(from NPR) As the number of students with food allergies grows, so does bullying directed at them. A 2014 study found that as many 32 percent of children with food allergies have been bullied at least once, putting pressure on schools not only to accommodate their dietary needs but also to discourage would-be bullies from causing harm. Some schools have woven food allergy awareness into the curriculum. Others are stepping up enforcement of bullying zero-tolerance policies. "If a child doesn't understand the consequences or life-threatening nature of an allergy and thinks bullying someone is the same as calling someone a name, that's when it becomes really dangerous," said Sanaz Eftekhari of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
The number of U.S. children with food allergies increased by 18 percent, to approximately 3 million, between 1997 and 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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