Woman Swaps Out Her Roommate’s Food With Vegan, Ends Up Charged With A Felony
If you’ve ever had a food allergy, you know how serious it may be. It occurs when the body’s immune system reacts to certain proteins in food, and the reactions may vary from hives and lip swelling to even life-threatening symptoms that may involve fatal respiratory problems and shock known as anaphylaxis.
But this story posted on r/AITA which started with one roommate’s allergy to soy products has many more layers to it. “The next day after she moved in, she cooked breakfast for us. I was surprised,” the author recounted the morning with her new vegan roommate named Erin. But it turned out that unbeknownst to Erin, the author was “deathly allergic to a few things,” and soy products were one of them.
“I start eating and everything tastes a little off. At this point, she does a “‘Ta da’ and smugly told us ‘I bet it tastes exactly like meat,’” the author said. As you can imagine, this didn’t go well. Not only did the author have to stay in a hospital for 2 days due to her allergic reaction, but she also filed a complaint to the police.
But this was far from the end of the story, so read on below to find out how it escalated. Let me just tell you it involves a degree of felony.
This woman has recently shared a story of how she pressed charges against her roommate who swapped her food with a vegan alternative without being aware she’s “deathly allergic” to soy
Image credits: Thomas Park (not an actual photo)
Food tampering laws and related consequences do vary from state to state. For instance, California law (Penal Code Section 347) states that anyone who knowingly adds poison or a harmful substance to any food, drink, medicine, or pharmaceutical product where another person could be harmed is guilty of a felony punishable by a prison sentence of two to five years. If the substance could cause death or great bodily injury to a person, an additional three years is added to the sentence.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Subsection (a) of 18 U.S.C. § 1365 “prohibits tampering or attempted tampering with any consumer product that affects interstate or foreign commerce, or with the labeling of, or the container for, such a product. The tampering must be done with reckless disregard for the risk that another person will be placed in danger of death or bodily injury. Furthermore, the tampering must be done under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the risk of death or bodily injury.”
Image credits: Olga Kononenko (not an actual photo)
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However, we do not know whether this particular case involved food tampering and though the author of the post mentioned that “food tampering is a felony,” she didn’t explain how that related to the incident.
For anyone with a severe food allergy, consuming food with an allergen in it, even the smallest amounts of it, can be extremely dangerous. This may happen though the manufacturing process or during the food preparation process.
Image credits: Sandra Dempsey (not an actual photo)
When it comes to the author’s allergy, an allergy to soy, it is a common food allergy to soybean products. Often, soy allergy starts in infancy with reaction to soy-based infant formula. Although most children outgrow soy allergy, some carry the allergy into adulthood. Mild signs and symptoms of soy allergy include hives or itching in and around the mouth.
Even though a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) is rare with soy allergy, according to Mayo Clinic, it’s more likely to occur in people who also have asthma or who are allergic to other foods besides soy, such as peanuts. Anaphylaxis causes more extreme signs and symptoms, including: difficulty breathing, caused by throat swelling; shock, with a severe drop in blood pressure; rapid pulse; dizziness, lightheadedness or loss of consciousness.
The author clarified a couple of details to the commenters
Certain factors may put you at greater risk of developing a soy allergy, like family history. You’re at increased risk of allergy to soy or other foods if other allergies, such as hay fever, asthma, hives or eczema, are common in your family. Another common factor is age since soy allergy is most common in children, especially toddlers and infants. Other allergies may also put the person at risk of having soy allergy.
According to the Mayo Clinic, in some cases, people who are allergic to wheat, beans (legumes), milk or other foods can also have an allergic reaction to soy. Also, people who are allergic to soy may have test results showing allergy to other legumes, but may be able to eat them with no problem.
Some commenters thought that the author did the right thing
However, some thought the author acted like a jerk
And some people said that everyone was wrong in this situation
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Roommate situation with deadly allergies and nobody tells the new girl? New girl sucks, but the lack of responsibility on all parties involved here is stupefying.
That is the reason I'm calling bs on this one. Anybody with anaphylaxis will tell cos their life depends on it.
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Anyone deathly allergic to soy would have an eppi pin. Anyone deathly allergic to soy would need to know if ANY processed foods were used in making the breakfast. Anyone deathly allergic to soy would make their own breakfast.
I dont have an eppi pen because Medicaid don't cover it no more and they are hella expensive cost over 1,000 bucks in my state which I only make $800 in SSI and I have $600 in rent to pay sorry I'd rather watch my allergies like a hawk then pay that much money which I can't afford so I ask every restaurant if things are made with pork/coconut products and I know when people lie to me as well as when I'm sick I'm allergic to sulfa drugs/penicillin too so doctors walk on eggshells to treat me with the flu or anything or having surgeries which I've had 3 of them this year I am severely disabled/severe health issues due to a parent did illegal drugs most states Medicaid stopped covering Eppipen
Ask your doc if he/she is willing to prescribe a vial of epinephrine injection and a few syringes (with needles, obviously). You'll be able to get several EpiPen shots out of the vial for about ¼ the cost of a single regular EpiPen. (Your doc will best be able to tell you how to do this, I'm just telling you the workaround my stepdad's doc came up with for him). Sometimes insurance covers this, sometimes not. But $50 for 3-4 epi shots is certainly better than $200+ for a single EpiPen.
If I could do your workaround you found out about I would but sadly I can't hun I'm not upset I'm more upset by our damn gonverment more than anything treating us Disabled People like this they have done it for over 100 years
People on Disability do get health bills alot you people who work don't realize it the gonverment don't care about us there is even a marriage ban for us we are just numbers actually to the GOP reminds me of the Jews in WW2
I told her also I'd rip her a new one if I didn't get my way my mom supported me too but still I was refused to get myself fixed ridiculous. That's how bad the health care system is they don't care about our rights neither people born as I was with Disabilities and Health Issues that's 'completely genetic'
What I do when she said that and said I'm too young too? I went off on her and said that to the gonverment we women are just babymakers cause old fogeys run the damn US and it's true hun who think they can have control over our Wombs even mine! Which this womb chooses no I'd rather off myself than give Birth to severely disabled/health issues kids like me who suffers like I do 24/7
I get imaging of all.kinds for my shunt every month cause my shunt doctor requests it to check if it's working right and my tubing ain't wearing out cause that can kill me if the shunt malfunctions or tubing wears out so they image my head down to my stomach first they do MRI of my head which my shunt is the kind they can do it with it it's a special one imagine the cost of that shunt if the doc didn't get permission for coverage from Medicaid then they image my chest, neck and tummy $50 a pop each image even MRI last time I saw was $100 Medicaid tho I'm disabled has been cut so severely
I actually got a letter from Medicaid saying no eppipen will no longer be covered by my insurance entirely as well as I can't afford $50 a pop for injections I also cause my allergens and also a other conditions I have I have to buy necessities that take most my spending money after I pay $600 in rent. Yes I may have $200 left yet every month I buy a phone card $50 and my meds is $10-15 a pop my hygiene products cost around total 30-45 bucks my pads are in a big pack $30 cause I have a cycle disorder tho I take birth control I still bleed heavy so I get the biggest brand in a huge pack I usually by 2 a month cause I go through pads like eating candy in one month and in one month I go through one and a half a pack. So gotta buy 2 more and if I'm broke my mom and step dad pitches in including with any health bills I have I mentioned. I'm even being charge $50 a pop for imaging now for my shunt which when Trump was in office it never happened or being charged for $200 in blood work. I get
Look to see if there are any food banks in your area. Ask them about healthcare and drug coverage. A lot of them know about programs that can help pay for drugs. Our local church is hooked up with the food bank and once a month they will give out a personal care box that includes soap, shampoo, deodorant, pads/tampons, all sorts of stuff. As for your medical costs, explain nicely to your doctor your fixed income situation. A lot of times Drs will lower their rates or copay rates for someone who is broke. The key is asking nicely.
