Peanut Epidemic: A Case of Media Exaggeration

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Recommended: Food allergies : a growing problem

Peanuts are one of the most prevalent food allergens worldwide, and it has become a nemesis for many in recent years. Peanut allergies have been known to be life threatening, but only a few sufferers react with such extreme severity when exposed to peanuts. While peanut allergies have long-existed, it seems like it was very rarely heard of prior to the 1980s. In the last decade, peanut allergies have become the focus of media attention and controversy. However, the media is not as accurate as the public understands it to be. The sensationalized media reports, especially those publicized in the United States, on the subject of peanut allergy led to unnecessary public concern that created a larger spectacle of the issue than it is supposed to be.
A food allergy is an exaggerated immune response triggered by a particular protein found in an allergen. Different people have different allergic reactions; ranging from mild to life threatening, whereby an anaphylactic reaction takes place. Symptoms of the allergic diseases may be caused by exposure of the skin to a chemical, of the respiratory system to particles of dust or any other substance, or of the stomach and intestines to a particular food (“What Is Food Allergy?”). In the last few decades, there seems to be an increased media and medical interest on the subject of allergies in general, but mostly on peanut allergies. According to Miranda Waggoner, a Princeton University researcher, no medical research agenda can be found prior to the 1980s. Are peanut allergies really getting more severe and prevalent that the medical community now puts a little more effort into studying the disorder? Or are people just more aware now that word travels faster than ever through the World Wide We...

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...ics. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Hunter, Marnie. "Peanuts on Planes Protected by Law." CNN. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Karp, George. "Mom Works to Put Food Allergies on Airline's Radar." Chicago Tribune 11 Feb. 2014: n. pag. Chicago Tribune. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
"Shellfish Allergy." Allergist. American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Sicherer, Scott H., et al. "US Prevalence of Self-reported Peanut, Tree Nut, and Sesame Allergy: 11-year Follow-up." Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 125.6 (2010): 1322-26. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Waggoner, Miranda R. "Parsing the Peanut Panic: The Social Life of a Contested Food Allergy Epidemic." ScienceDirect. ELSEVIER, 6 May 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
"What Is Food Allergy?" National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

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