Mom's Crusade Against Food Allergies

(CBS)  Robyn O'Brien had the scare of her life when her nine-month-old daughter almost died after eating some scrambled eggs. She says Tory O'Brien's "entire face was swollen shut . . . and it was terrifying."

In the year-plus since, the Boulder, Colo. woman has become what Early Show national correspondent Tracy Smith calls an "agitator for the rights of kids with food allergies," taking on big-business in the process.

The mother of four founded AllergyKids.com, and developed a unique symbol -- an exclamation point in an octagon -- she hopes catches on as a way of letting others know a child has such an allergy.

Allergykids.com markets several accessories that could go with young children to places such as schools and birthday parties, where accidental food reactions happen most. Some are, O'Brien told Smith, "particularly useful on the backs of babies when they're in nurseries."

Accessory-maker Jibbitz, along with Crocs Shoes, and green retailers such as Wild Oats see a market for such products, since members of one-family-in-eight have food allergies.

Some 11 million Americans have such allergies and, from 1997 to 2002, allergies to peanuts alone doubled in children under five, according to the Food Allergy Institute and the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.

But getting the symbol out there was just the first step.

O'Brien, an MBA, took a closer look at the ingredients she was feeding her kids, and was shocked to find what she calls "a chemical cocktail in every bite that they are eating."

She put her family on an all-organic diet, joining what Smith says is "a growing constituency of moms unglued by the rising number of chemicals, genetically altered organisms and synthetic hormones in everyday food."

O'Brien's husband, Jeff O'Brien says that, since the switch to organic foods, the O'Brien kids "feel better, they sleep better, they can focus more in school, its made a big difference in our family."

Now, Robyn O'Brien and her network of moms are campaigning for independent studies outside the food industry. She says, "We're tired of having the industry-funded experts tell us what's safe for our kids."

O'Brien's fight for independent studies has drawn critics, but she knows she has the clout of moms on her side, saying, "You have mother bears protecting their cubs, and it's an amazing power."

Her efforts have brought celebrity muscle.

Crusader-mom Erin Brockovich, depicted in the Oscar-winning film that bears her name, helped O'Brien make contacts.

And O'Brien made fast friends with Paul Newman's daughter, Nell, who runs the organic division of Newman's Own. Says Nell Newman, "I definitely support what she's doing. ... It's problem-solving, and I think problem-solving is what's important, as opposed to getting hysterical about an issue."

[tngreen]

Dragonmouse, my great-grandfather drove a supply wagon for the Confederate Army, so I''m pretty sure he ate all-organic food, and he lived to be almost 100. My great-grandmother on the other side of my family lived and worked on a farm, and the only thing she ever bought from a store was salt and coffee, and she lived to be almost 90. People died young in the past due to accidents, infections, and complications of childbirth, not from their diets. Today, scientists genetically modify foods by inserting genes from one plant into another--you could be getting a peanut gene when you are eating corn. GMing food can cause fatal allergic reactions in people who are being careful about what they eat.

[kemetorigin]

We began breastfeeding both of our children exclusively; never a drop of formula, organic rice cereal and foods and we still encountered eczema, which I am convinced is connected to vaccines--especially since it only appeared after the 1st vaccination & was inflamed after each booster. We did not vaccinate on schedule with the next baby and skin still beautiful, no allergies whatsover and that is the only thing we did differently.

[kemetorigin]

best way to avoid food allergies is for the mother to consume those foods during pregnancy. That way their little immune systems recognize the allergens as friendly during development.
Posted by eggy1620 at 01:13 PM : Nov 02, 2007

If only this were true. Our daughter is allergic to fish & nuts, both of which I ate in abundance during pregnancy as I am vegetarian (not vegan) and those were my protein sources. We discovered her allergies the hard way. Thank the Creator I knew to give her benadryl and get emergency care.

[eggy1620]

The best way to avoid food allergies is for the mother to consume those foods during pregnancy. That way their little immune systems recognize the allergens as friendly during development.

[dkline2002]

I am glad to see that others are questioning the "ingredients" that we are feeding our kids. My son has issues with Red Dye 40 and High Fructose Corn Syrup. I have no scientific proof, but when he starts head butting furniture or develops a weird rash on his leg after having something with Red Dye 40 in it, it''s a little hard to ignore. These are not typical behaviors otherwise. I too have noticed how lousy I feel after drinking a non-diet soda, I feel lethargic and miserable which makes it hard to focus. I wonder if our increased number of children with the ADHD diagnosis are actually suffering from our food supply. Is there a correlation between the time that high fructose corn syrup infiltrated our food supply and the explosion of ADHD diagnosis and treatment (with more chemicals, I might add)??

[tonietta1]

hello my name is tonietta and im from buffalo i am a young teenage mom to a 1 year old and she suffers from food allergies which consist of milk, soy, wheat egg and peanut and it hard for me to find food for her so thanks im gonne=a check out your website i could use a lot of help thank you again

[dragonmouse-2009]

60-80 years ago all the foods were ORGANIC and people died by the time they were 60-65. Now we''re living a lot longer...I don''t think the FOOD is the problem.

[patbeckner]

The best web site is FARRP , Have been to a seminar and the best thing was CLEAR LABELS!!!!!!!

[nevisk]

Thank you for all your hard work. My son has a peanut and egg allergy. I am struggling with getting him to eat a balanced diet of foods. He is a very fussy eater. I would, also, love any suggestions for what your children eat now that you have gone organic. This is something I have thought about doing for my family. Any suggestions I would greatly appreciate. Thank you!

[hrkkentucky]

Hello,
My name is Holli and I was wanting to know if you could e-mail me your list of foods that you feed your childern (for 30 days)? We have been trying to go Organic for some time and its hard to when you have picky eaters :(. The allergies that our childern are not life threating. They are behavural and changing there diet is imporant to me.
Thanks,
Holli