I'm not the only Disabled person who thinks this we all do hun. The marriage ban goes like this if you get marriage they consider your partners money part of your income too so they will take your insurance and money completely away if you get married so we don't have rights at all we disabled people tho we are mostly born this way I was. Hell I want to get my ovaries fixed cause I don't want any children by my genes will suffer from my kind of Disabilities and I was refused by my OBGYN for my cycle disorder cause tho I said my reason not to get have kids was my Disabilities/severe health issues she told me I'll change my mind and have kids
I know, I meant to tell my regular doctor about my wish and this incident, but I've been having surgery after surgery caused by my health issues, the health issues is caused by my biodad doing drugs and impregnating my mother with me which doctors have found this out why I have such issues. He was a heavy drug addict did everything out there. My doctor says I must get checked once a year for ovarian cancer too since I have a cycle disorder can cause ovarian cancer as well it runs strongly on my biodad's side, so I'm a high risk and I told that OBGYN that she didn't care in the least either. Even my dentists don't listen to me about my bad teeth I want removed rotting away by being born without enamel it's sad really
Mylan (EpiPen company) has free and low cost programs on their websites. There are generic Epi-pens available for $10. Auvi-Q is back on the market and also offers low to no cost options based on income and insurance. There is no excuse for not having one. Just Google "low cost or free Epi-pens" or "low cost EpiPen alternatives." Sometimes we must help ourselves. I'm disabled and broke myself - almost all drugs have low to no cost programs for people like us.
As well every damn year the gonverment cuts crap from Medicaid for the disabled like me which is bs the Eppipen was one of the things they cut I also have to pay $200 I don't have now on bloodwork which I used to not have to which my mom pays it for me which I feel really bad for because she has over $1mill in doctors bills
Hints why she asked the girl cooking what the ingredients were!!!! All the cook had to do was BE HONEST!!!!!! That would have prevented all of this. Its astonishing how many of you people want to try and defend a person that lied haha. Society has truly taken a turn for the worst.
It's fake because its really hard to find bacon without traces of soy. And she also made pancakes and hash browns xD
Agree...even though I dont carry a epi pen...everyone knows around me that I'm allergic to bees..if I'm with someone hanging out I tell them so they know
AGAIN, I understand how irresponsible it seems to be on both sides, but IT'S NOT OK to alter people's food and then claim to be of no offense and offer no restitution for because "you didn't know the person was allergic" to the food... that you tricked them into, BY LYING, eating. Long story short, Erin needed a lesson in PERSONAL boundaries that cost a her felony conviction and the victim should PROBABLY cook for themselves since, for WHATEVER reason, she doesn't like to reveal allergies that may cause death. Now the judge COULD have ordered payment maybe, IMO and explained WHY she COULD have been convicted of a felony.🤷🏾♂️ #duh
Exactly… OP is i no need to disclose allergy if there is no reason to expect it to be the issue… Myself, I have problems with soy as well - it boost a hell lot of other allergies, which I manage just fine - like dust, pollen… However, I'm not going around, explaining everyone… If I'm being given something and told it's bacon, I expect zero or minimal soy content that "I'll manage" and thus I have no reason to disclose anything… After all - for me it's about comfort, not life/death thing… And for clarity: While vegan pseudo-bacon / pseudo-burgers taste weirdly, they are not so much far off from cheap real bacon with unfortunate choice of spices… OP supposedly comes from poor conditions, thus maybe able to only afford low quality food, that doesn't taste that much better than pseudo-meat… …thus only realising it once poisoning started to take an effect, roughly 10 minutes later…
I have anaphylaxis and take it seriosly. The author clearly did not. It's very hard to believe this story is real, as no one with anaphylaxis could possibly be this stupid and live.
Good point on the BS. makes much more sense than somebody getting a felony for serving non-meat bacon
When you have deathly allergies it's deathly stupid not to tell about it. Sure, cook was a bit of a smug jerk but this person with allergy would've won a Darwin award in the 19th century, AND she didn't even carry an epi pen despite her allergy.
I have to agree. My whole concern is that I read here that Erin didn't think she owed anything behind this. NOT the SMARTEST approach band MAYBE morning coffees weren't drunk yet, BUT a ROOMMATE should PROBABLY know of any allergies AND where an EpiPen is in the case of an emergency... and pay or offer to pay when something THEY did causes harm. 😅😆 🤣🥲
They don't need to know, unless there is a need to explain reason for refusing that soy-filled cake… I also do not tell everyone around - I just avoid soy-rich food and keep high on antihistamines in my blood in case I miss something… So, I would also consider bacon to be perfectly safe and got poisoned…
If this is even real, you have no idea what her symptoms are vs yours. If she almost died, eating food cooked by a person she didn't even know yet, she wasn't too worried about it. People with reactions that severe are vigilant about what they eat. But I'm also calling BS.
If you have a dinner party, do you ask whether anyone has allergies every single time? No, because you assume everyone is a well-adjusted individual who won't try to ruin your life by charging you with a felony if they have an allergic reaction.
Ummm I absolutely ask every time. I cook things for my students at treats and I'm always careful to get all allergy info every semester so that I don't bring in something that can kill someone. I also know that allergies can appear at any time in someone's life so I would always ask beforehand so could prepare safe food. Edited to add: if I were a guest I talk to the host before the meal is planned so I know what allergens are being used. I don't expect a whole new meal made just for me - I just want to make sure the foods I do eat are safe. I've even offered to bring my own meal to be warmed in the microwave to make it easier for the host.
I never ask anyone I serve food to if they have any allergies and I never will. If they have an allergy they better know it and disclose it. And there are no laws that require a person serving food in a home or casual non commercial environment to disclose the ingredients in advance to those eating it. This story is fake and ridiculous.
I have an allergy to certain food colourings, not even a bad one that would kill me but enough that my throat feels very sore and scratchy and sometimes I break out in a bad rash for days after. But I always tell people when you're doing something where food is involved simply because I don't want to feel uncomfortable for days. If it could literally kill me I'd be even more cautious. Seems so weird to not tell people about it. If someone says they have an allergy people make 100% sure that product isn't present, if they just ask for ingredients you don't instantly assume allergy. Lots of people say "what's in this?" out of curiosity.
Right. It's probably a good idea to ask. But it's the person with the allergy that is risking his/her life. It sounds like the OP just wanted to go this route. "Ah ha I have a deathly allergy to soy but I'm just gonna eat it this without confirmation so I can say Gotcha!" It's stupid. That was a harsh sentence for someone who wasn't being malicious too. I'm on the fence but leaning way over to the BS side.
No, but if anyone asks, I list all ingredients, particularly allergens… And myself I do not disclose, I just go for clearly soy-less food or I ask for content… (Not deadly for me though, even high amounts result in just vision impairment and heavy breathing for few hours)
I dont think she sux at all. I did that same exact thing 2 my step dad recently. All I was trying to do was get an older person who I knew would NEVER try a meat substitute unless they didnt know about it, 2 try it cuz we have about 2 yrs left 2 save this damn planet and raising animals 4 meat is the top contributer 2 climate change. I used 2 b a HUGE meat eater and now I only eat it a few times a month and try 2 stick 2 vegan when I can. Also if youve ever seen a factory farming undercover vid youde never want 2 eat meat again. I was TRYING 2 do the right thing and stop as much suffering as I could & doin wat little I could 2 reduce my fam's carbon footprint. Id expect someone with a deadly allergy 2 TELL ME cuz that's THEIR responsibility!! Cooking some1 a meal IS a nice thing 2 do no matter if u give them fake meat or not. If hed said "I need 2 kno whats in this cuz I'm allergic 2 stuff" then OBVI id tell him it wasn't real meat. Even real frozen meat balls could contain soy tho!
You're absolutely pathrtic!!!! She specifically asked the gril what was in it for a reason! All that girl had to do was "BE HONEST" and the entire situation could have been avoided. The girl who ended up in the hospital had zero obligation to tell anyone about her allergies let alone some person she had known for less then 24 hours!
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It's not her responsibility to tell her. She asked the ingredients and the new girl lied. Is she supposed to tell her just in case the girl is lying? If someone asks you the ingredients in a meal you made, it's for a reason. She lied and almost killed someone, end of story.
This story is so ridiculously fake. She can't tell the difference just by look of imitation bacon? She is deathly allergic to soy and doesn't disclose that to a roommate she knows to be a vegetarian ( who just happens to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast)? Whoever made up this story is stupid. The main character is stupid and a scumbag. And anyone who actually believes this story is pretty stupid as well, and should learn some critical thinking skills.
