where all students are eligible to attend in person). Would we be comfortable saying that to a fellow student with more prevalent disorders, such as Down syndrome or Asperger’s syndrome? Food allergies and sensitivities, just as these disorders, are beyond the control of those afflicted. I did not choose to have my throat swell up and stop breathing every time I eat a certain food. Also similar to these disorders, food allergies and sensitivities are now protected by school policy. Students with certain disabilities have school policies to ensure they can learn in a conducive, safe environment. People with food allergies such as me now have policy ensuring our safety. So why are people complaining? Because these policies require the cooperation of everyone, not just the efforts and time of those afflicted.

My best friend has an allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. My brother has a tree nut allergy, too. You don’t think I worry about their health as much as I do my own? If you are not an individual or an immediate family member of an individual who has a food allergy, you cannot fully understand the severity of a food allergy. I am baffled by the adult lack of understanding of the severity of this issue within the Revere Local School District. My mother worries just as much as any other parent about the comfort and safety of students in the district. But when it comes to supporting my mother and other mothers when they express their concerns for the safety of students with food allergies, adult support falls short. I am not trying to crucify individuals who enjoy cracking open a pistachio. Please, just stay aware: it prevents me from potentially losing my life.