A Father's Love and the Power of the Good Within Us
A guest column by Seth Watkins...
BY SETH WATKINS
GUEST COLUMNIST
SETH WATKINS is the fourth generation of his family to care for Pinhook Farm. Located in Southwest Iowa, the farm was established by Seth’s great-grandfather in 1848. Today Pinhook Farm is home to a herd of Angus cattle, several hives of honey bees, a few chickens, and a recently acquired flock of Katahdin sheep. Seth attributes Pinhook Farm’s success to prioritizing stewardship over production by striving to build a system that works with nature. In addition to caring for livestock, Seth is a TedX speaker, serves as a United Nations Food Systems Champion, and is part of a National Science Foundation-funded program called BlueGAP that is working to help communities address nitrogen pollution.
Let’s play a game, imagine that in an effort to expand cultural awareness, your local school is going to add Japanese Blowfish to its menu. This exclusive delicacy is notorious, because if not prepared properly, the diner experiences a severe allergic reaction, goes into anaphylactic shock, has their windpipe swell shut, and experiences a terrifying death through suffocation.
This is what it’s like for a parent of a child with a peanut allergy, every single meal they eat away from home. My son Spencer has a peanut allergy. Spencer also has special needs, so communication is a challenge. The lack of understanding the significance of peanut and other food allergies is devastating. The reality our family faces is that every well-intended snack a parent or teacher brings to school, attending a potluck, or simply enjoying a dinner out, carries the very real potential of anaphylaxis and death. Knowing the odds of a life-threatening allergic reaction are a far greater threat than an active shooter.
With a severe peanut allergy, a microdose is enough to kill you. A lot of people don’t get this. I’ll never forget the look of disappointment and disgust I received from a well-intended parent who had carefully brought Spencer a bag of chocolate M&M’s for a snack (she had brought peanut M&M’s for the rest of the class).
When I showed her the label and explained that chocolate M&M’s were processed in the same facility as peanut M&M’s and were contaminated with peanut residue, she looked at me like I was crazy and continued to try to offer the chocolate M&M’s to Spencer.
Having to leave a restaurant when the server says “I don’t know if anything has peanuts or not, but I’m pretty sure everything is safe…” is infuriating. Another disturbing experience happened to my wife last week at an establishment we had frequented often. When sharing that Spencer had a severe peanut allergy and asking the owner specifically about the roll included on his order, the owner responded by saying that she throws out all the manufacturer packaging and repackages the rolls in resealable plastic bags, but she was pretty sure it was ok…
Not only is this devastatingly unacceptable and thoughtless, but it is also a direct violation of the ADA and happens far too often. It’s like someone playing Russian Roulette with your child and saying, “I doubt the round will land in the chamber, so you should be fine...”
The flip side of all of this is the beauty humanity holds to doing the right thing and the joy it brings us as parents when individuals, restaurants, and even airlines understand this very complex issue and meet us where we are as a family to ensure that Spencer can be included in the experiences of travel, dining out, and fellowship, without the risk of anaphylaxis.
I’m a 55-year-old white guy. Spencer is the person who has taught me what it’s like for someone to be treated as less than. He’s also the person who has taught me the power of compassion, equity, and inclusion. The investments we make in the values of compassion, equity, and inclusion are lifesaving. They are the investments that make us better and stronger as a country.
Here are a few establishments we have come to trust and appreciate for their dedication to making sure Spencer and others with peanut allergies can enjoy the same experiences as the rest of us:
The Tin Kitchen, Weston, MO. Besides offering some of the best BBQ and desserts I’ve ever enjoyed; Weston is a great destination, and The Tin Kitchen has a “nut-free kitchen.” I highly recommend The Tin Kitchen!
Mi Casita, Clarinda, Iowa. I may be biased because this small restaurant is in my hometown, but they also offer a nut-free establishment. As well as what I consider to be the best and most authentic Mexican food that I have found anywhere in the US. Again, I highly recommend Mi Casita!
For an Airline, you can’t beat Delta, with 48 hours’ notice they remove all peanut products from the plane and request passengers around you to not use peanut items during the flight. This gesture is lifesaving and makes Delta my number-one choice.
If any of you reading this have restaurant recommendations, I’d love to hear them and compile a list. The Michelin Restaurant Awards were started by the tire company. Their goal was to get people out on the open road to meet new people and connect over food and experiences. Perhaps together, we can develop something similar so that people with food allergies can safely enjoy the same experiences as the rest of us.
This is Bob again. I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Subscribe! Become a paid subscriber if you can afford it. Please and thank you. We need you. Thanks for being part of the team! Want to buy me lunch or a cup of coffee? Venmo @Robert-Leonard-238. My friend Spencer Dirks and I have a podcast titled the Iowa Revolution. Check it out! We can get ornery. And have fun! I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.
Thanks for mentioning Delta here. As an employee, I can confirm this is something we take seriously. It's not a perfect system, but there are a lot of layers in place and ways to make sure everyone (flight crews, station agents, etc.) are all on the same page for any given flight.
Thanks Dr. Bob for an eye opening look in something many are not aware of! The mine field they face simply to be with others could turn most of us into hermits! Yet they persist in trying to be inclusive of others and have a cautious, very cautious attitude for the safety of their son. Very impressive!