OP absolutely should have disclosed her allergies, no matter what the food was. My son has a life-threatening allergy to pineapple, and the very first thing he tells people when they invite him to have a meal is, “Just so you know, I have a very severe allergy to pineapple.” Before he sits down, he then reminds them of the allergy and asks about the ingredients of anything he’s not sure about. It may have saved his life one time when the host did not realize there was pineapple in the bottled sauce she used on the chicken; only discovering it when my son asked to read the ingredients off the bottle. Yes, roommate is the a**hole for pulling the bait-and-switch, but OP is responsible for informing anyone serving her food that she has an allergy that can kill her.
The thing I have the most problem with is the fact that someone believes fake bacon is real pork bacon 🥓 😐. I've seen it all and eaten tons of different brands and not one kind of fake bacon remotely looks like real pork bacon. It looks closer to begging strips for dogs, honestly. I have a hard time finding it believable that the OP didn't really question the authenticity of the meat based on looks alone, not to mention the smell is far different also. This is just nuts.
Load More Replies... I have an issue with that as well. I have been cooking for my vegetarian husband for 20 years, and I have never found a bacon alternative that is ANYWHERE close to mimicking actual bacon. The texture itself is way different than actual bacon, never mind the taste. It cooks up stiff and cakey, nothing like actual meat.
I agree that stuff is obviously very fake. Plus I know when any food I'm allergic to is cooked, tiny molecules of allergens are released. I can be on opposite side of the house but if someone starts cooking seafood I will immediately get severe asthma attack and start getting anaphylaxis. So I find it suspicious that allergy person was in the house that whole time and never even felt ill while the fakon was cooking.
I don't have any food allergies but I have a latex allergy and many medication allergies and when the latex allergy was just beginning to creep up, I would start to get a very itchy nose watering eyes and tingling itchy lips that would burn like windburn if I blew up a balloon. So I understand what you mean. I wonder also why the court, especially, didn't think she had more responsibility for herself in the situation. It's really crazy. It's sus for sure and she ruined someones life over it. I hope karma is vengeful bitch where she's concerned.
I have to say it, the point of LAW is to protect people from things things done by other folks that are more educated on or aware of that cause and to ensure possibility of recourse when people just won't pay when they hurt someone. NOW, would I consider Erin's actions FELONIOUS? PROBABLY not. Misinterpretation of the reason for rule and law there IMO.
If you want to bring the law into it, it says the law is for people who have "intent to harm". The roommate had no intent to harm as she was not made aware of the allergy. She couldn't possibly know she was harming her by feeding her soy. Those laws are made for people who were trying to poison someone intentionally to harm them. For God's sake, the girl just made breakfast for her new roommates. Does it really make more sense to you that she would try to hurt a roommate on day 2 and risk being homeless? Something sounds very sus about this story. At BEST, she should share the bill but it was not a felony action.
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Soy has to be ingested due the difference in makeup. Look it up.
Ikr fake bacon is nothing like the real thing, not even turkey bacon comes close haha
Not to mention that you would hardly ever find a vegetarian that would cook meat for someone. The OP even stated it tasted off. EVERYONE knows vegetarians eat a lot of soy and if I had a deathly allergy to something I would be sure to let a vegetarian know they cannot use it in the house before they moved in.
Talking about "Beggin Strips", I've seen some s**t store brand bacon day is all I'm saying.
You are so right. That what I thought when I was reading the story.
But was it really a bait and switch? The author clearly said the new roommate is a vegetarian, my question is what did they think she was going to cook with, seeing how she herself( new roommate) will also be eating the breakfast.
my thought at first: whoa a vegetarian will Cook bacon for her? really?
It is a bait and switch because she asked her to her face and was told it was bacon. She was lied to. How are people defending the liar here?
How can you possibly believe this story is real. Sure, she had a deadly allergy to soy and knows a vegetarian is making breakfast and she just asks what's in it while saying nothing of her allergy. Get real. The fake op should have died and been given a Darwin Award. That would be a better story. Moral of that story... Don't be an idiot and disclose your deadly allergies to anyone serving you food and make sure they know exactly what was in the food and anything they used to prepare it.
I developed an allergy to bell peppers later on in life when my auto immune condition became active. Thankfully it's not anaphylaxis, but it's pretty miserable in that, as the allergist explained, I get hives in my GI tract (leading to exactly what you're thinking about 15 min after the first bite). I always check ingredients for myself and ask for seasonings to be left off burgers/steaks/fries except for S&P when I'm out. You have to advocate for yourself if you don't want to be sick, because nobody else knows what it's going to feel like but you.
Hints why she asked the girl cooking what she was cooking!!!! Its amazing we are now in a society where a girl can straight up lie which resulted in someome being hospitalized and then she is the one who gets defended. All she had to do was TELL THE TRUTH!!!!!!!!! Place the responsibility where it belongs.
No, the OP isn't. The roommate is responsible for not lying about what's in food. An allergy medical condition you are not obligated to share with anyone unless you want to. She asked the ingredients and was lied to, end of story. It is in no way her fault that she was lied to and saying she should have told her to prevent being lied to is some next level mental gymnastics.
Really? Where did she ask "Is there any soy in this food"? Where did the roommate say "Nope. No soy." The soy allergy girl is responsible for disclosing her deadly allergies, especially to a known vegetarian cooking her a meal. End of fake story. You could use some mental exercise to learn how to identify clearly made up stories.
So take this example, I go to a bar and order a cuba libre with diet coke, but the bartender decides to screw with my drink because they're out of Cola zero and after a nice night out I end up with hyperglycemia so bad I have to get an IV to flush out ketones. So am I to blame I FaiLEd tO DiscLoSE my DiAbeTes to an effing bartender and dude decided sugar is ok for everyone? you do not fak with peoples food.
That's not a good analogy. One you would have to add in the fact that you have to ask what's in the drink. Two, a customer/server relationship is very different from a roommate relationship. I agree that what the roommate did was wrong, but as someone who also has a severe allergy, you always have to loo out for yourself.
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So, you don’t believe in medical privacy? For whatever reason she may have not wanted to be specific. Which is why she PROACTIVELY asked the ingredients. Bacon is pork. It is specific. Erin admitted she wanted to trick them into eating a meatless meat (which isn’t being nice, btw)and lied about an ingredient. Who sits down at your table and asks for ingredients? People who can’t have certain ingredients and who are evaluating what they can and can’t eat. She evaluated the bacon as bacon. Erin purposefully deceived her causing the financial crisis that ensued. California penal code (as mentioned above) along with most states considers this one act of not disclosing an ingredient felony food tampering. Precisely for the results that occurred.
She was just being a typical smug early 20 something trying to expose her new friends to new things. Not some mustache twirling villian. If you're deathly allergic, or even just have a reaction, and you didn't prepare it, state it plainly that you have allergies. You should never trust your life to someone elses powers of deduction.
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It's not powers of deduction. She asked the ingredients and was lied to. Lied to. It's her fault for not telling new girl when she asked for the information and was lied to? So she nearly died because she was lied to about the ingredients she expressly asked about, but it's her fault for not letting her know? That's some twisted sense of responsibility.
You can't have medical privacy in the situation where you are living with a person who is severely allergic, especially if it's something as common as soy and living with a vegetarian. The roomate in this situation was a d**k for lying, but even if she had made normal bacon here would be a constant risk of accidental cross contamination. What if she had cooked her own breakfast in the same pan, or used Soy milk in the pancakes. Or left dishes from a Soy meal she had made in the sink and the poster did the dishes later not knowing? Soy is also contained in a lot of other products, even some processed meat products have it added as it gives the product a smoother texture, so even non vegetarian products such as burgers or sausages could be a trigger if she doesn't disclose it
So, you don't believe in common sense and knowledge? You're giving OP credit for "proactively" asking what the ingredients are at the last minute but you're saying that OP had no reason to PROACTIVELY tell the new, known to be vegetarian, roommate that she has a deadly allergy to some of the foods the new roommate may eat before the roommate made a rent agreement and moved in? I'd be willing to bet that this didn't play out as the AITA script would like us to believe. OP would have had no legal standing once it was found out that she didn't make her allergies known.
I agree that it makes no sense that if you are living by with a new person and you have a deathly allergy, why would you not tell them about it immediately. Especially if they are vegetarian because soy is a very common vegetarian ingredient. And certainly while she was sitting down to eat something she had made for her, why wouldn't you at that point tell her about your allergy. This doesn't make sense.
