Please help The Food Allergy Project get the message to Congress that federal funding for food allergy research must be increased. By clicking on the link below, you can find your Senators and Representatives. Please contact their offices – by phone, letter or email – and urge them to support food allergy research. Here is a sample letter you can use, and be sure to tell them about any personal experiences you have with food allergy.
http://www.firstgov.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
Dear Senator [last name] or
Dear Congressman/Congresswoman [last name]:
Please support increased federal funding for food allergy research. Food allergies severely impair the quality of life for allergic children and their parents. The most common allergens – such as peanuts, eggs, milk and soy – are staples of our food supply and nearly impossible to avoid completely. Yet the medical consequences of coming into contact with allergy-inducing foods are dire – not only do food allergies kill many Americans each year, but they are also responsible for 30,000 emergency room visits. More than 11 million Americans suffer from food allergy today.
Food allergy research is woefully underfunded. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends less than $10 million a year on food allergy research. Yet food allergies are a leading cause of chronic illness in the United States. For reasons that scientists cannot yet explain, food allergies afflict more and more children each year. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of children in the United States suffering from peanut allergies doubled. The average American elementary school today has ten children suffering from severe food allergies. There are currently no medications to cure or control food allergies.
We must find a cure.
Please join our fight and support funding for food allergy research. Together, we can save children’s lives.
Sincerely,
[Name]
[City, State] |
|
