Hi, I am Erica Reid.  Thank you for sharing this present moment with me.

Over 30 years ago, my journey with food allergies began as an infant (first, not able to have cow milk formula) and remained throughout my adult life. I wasn’t only affected as an individual, but later it continued as a mother raising two children since birth with severe food and environmental allergies.

I did what I felt may help. I created webinar videos, wrote two books to help those with and without food allergies- “The Thriving Child”  and “Shut Up and Cook!” But it is not enough.  I need your help and your friends help please. 

People are dying and losing their lives due to food negligence, a lack of food allergy awareness, and the number of deaths due to ONEbite of a food allergen is rising globally. It is a hidden health crisis and becoming an epidemic. It is unnecessary, ignorance and a pure void of proper action across the board.

We, the food allergy community are calling on those in the food industry to help save lives, and take accountability for those with food allergies. All it takes is ONEbite. This mission is why I founded the ONEbite campaign, aimed at raising awareness and catalyzing policy change during Food Allergy Awareness Week, May 10th-May 16th, and beyond. Food allergies affect over 35 million Americans and over 200 million people globally, with numbers steadily rising. This isn’t only a statistic; it’s millions of lives put at risk with every snack, every meal, and that ONEbite, leaving countless parents fearing for their children’s safety every day, and individuals constantly navigating through an unsafe world that is not fully accommodating their needs.

Did you know those with severe, life-threatening Anaphylactic food allergies are considered to have a disability according to the American Disability Act (ADA)? 

Our Call to Action is very clear! 

IMPLEMENT STRONGER LIFESAVING SOLUTIONS FOR THOSE WITH FOOD ALLERGIES

We need:

• Regulated, visible, food allergy labels on the front of all food packaging 
• Definitive labels. Not labels that say, "may contain." 
• Foods manufactured in the appropriate facility
• Put an effective tree nut and a legume policy in place on all airlines
• Restaurants must list all ingredients and all spices on all menus
• The overall food industry must be trained on food allergens and all ingredients
•  No cross-contamination
• Larger fonts of all ingredients on packages
• Make life saving medicine affordable and accessible for all
• Place life saving medicine next to all public defibrillators  
• Take accountability for errors and mistakes across all food industries 

Together, we can urge policymakers to prioritize food allergy awareness and prevention. By signing the ONEbite petition, you are paving the way to a safer world for everyone affected by food allergies and people’s loved ones.  Please visit our campaign link at: https://necessite.co/ to sign the petition and become part of this much needed conversation and urgent movement.