Yes! OP needed to have said something. This post seems fake partially because the narrator seems to be almost desperately looking for something sensational to happen, and they make that happen by blatantly and stubbornly keeping her deadly allergy as a secret (as do the supposed best-friend roomates who also strangely say nothing as this plays out), in a situation when any fully coherent individual suffering from an allergy of this magnitude would disclose the severity of their allergy, i.e. anyone else would've said, "This has no soy in it, right? I'm deathly allergic to soy."
Third choice with severe allergies and not wanting to disclose your personal information is DON'T EAT THE F*****G FOOD. I know someone with several severe food allergies. She doesn't eat anything she didn't prepare herself in her oen kitchen. Op is an irresponsible asshole. New roomate is a sneaky liar. ESH.
Medical privacy has no place when someone comes to my house for a meal and could potentially die from something I make for them when it could be very easily avoided by asking. 98.9% of people who have allergies with serious enough effects are not going to balk at telling you they have anaphylaxis to peanuts, gluten, dairy, soy, mustard, nitrates, etc.
As a vegetarian, I would have been furious if the roles were reversed and someone had tricked me into eating meat. I would never, ever lie to someone about food. It is an aboslute no-go (you never know who might have allergies or relgious reasons for not eating certain foods, especially 'unclean' meats like pig meat). Allergies aside, the new flatmate was absolutely in the wrong and suing for the medical costs seems reasonable. Having her charged with a felony is completely over the top though. Everyone is a bit stupid at that age and being sued would have been 'lesson' enough. A felony will ruin her for life. The authorn should have informed her of any allergies before having the new flatmate move in, and defintely before letting her into the kitchen. I accidently sent my flatmate to hospital at that age because I didn't wash-up a jar of pesto and left it in the sink once. Thankfully we weren't in the USA. Anything can happen with allergies! It was irresponsible not to be clear on tha
I totally agree with you. I have a severe allergy to camphor, which can be in medicines and cosmetics. I tell everybody I work with or live with that vicks vapor rub etc could be a hospital visit because I really want to avoid the experience. Most allergic people I know are pretty fast to put the info out there.
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Yes the flatmate was wrong for the subterfuge but, according to the story told by OP, OP never told the flatmate about any allergy, deadly or otherwise. What the flatmate did was childish there is no doubt but that it turned as serious as it did is 100% OP's fault.
It's against the law for a reason. You can't mess w peoples food. It's the same as giving drugs or medicine to people wo their knowledge or saying it's Tylenol when it's really aspirin what if this girl had died? The roommate would definitely had went to prison for manslaughter bc she lied about what she was serving doesn't matter if she's nice.
The law in California refers to adding things to the food that are *KNOWINGLY* harmful. I imagine it's the same in most places. She did not know, therefore that law does not apply and she should not be guilty of that particular felony.
That's why I think this story is false. The roommate did not tamper with food. She prepared a none poisonous breakfast. Sure there is no soy on bacon but there are MANY common place items that may contain traces of soy. It just depends on the food processors or packers. The actions here don't rise to the level of a felony. I don't believe they rise to the level of food tampering.
Erin being convicted of a felony because her negligent roommate didn't bother to disclose her soy allergy to Erin is really messed up. The legal thing behind this mishap is over the top. When you or your child has food allergies, it's your responsibility to make sure your food is s safe to eat. Even if it means preparing it yourself or sending it prepared.
She didn't mess with the food or replace it. All she did was cook breakfast.
However the roommate was unaware of OP allergy. Now Erin was trying to be nice and prepare breakfast. The accountability falls on the author of story. Her failure to not provide this crucial info to Erin. The author has food allergies that are severe so it's her responsibility to make sure her food is safe. Prepare her own food.
I have severe food allergies and I'm very proactive about making sure any food that I don't cook myself is fully safe to eat. Just telling the vegan that she has severe food allergies would have probably made the vegan come clean. Allergy girl is trying to avoid any of the responsibility. Sorry but a lot of responsibility comes along with severe allergies and you need to be more proactive to protect your own health. It's not a simplistic point of view. It's what life is like with allergies.
And new girl tried to avoid the responsibility of the medical bills after lying to someone about what's in their food in some attempt to push their lifestyle on someone and then refusing to pay for the damage. But yeah, allergy girl is in the wrong... This is why I'm glad we have laws.
I don't think anyone is saying she's completely off the hook for medical bills. At the very least they should have shared because they were both immature about the situation. Bills would've been much smaller if allergy girl carried EpiPen, Benadryl, or steroids, all of which people with severe allergies carry with them. Her not taking any of them caused the 2 day stay. Otherwise ER would've sent her home same day with Prednisone after Benadryl shot.
The problem here is that the felony charges came first. OP said her uncle, a lawyer, explained she would win a lawsuit if the roommate was found guilty of the tampering charges. This was a deliberate 1-2 punch to ensure a win on the coverage of medical costs.
Thank you! I can't figure out why no one gets that she really didn't want her to have a feeling, just cover medications, which she my. Not to mention that she specifically asked if it was real bacon before eating and the girl said yes. Additionally, she isn't going to get any money. The medical bills were covered. Honestly, I agree that it's probably a fake post for a number of reasons both stated here and not mentioned. If it is real, I would advise her to reach out through mutual friend and explain that it was always just about the medical bills and if the girl ever wants to get the felony removed from her record that she would vouch for it.
As a vegetarian I disagree. Vegetarians are usually so for ethical reasons. Omnivores eat plant based foods as well as meat, and, usually don't have ethical reasons for not eating plant based foods. So there's quite a bit of a contextual difference in the roles being reversed. I do agree though that if someone has food allergies they should absolutely be upfront with their roommates from the beginning. That's a pretty important piece of information. Even in my kids school students have to disclose their allergies so each class can post outside the door in case there are ever any foods in the classes, and there are certain tables kids with allergies are supposed to sit at in the dining hall.
I call b.s., most people don't know too many people with food allergies, and have no clue how to cook around one, and for anyone with a life threatening anything, that doesn't immediately tell the people SHE LIVES WITH, is most definitely the a**hole, or maybe even suicidal, the new roomie pulled a prank, a prank she had no clue could've possibly hurt anyone, I also don't believe she "refused" to help with the bill,... All that being said, I think this whole post is plain old b.s., too many things don't add up
So there’s an article in Bloomberg that details how some “plant” based fake-meat manufacturers are discretely using insects to get protein into their fake-meat patties. I was like no way, there would be more lawsuits, you’d hear the vegetarian community in an uproar......but this IS Bloomberg News, a fairly trustworthy source for information. Some “plant” based fake-meats might have mealworm protein in it. Just sayin.
"unclean' meats like pig meat" pork is just as clean as any other common and uncommon meat and has the same risk factors as all others if consumed raw or undercooked. The idea that pork is dirty is based on religious beliefs and antiquated practices or a lack of that allowed parasites to infect pigs. These same lack of proper livestock management was not limited to pigs and was also commonplace in beef and poultry farming. If you want to see where parasites are more commonplace then take a look at seafood, wild caught fish will have thin hair like worms in the meat.
I wrote "unclean" in inverted commas to indicate its use as a specific term relating to religious beliefs. If you're the host, you have a duty to respect the dietary requirements of your guests whether you agree with them or not. FYI, a lot of seafood is also considered 'unclean'. If you don't know what requirements your guests have, then vegan-nut-free is the lowest easily doable common denominator. It's not really that hard.
I agree. I have to go back to veganism for health reasons. And whenever I have food with my friends, I won't switch things or try to coerce them. If they look at my food and they're curious, I'll ask if they want to try it. It's not that hard. If they say no then they don't want it. There it is leave it alone. I couldn't imagine switching food on people. That's f****** horrible. I will say though that the op is a raging piece of s***. I have a severe allergy to shrimp, my husband has a severe allergy and mushrooms. We don't ask people what's in the food. That is such an open-ended question and it doesn't present any sort of urgency. We will die and hence this is an urgent situation even though it's just food. So we let everyone know we will die if we eat this is there any of that in there. It's not that hard. And I got to tell you that someone who doesn't recognize fake meat especially bacon at sight, and doesn't ask these questions, I have to ask if she did it on purpose just to get $
There are coaches of a high school in the US that are being sued for 4 million $ bc they forced a Jewish boy that cannot eat pork bc of his religious views to eat pizza that they picked the pepperoni off of. They will lose too bc you cannot mess w peoples food plain and simple. It's against the law for a reason. Don't lie about food you serve and don't mess w anyones food. I worked w a guy when I was bartending and I caught him picking his nose and putting it into a customers burger. The customer was a straight up horrible pos but my god you just don't do this ever it absolutely criminal. I threw the food in the trash and told my boss. They let him go. They didn't press charges but I wish they had bc god knows what else he'll do. It should most definitely be a felony to mess with or lie about food
The kid story is a case of religious harassment or something similar, not poisoning (or food tampering). There's a ton of laws which cover messing with people's food, it's almost certainly illegal, but the question is how severe of a crime is that particular instance of food fuckery. Obviously intentional poisoning should be a felony charge. But things like deceiving someone about the ingredients might be a lesser crime depending on the intent.
