The anxious mother of two children with allergies has petitioned her hometown to have oak trees removed.
Donna Giustizia of the city of Vaughan in the province of Ontario appeared before the city council requesting that oak trees be cut down to prevent children from being poisoned by fallen acorns.
She was not specific as to the target of her animus. Was she against the nasty Northern red oak? The dastardly Dwarf chinquapin oak? The brutish Bur oak? The wily White oak?
Giustizia has stated that to have a school "putting a sign on the door that says (that the environment is) nut-free", but then to have the school grounds covered with acorns gives parents "a false sense of security." Giustizia has a child with food allergies who attends St. Stephen Catholic Elementary School, where the offending acorns lie.
How concerned is Giustizia about allergies? She is so concerned that she is chairman of the Saint Stephen School's Allergy Committee. (Who knew there was such a thing?)
Vaughan is a good-sized town north of Toronto. The population of people is about 290,000; the population of oak trees is unknown.
To allay the fears of those reading this article, medical experts have disputed the toxicity of acorns. “For the most part, as long as they’re just handled and not ingested, there’s no scientific literature to suggest anyone has had a reaction” said Dr. Maria Asper, a pediatric allergist at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. (Out of curiosity, is there also a Hospital for Well Children? Just asking.) "You really have to eat them to have a reaction” agreed Dr. Paul Keith, an allergist at McMaster University.
Giustizia is reported to have added, "I’m not a crazy mom."
One thing is certain: the city of Vaughan has too many nuts. Unfortunately, some of them are their citizens.
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