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Is anyone else as tired of this stream as I am?  But I have to say,
I really don't see a conflict between lobbying the FDA (a long-term
proposition taking a fair bit of time) and mentioning a special diet
to the airlines when we fly (an occasional use of about five minutes
time for the infrequent flyers among us).  I'm hardly an unreasonable
customer, I'm very sensitive to not bugging flight attendants when they
have more important things to do or their own schedule to meet, and I've
been carrying my own food for travel for over 15 years now, long before
gluten became an issue for my son -- the point
to me is getting gluten sensitivity more widely known.  The general debate
on healthy diets has led to improvements in airport food and roadside
food (yogurt stands, fruit salad everywhere, bottled water, trail mix
alongside the corn chips), so our info efforts could add to this effect.
 
I thought the note might be a gentler way of handling the plane food
issue, allowing the flight attendants to deal with it when THEY have a
second to glance over it -- I stand corrected there -- and might spare
us from being pinned in our seats by  dinner trays laden with food we
can't eat, along with the detritus of the food we bring on board, hauled
out as the second option, or hassling them to take the stuff away.
Flight time is usually serious work time for me and not having room to
work is a problem.  As my next two flights are going to be 12
hours and 18 hours respectively, it's not a matter of being hungry for
4 hours.  More like, will I have enough wits left when I get off the
plane to explain in Turkish to the customs agent that my computer and
slides are for a conference? In this case, the answer will be yes,
because when I meekly asked British Airways if they might have a meal on
the NY-Istanbul route that would be without gluten for one
reason or another (kosher or acceptable for Muslims, for example, excellent
idea), the agent said, oh, of course we have a gluten-free meal, and
proceeded to tell me all about it.  That makes me think TWA just might be
lacking some data, not that they need to be harangued or bothered or
campaigned against.
 
Also it seems the airlines and food service contractors would be our allies
in the labelling issue.  They don't want to be sued for feeding someone
a kosher meat meal with hidden casein, or for making someone sick with a
meal that by the label looks fine but in fact has some form of peanuts or
shellfish or wheat.  So it couldn't hurt on either front to raise the
issue.  Nicely.
 
On another subject, did anyone else see the article in the Science Times
about a group of parents who raised money to fund research into the
genetically transmitted disease with which their children were afflicted?
One of the scientists so funded found (he says) the genetic marker for a
disease which otherwise was too obscure to receive federal funding.  I
don't agree with all the ramifications of the research necessarily, but
it did make me wonder whether this funding approach is applicable to celiac
disease for genetic or other research.  Front page, NYTimes C Section.
 
Safe travels,
 
Elizabeth