You are assuming that the OP is truthful because they posted a random AITA on reddit and boredpanda wrote a story about it. There is no evidence that this slice of life isn't full fantasy. The fact that the individual in question would be charged with a felony under these circumstances seems extremely unlikely. Even by reading the law what the girl did didn't rise to the level of food tampering. The roommate prepared a meal. It wasn't poisoned. She offered and they let her. Fibbing about the protein is not the same as tampering. It's negligent, perhaps criminally negligent. It's not a felony charge. I think ANY attorney could make the argument that calling immitation bacon, bacon is not deceit. I cannot imagine a district attorney would think it was worth the time not to plea this out. Why would you charge a college girl with a felony who didn't have any intent to hurt anyone and doesn't have some looming criminal record?
Pretty sure op can't sue for the medical costs unless her felony is proven.
No no, they can always sue but as stated in post the likelihood of succeeding is much higher with a directly related conviction to lean on.
Well you should be smart enough to tell your roommate that you are allergic to soy or tell her you'll prepare your own breakfast that way there's no mistakes. When you have a food allergy like that, it's your responsibility to take care of yourself and make sure you don't eat the wrong things.
Yep. You don't lie about what you're serving to prove a point or try to force your dietary choices on others. Should the OP have told her about the allergy? Absolutely, especially since she said she was vegetarian. As a vegetarian... I don't eat soy, especially when it's been done up to be like meat. I personally find it vile, but to each their own. A felony charge does seem a bit much, but maybe that was the only way? I'm not familiar enough with the American legal system to make a call on that one.
Roommate situation with deadly allergies and nobody tells the new girl? New girl sucks, but the lack of responsibility on all parties involved here is stupefying.
That is the reason I'm calling bs on this one. Anybody with anaphylaxis will tell cos their life depends on it.
Load More Replies... Anyone deathly allergic to soy would have an eppi pin. Anyone deathly allergic to soy would need to know if ANY processed foods were used in making the breakfast. Anyone deathly allergic to soy would make their own breakfast.
I dont have an eppi pen because Medicaid don't cover it no more and they are hella expensive cost over 1,000 bucks in my state which I only make $800 in SSI and I have $600 in rent to pay sorry I'd rather watch my allergies like a hawk then pay that much money which I can't afford so I ask every restaurant if things are made with pork/coconut products and I know when people lie to me as well as when I'm sick I'm allergic to sulfa drugs/penicillin too so doctors walk on eggshells to treat me with the flu or anything or having surgeries which I've had 3 of them this year I am severely disabled/severe health issues due to a parent did illegal drugs most states Medicaid stopped covering Eppipen
Ask your doc if he/she is willing to prescribe a vial of epinephrine injection and a few syringes (with needles, obviously). You'll be able to get several EpiPen shots out of the vial for about ¼ the cost of a single regular EpiPen. (Your doc will best be able to tell you how to do this, I'm just telling you the workaround my stepdad's doc came up with for him). Sometimes insurance covers this, sometimes not. But $50 for 3-4 epi shots is certainly better than $200+ for a single EpiPen.
If I could do your workaround you found out about I would but sadly I can't hun I'm not upset I'm more upset by our damn gonverment more than anything treating us Disabled People like this they have done it for over 100 years
People on Disability do get health bills alot you people who work don't realize it the gonverment don't care about us there is even a marriage ban for us we are just numbers actually to the GOP reminds me of the Jews in WW2
I told her also I'd rip her a new one if I didn't get my way my mom supported me too but still I was refused to get myself fixed ridiculous. That's how bad the health care system is they don't care about our rights neither people born as I was with Disabilities and Health Issues that's 'completely genetic'
What I do when she said that and said I'm too young too? I went off on her and said that to the gonverment we women are just babymakers cause old fogeys run the damn US and it's true hun who think they can have control over our Wombs even mine! Which this womb chooses no I'd rather off myself than give Birth to severely disabled/health issues kids like me who suffers like I do 24/7
I get imaging of all.kinds for my shunt every month cause my shunt doctor requests it to check if it's working right and my tubing ain't wearing out cause that can kill me if the shunt malfunctions or tubing wears out so they image my head down to my stomach first they do MRI of my head which my shunt is the kind they can do it with it it's a special one imagine the cost of that shunt if the doc didn't get permission for coverage from Medicaid then they image my chest, neck and tummy $50 a pop each image even MRI last time I saw was $100 Medicaid tho I'm disabled has been cut so severely
I actually got a letter from Medicaid saying no eppipen will no longer be covered by my insurance entirely as well as I can't afford $50 a pop for injections I also cause my allergens and also a other conditions I have I have to buy necessities that take most my spending money after I pay $600 in rent. Yes I may have $200 left yet every month I buy a phone card $50 and my meds is $10-15 a pop my hygiene products cost around total 30-45 bucks my pads are in a big pack $30 cause I have a cycle disorder tho I take birth control I still bleed heavy so I get the biggest brand in a huge pack I usually by 2 a month cause I go through pads like eating candy in one month and in one month I go through one and a half a pack. So gotta buy 2 more and if I'm broke my mom and step dad pitches in including with any health bills I have I mentioned. I'm even being charge $50 a pop for imaging now for my shunt which when Trump was in office it never happened or being charged for $200 in blood work. I get
Look to see if there are any food banks in your area. Ask them about healthcare and drug coverage. A lot of them know about programs that can help pay for drugs. Our local church is hooked up with the food bank and once a month they will give out a personal care box that includes soap, shampoo, deodorant, pads/tampons, all sorts of stuff. As for your medical costs, explain nicely to your doctor your fixed income situation. A lot of times Drs will lower their rates or copay rates for someone who is broke. The key is asking nicely.
I'm not the only Disabled person who thinks this we all do hun. The marriage ban goes like this if you get marriage they consider your partners money part of your income too so they will take your insurance and money completely away if you get married so we don't have rights at all we disabled people tho we are mostly born this way I was. Hell I want to get my ovaries fixed cause I don't want any children by my genes will suffer from my kind of Disabilities and I was refused by my OBGYN for my cycle disorder cause tho I said my reason not to get have kids was my Disabilities/severe health issues she told me I'll change my mind and have kids
I know, I meant to tell my regular doctor about my wish and this incident, but I've been having surgery after surgery caused by my health issues, the health issues is caused by my biodad doing drugs and impregnating my mother with me which doctors have found this out why I have such issues. He was a heavy drug addict did everything out there. My doctor says I must get checked once a year for ovarian cancer too since I have a cycle disorder can cause ovarian cancer as well it runs strongly on my biodad's side, so I'm a high risk and I told that OBGYN that she didn't care in the least either. Even my dentists don't listen to me about my bad teeth I want removed rotting away by being born without enamel it's sad really
Mylan (EpiPen company) has free and low cost programs on their websites. There are generic Epi-pens available for $10. Auvi-Q is back on the market and also offers low to no cost options based on income and insurance. There is no excuse for not having one. Just Google "low cost or free Epi-pens" or "low cost EpiPen alternatives." Sometimes we must help ourselves. I'm disabled and broke myself - almost all drugs have low to no cost programs for people like us.
As well every damn year the gonverment cuts crap from Medicaid for the disabled like me which is bs the Eppipen was one of the things they cut I also have to pay $200 I don't have now on bloodwork which I used to not have to which my mom pays it for me which I feel really bad for because she has over $1mill in doctors bills
Hints why she asked the girl cooking what the ingredients were!!!! All the cook had to do was BE HONEST!!!!!! That would have prevented all of this. Its astonishing how many of you people want to try and defend a person that lied haha. Society has truly taken a turn for the worst.
It's fake because its really hard to find bacon without traces of soy. And she also made pancakes and hash browns xD
Agree...even though I dont carry a epi pen...everyone knows around me that I'm allergic to bees..if I'm with someone hanging out I tell them so they know
AGAIN, I understand how irresponsible it seems to be on both sides, but IT'S NOT OK to alter people's food and then claim to be of no offense and offer no restitution for because "you didn't know the person was allergic" to the food... that you tricked them into, BY LYING, eating. Long story short, Erin needed a lesson in PERSONAL boundaries that cost a her felony conviction and the victim should PROBABLY cook for themselves since, for WHATEVER reason, she doesn't like to reveal allergies that may cause death. Now the judge COULD have ordered payment maybe, IMO and explained WHY she COULD have been convicted of a felony.🤷🏾♂️ #duh
Exactly… OP is i no need to disclose allergy if there is no reason to expect it to be the issue… Myself, I have problems with soy as well - it boost a hell lot of other allergies, which I manage just fine - like dust, pollen… However, I'm not going around, explaining everyone… If I'm being given something and told it's bacon, I expect zero or minimal soy content that "I'll manage" and thus I have no reason to disclose anything… After all - for me it's about comfort, not life/death thing… And for clarity: While vegan pseudo-bacon / pseudo-burgers taste weirdly, they are not so much far off from cheap real bacon with unfortunate choice of spices… OP supposedly comes from poor conditions, thus maybe able to only afford low quality food, that doesn't taste that much better than pseudo-meat… …thus only realising it once poisoning started to take an effect, roughly 10 minutes later…
I have anaphylaxis and take it seriosly. The author clearly did not. It's very hard to believe this story is real, as no one with anaphylaxis could possibly be this stupid and live.
Good point on the BS. makes much more sense than somebody getting a felony for serving non-meat bacon
When you have deathly allergies it's deathly stupid not to tell about it. Sure, cook was a bit of a smug jerk but this person with allergy would've won a Darwin award in the 19th century, AND she didn't even carry an epi pen despite her allergy.
I have to agree. My whole concern is that I read here that Erin didn't think she owed anything behind this. NOT the SMARTEST approach band MAYBE morning coffees weren't drunk yet, BUT a ROOMMATE should PROBABLY know of any allergies AND where an EpiPen is in the case of an emergency... and pay or offer to pay when something THEY did causes harm. 😅😆 🤣🥲
They don't need to know, unless there is a need to explain reason for refusing that soy-filled cake… I also do not tell everyone around - I just avoid soy-rich food and keep high on antihistamines in my blood in case I miss something… So, I would also consider bacon to be perfectly safe and got poisoned…
If this is even real, you have no idea what her symptoms are vs yours. If she almost died, eating food cooked by a person she didn't even know yet, she wasn't too worried about it. People with reactions that severe are vigilant about what they eat. But I'm also calling BS.
If you have a dinner party, do you ask whether anyone has allergies every single time? No, because you assume everyone is a well-adjusted individual who won't try to ruin your life by charging you with a felony if they have an allergic reaction.
Ummm I absolutely ask every time. I cook things for my students at treats and I'm always careful to get all allergy info every semester so that I don't bring in something that can kill someone. I also know that allergies can appear at any time in someone's life so I would always ask beforehand so could prepare safe food. Edited to add: if I were a guest I talk to the host before the meal is planned so I know what allergens are being used. I don't expect a whole new meal made just for me - I just want to make sure the foods I do eat are safe. I've even offered to bring my own meal to be warmed in the microwave to make it easier for the host.
I never ask anyone I serve food to if they have any allergies and I never will. If they have an allergy they better know it and disclose it. And there are no laws that require a person serving food in a home or casual non commercial environment to disclose the ingredients in advance to those eating it. This story is fake and ridiculous.
I have an allergy to certain food colourings, not even a bad one that would kill me but enough that my throat feels very sore and scratchy and sometimes I break out in a bad rash for days after. But I always tell people when you're doing something where food is involved simply because I don't want to feel uncomfortable for days. If it could literally kill me I'd be even more cautious. Seems so weird to not tell people about it. If someone says they have an allergy people make 100% sure that product isn't present, if they just ask for ingredients you don't instantly assume allergy. Lots of people say "what's in this?" out of curiosity.
Right. It's probably a good idea to ask. But it's the person with the allergy that is risking his/her life. It sounds like the OP just wanted to go this route. "Ah ha I have a deathly allergy to soy but I'm just gonna eat it this without confirmation so I can say Gotcha!" It's stupid. That was a harsh sentence for someone who wasn't being malicious too. I'm on the fence but leaning way over to the BS side.
No, but if anyone asks, I list all ingredients, particularly allergens… And myself I do not disclose, I just go for clearly soy-less food or I ask for content… (Not deadly for me though, even high amounts result in just vision impairment and heavy breathing for few hours)
I dont think she sux at all. I did that same exact thing 2 my step dad recently. All I was trying to do was get an older person who I knew would NEVER try a meat substitute unless they didnt know about it, 2 try it cuz we have about 2 yrs left 2 save this damn planet and raising animals 4 meat is the top contributer 2 climate change. I used 2 b a HUGE meat eater and now I only eat it a few times a month and try 2 stick 2 vegan when I can. Also if youve ever seen a factory farming undercover vid youde never want 2 eat meat again. I was TRYING 2 do the right thing and stop as much suffering as I could & doin wat little I could 2 reduce my fam's carbon footprint. Id expect someone with a deadly allergy 2 TELL ME cuz that's THEIR responsibility!! Cooking some1 a meal IS a nice thing 2 do no matter if u give them fake meat or not. If hed said "I need 2 kno whats in this cuz I'm allergic 2 stuff" then OBVI id tell him it wasn't real meat. Even real frozen meat balls could contain soy tho!
You're absolutely pathrtic!!!! She specifically asked the gril what was in it for a reason! All that girl had to do was "BE HONEST" and the entire situation could have been avoided. The girl who ended up in the hospital had zero obligation to tell anyone about her allergies let alone some person she had known for less then 24 hours!
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It's not her responsibility to tell her. She asked the ingredients and the new girl lied. Is she supposed to tell her just in case the girl is lying? If someone asks you the ingredients in a meal you made, it's for a reason. She lied and almost killed someone, end of story.
This story is so ridiculously fake. She can't tell the difference just by look of imitation bacon? She is deathly allergic to soy and doesn't disclose that to a roommate she knows to be a vegetarian ( who just happens to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast)? Whoever made up this story is stupid. The main character is stupid and a scumbag. And anyone who actually believes this story is pretty stupid as well, and should learn some critical thinking skills.
OP absolutely should have disclosed her allergies, no matter what the food was. My son has a life-threatening allergy to pineapple, and the very first thing he tells people when they invite him to have a meal is, “Just so you know, I have a very severe allergy to pineapple.” Before he sits down, he then reminds them of the allergy and asks about the ingredients of anything he’s not sure about. It may have saved his life one time when the host did not realize there was pineapple in the bottled sauce she used on the chicken; only discovering it when my son asked to read the ingredients off the bottle. Yes, roommate is the a**hole for pulling the bait-and-switch, but OP is responsible for informing anyone serving her food that she has an allergy that can kill her.
The thing I have the most problem with is the fact that someone believes fake bacon is real pork bacon 🥓 😐. I've seen it all and eaten tons of different brands and not one kind of fake bacon remotely looks like real pork bacon. It looks closer to begging strips for dogs, honestly. I have a hard time finding it believable that the OP didn't really question the authenticity of the meat based on looks alone, not to mention the smell is far different also. This is just nuts.
Load More Replies... I have an issue with that as well. I have been cooking for my vegetarian husband for 20 years, and I have never found a bacon alternative that is ANYWHERE close to mimicking actual bacon. The texture itself is way different than actual bacon, never mind the taste. It cooks up stiff and cakey, nothing like actual meat.
I agree that stuff is obviously very fake. Plus I know when any food I'm allergic to is cooked, tiny molecules of allergens are released. I can be on opposite side of the house but if someone starts cooking seafood I will immediately get severe asthma attack and start getting anaphylaxis. So I find it suspicious that allergy person was in the house that whole time and never even felt ill while the fakon was cooking.
I don't have any food allergies but I have a latex allergy and many medication allergies and when the latex allergy was just beginning to creep up, I would start to get a very itchy nose watering eyes and tingling itchy lips that would burn like windburn if I blew up a balloon. So I understand what you mean. I wonder also why the court, especially, didn't think she had more responsibility for herself in the situation. It's really crazy. It's sus for sure and she ruined someones life over it. I hope karma is vengeful bitch where she's concerned.
I have to say it, the point of LAW is to protect people from things things done by other folks that are more educated on or aware of that cause and to ensure possibility of recourse when people just won't pay when they hurt someone. NOW, would I consider Erin's actions FELONIOUS? PROBABLY not. Misinterpretation of the reason for rule and law there IMO.
If you want to bring the law into it, it says the law is for people who have "intent to harm". The roommate had no intent to harm as she was not made aware of the allergy. She couldn't possibly know she was harming her by feeding her soy. Those laws are made for people who were trying to poison someone intentionally to harm them. For God's sake, the girl just made breakfast for her new roommates. Does it really make more sense to you that she would try to hurt a roommate on day 2 and risk being homeless? Something sounds very sus about this story. At BEST, she should share the bill but it was not a felony action.
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Soy has to be ingested due the difference in makeup. Look it up.
Ikr fake bacon is nothing like the real thing, not even turkey bacon comes close haha
Not to mention that you would hardly ever find a vegetarian that would cook meat for someone. The OP even stated it tasted off. EVERYONE knows vegetarians eat a lot of soy and if I had a deathly allergy to something I would be sure to let a vegetarian know they cannot use it in the house before they moved in.
Talking about "Beggin Strips", I've seen some s**t store brand bacon day is all I'm saying.
You are so right. That what I thought when I was reading the story.
But was it really a bait and switch? The author clearly said the new roommate is a vegetarian, my question is what did they think she was going to cook with, seeing how she herself( new roommate) will also be eating the breakfast.
my thought at first: whoa a vegetarian will Cook bacon for her? really?
It is a bait and switch because she asked her to her face and was told it was bacon. She was lied to. How are people defending the liar here?
How can you possibly believe this story is real. Sure, she had a deadly allergy to soy and knows a vegetarian is making breakfast and she just asks what's in it while saying nothing of her allergy. Get real. The fake op should have died and been given a Darwin Award. That would be a better story. Moral of that story... Don't be an idiot and disclose your deadly allergies to anyone serving you food and make sure they know exactly what was in the food and anything they used to prepare it.
I developed an allergy to bell peppers later on in life when my auto immune condition became active. Thankfully it's not anaphylaxis, but it's pretty miserable in that, as the allergist explained, I get hives in my GI tract (leading to exactly what you're thinking about 15 min after the first bite). I always check ingredients for myself and ask for seasonings to be left off burgers/steaks/fries except for S&P when I'm out. You have to advocate for yourself if you don't want to be sick, because nobody else knows what it's going to feel like but you.
Hints why she asked the girl cooking what she was cooking!!!! Its amazing we are now in a society where a girl can straight up lie which resulted in someome being hospitalized and then she is the one who gets defended. All she had to do was TELL THE TRUTH!!!!!!!!! Place the responsibility where it belongs.
No, the OP isn't. The roommate is responsible for not lying about what's in food. An allergy medical condition you are not obligated to share with anyone unless you want to. She asked the ingredients and was lied to, end of story. It is in no way her fault that she was lied to and saying she should have told her to prevent being lied to is some next level mental gymnastics.
Really? Where did she ask "Is there any soy in this food"? Where did the roommate say "Nope. No soy." The soy allergy girl is responsible for disclosing her deadly allergies, especially to a known vegetarian cooking her a meal. End of fake story. You could use some mental exercise to learn how to identify clearly made up stories.
So take this example, I go to a bar and order a cuba libre with diet coke, but the bartender decides to screw with my drink because they're out of Cola zero and after a nice night out I end up with hyperglycemia so bad I have to get an IV to flush out ketones. So am I to blame I FaiLEd tO DiscLoSE my DiAbeTes to an effing bartender and dude decided sugar is ok for everyone? you do not fak with peoples food.
That's not a good analogy. One you would have to add in the fact that you have to ask what's in the drink. Two, a customer/server relationship is very different from a roommate relationship. I agree that what the roommate did was wrong, but as someone who also has a severe allergy, you always have to loo out for yourself.
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So, you don’t believe in medical privacy? For whatever reason she may have not wanted to be specific. Which is why she PROACTIVELY asked the ingredients. Bacon is pork. It is specific. Erin admitted she wanted to trick them into eating a meatless meat (which isn’t being nice, btw)and lied about an ingredient. Who sits down at your table and asks for ingredients? People who can’t have certain ingredients and who are evaluating what they can and can’t eat. She evaluated the bacon as bacon. Erin purposefully deceived her causing the financial crisis that ensued. California penal code (as mentioned above) along with most states considers this one act of not disclosing an ingredient felony food tampering. Precisely for the results that occurred.
She was just being a typical smug early 20 something trying to expose her new friends to new things. Not some mustache twirling villian. If you're deathly allergic, or even just have a reaction, and you didn't prepare it, state it plainly that you have allergies. You should never trust your life to someone elses powers of deduction.
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It's not powers of deduction. She asked the ingredients and was lied to. Lied to. It's her fault for not telling new girl when she asked for the information and was lied to? So she nearly died because she was lied to about the ingredients she expressly asked about, but it's her fault for not letting her know? That's some twisted sense of responsibility.
You can't have medical privacy in the situation where you are living with a person who is severely allergic, especially if it's something as common as soy and living with a vegetarian. The roomate in this situation was a d**k for lying, but even if she had made normal bacon here would be a constant risk of accidental cross contamination. What if she had cooked her own breakfast in the same pan, or used Soy milk in the pancakes. Or left dishes from a Soy meal she had made in the sink and the poster did the dishes later not knowing? Soy is also contained in a lot of other products, even some processed meat products have it added as it gives the product a smoother texture, so even non vegetarian products such as burgers or sausages could be a trigger if she doesn't disclose it
So, you don't believe in common sense and knowledge? You're giving OP credit for "proactively" asking what the ingredients are at the last minute but you're saying that OP had no reason to PROACTIVELY tell the new, known to be vegetarian, roommate that she has a deadly allergy to some of the foods the new roommate may eat before the roommate made a rent agreement and moved in? I'd be willing to bet that this didn't play out as the AITA script would like us to believe. OP would have had no legal standing once it was found out that she didn't make her allergies known.
I agree that it makes no sense that if you are living by with a new person and you have a deathly allergy, why would you not tell them about it immediately. Especially if they are vegetarian because soy is a very common vegetarian ingredient. And certainly while she was sitting down to eat something she had made for her, why wouldn't you at that point tell her about your allergy. This doesn't make sense.
Yes! OP needed to have said something. This post seems fake partially because the narrator seems to be almost desperately looking for something sensational to happen, and they make that happen by blatantly and stubbornly keeping her deadly allergy as a secret (as do the supposed best-friend roomates who also strangely say nothing as this plays out), in a situation when any fully coherent individual suffering from an allergy of this magnitude would disclose the severity of their allergy, i.e. anyone else would've said, "This has no soy in it, right? I'm deathly allergic to soy."
Third choice with severe allergies and not wanting to disclose your personal information is DON'T EAT THE F*****G FOOD. I know someone with several severe food allergies. She doesn't eat anything she didn't prepare herself in her oen kitchen. Op is an irresponsible asshole. New roomate is a sneaky liar. ESH.
Medical privacy has no place when someone comes to my house for a meal and could potentially die from something I make for them when it could be very easily avoided by asking. 98.9% of people who have allergies with serious enough effects are not going to balk at telling you they have anaphylaxis to peanuts, gluten, dairy, soy, mustard, nitrates, etc.
As a vegetarian, I would have been furious if the roles were reversed and someone had tricked me into eating meat. I would never, ever lie to someone about food. It is an aboslute no-go (you never know who might have allergies or relgious reasons for not eating certain foods, especially 'unclean' meats like pig meat). Allergies aside, the new flatmate was absolutely in the wrong and suing for the medical costs seems reasonable. Having her charged with a felony is completely over the top though. Everyone is a bit stupid at that age and being sued would have been 'lesson' enough. A felony will ruin her for life. The authorn should have informed her of any allergies before having the new flatmate move in, and defintely before letting her into the kitchen. I accidently sent my flatmate to hospital at that age because I didn't wash-up a jar of pesto and left it in the sink once. Thankfully we weren't in the USA. Anything can happen with allergies! It was irresponsible not to be clear on tha
I totally agree with you. I have a severe allergy to camphor, which can be in medicines and cosmetics. I tell everybody I work with or live with that vicks vapor rub etc could be a hospital visit because I really want to avoid the experience. Most allergic people I know are pretty fast to put the info out there.
Load More Replies... Yes the flatmate was wrong for the subterfuge but, according to the story told by OP, OP never told the flatmate about any allergy, deadly or otherwise. What the flatmate did was childish there is no doubt but that it turned as serious as it did is 100% OP's fault.
It's against the law for a reason. You can't mess w peoples food. It's the same as giving drugs or medicine to people wo their knowledge or saying it's Tylenol when it's really aspirin what if this girl had died? The roommate would definitely had went to prison for manslaughter bc she lied about what she was serving doesn't matter if she's nice.
The law in California refers to adding things to the food that are *KNOWINGLY* harmful. I imagine it's the same in most places. She did not know, therefore that law does not apply and she should not be guilty of that particular felony.
That's why I think this story is false. The roommate did not tamper with food. She prepared a none poisonous breakfast. Sure there is no soy on bacon but there are MANY common place items that may contain traces of soy. It just depends on the food processors or packers. The actions here don't rise to the level of a felony. I don't believe they rise to the level of food tampering.
Erin being convicted of a felony because her negligent roommate didn't bother to disclose her soy allergy to Erin is really messed up. The legal thing behind this mishap is over the top. When you or your child has food allergies, it's your responsibility to make sure your food is s safe to eat. Even if it means preparing it yourself or sending it prepared.
She didn't mess with the food or replace it. All she did was cook breakfast.
However the roommate was unaware of OP allergy. Now Erin was trying to be nice and prepare breakfast. The accountability falls on the author of story. Her failure to not provide this crucial info to Erin. The author has food allergies that are severe so it's her responsibility to make sure her food is safe. Prepare her own food.
I have severe food allergies and I'm very proactive about making sure any food that I don't cook myself is fully safe to eat. Just telling the vegan that she has severe food allergies would have probably made the vegan come clean. Allergy girl is trying to avoid any of the responsibility. Sorry but a lot of responsibility comes along with severe allergies and you need to be more proactive to protect your own health. It's not a simplistic point of view. It's what life is like with allergies.
And new girl tried to avoid the responsibility of the medical bills after lying to someone about what's in their food in some attempt to push their lifestyle on someone and then refusing to pay for the damage. But yeah, allergy girl is in the wrong... This is why I'm glad we have laws.
I don't think anyone is saying she's completely off the hook for medical bills. At the very least they should have shared because they were both immature about the situation. Bills would've been much smaller if allergy girl carried EpiPen, Benadryl, or steroids, all of which people with severe allergies carry with them. Her not taking any of them caused the 2 day stay. Otherwise ER would've sent her home same day with Prednisone after Benadryl shot.
The problem here is that the felony charges came first. OP said her uncle, a lawyer, explained she would win a lawsuit if the roommate was found guilty of the tampering charges. This was a deliberate 1-2 punch to ensure a win on the coverage of medical costs.
Thank you! I can't figure out why no one gets that she really didn't want her to have a feeling, just cover medications, which she my. Not to mention that she specifically asked if it was real bacon before eating and the girl said yes. Additionally, she isn't going to get any money. The medical bills were covered. Honestly, I agree that it's probably a fake post for a number of reasons both stated here and not mentioned. If it is real, I would advise her to reach out through mutual friend and explain that it was always just about the medical bills and if the girl ever wants to get the felony removed from her record that she would vouch for it.
As a vegetarian I disagree. Vegetarians are usually so for ethical reasons. Omnivores eat plant based foods as well as meat, and, usually don't have ethical reasons for not eating plant based foods. So there's quite a bit of a contextual difference in the roles being reversed. I do agree though that if someone has food allergies they should absolutely be upfront with their roommates from the beginning. That's a pretty important piece of information. Even in my kids school students have to disclose their allergies so each class can post outside the door in case there are ever any foods in the classes, and there are certain tables kids with allergies are supposed to sit at in the dining hall.
I call b.s., most people don't know too many people with food allergies, and have no clue how to cook around one, and for anyone with a life threatening anything, that doesn't immediately tell the people SHE LIVES WITH, is most definitely the a**hole, or maybe even suicidal, the new roomie pulled a prank, a prank she had no clue could've possibly hurt anyone, I also don't believe she "refused" to help with the bill,... All that being said, I think this whole post is plain old b.s., too many things don't add up
So there’s an article in Bloomberg that details how some “plant” based fake-meat manufacturers are discretely using insects to get protein into their fake-meat patties. I was like no way, there would be more lawsuits, you’d hear the vegetarian community in an uproar......but this IS Bloomberg News, a fairly trustworthy source for information. Some “plant” based fake-meats might have mealworm protein in it. Just sayin.
"unclean' meats like pig meat" pork is just as clean as any other common and uncommon meat and has the same risk factors as all others if consumed raw or undercooked. The idea that pork is dirty is based on religious beliefs and antiquated practices or a lack of that allowed parasites to infect pigs. These same lack of proper livestock management was not limited to pigs and was also commonplace in beef and poultry farming. If you want to see where parasites are more commonplace then take a look at seafood, wild caught fish will have thin hair like worms in the meat.
I wrote "unclean" in inverted commas to indicate its use as a specific term relating to religious beliefs. If you're the host, you have a duty to respect the dietary requirements of your guests whether you agree with them or not. FYI, a lot of seafood is also considered 'unclean'. If you don't know what requirements your guests have, then vegan-nut-free is the lowest easily doable common denominator. It's not really that hard.
I agree. I have to go back to veganism for health reasons. And whenever I have food with my friends, I won't switch things or try to coerce them. If they look at my food and they're curious, I'll ask if they want to try it. It's not that hard. If they say no then they don't want it. There it is leave it alone. I couldn't imagine switching food on people. That's f****** horrible. I will say though that the op is a raging piece of s***. I have a severe allergy to shrimp, my husband has a severe allergy and mushrooms. We don't ask people what's in the food. That is such an open-ended question and it doesn't present any sort of urgency. We will die and hence this is an urgent situation even though it's just food. So we let everyone know we will die if we eat this is there any of that in there. It's not that hard. And I got to tell you that someone who doesn't recognize fake meat especially bacon at sight, and doesn't ask these questions, I have to ask if she did it on purpose just to get $
There are coaches of a high school in the US that are being sued for 4 million $ bc they forced a Jewish boy that cannot eat pork bc of his religious views to eat pizza that they picked the pepperoni off of. They will lose too bc you cannot mess w peoples food plain and simple. It's against the law for a reason. Don't lie about food you serve and don't mess w anyones food. I worked w a guy when I was bartending and I caught him picking his nose and putting it into a customers burger. The customer was a straight up horrible pos but my god you just don't do this ever it absolutely criminal. I threw the food in the trash and told my boss. They let him go. They didn't press charges but I wish they had bc god knows what else he'll do. It should most definitely be a felony to mess with or lie about food
The kid story is a case of religious harassment or something similar, not poisoning (or food tampering). There's a ton of laws which cover messing with people's food, it's almost certainly illegal, but the question is how severe of a crime is that particular instance of food fuckery. Obviously intentional poisoning should be a felony charge. But things like deceiving someone about the ingredients might be a lesser crime depending on the intent.
You are assuming that the OP is truthful because they posted a random AITA on reddit and boredpanda wrote a story about it. There is no evidence that this slice of life isn't full fantasy. The fact that the individual in question would be charged with a felony under these circumstances seems extremely unlikely. Even by reading the law what the girl did didn't rise to the level of food tampering. The roommate prepared a meal. It wasn't poisoned. She offered and they let her. Fibbing about the protein is not the same as tampering. It's negligent, perhaps criminally negligent. It's not a felony charge. I think ANY attorney could make the argument that calling immitation bacon, bacon is not deceit. I cannot imagine a district attorney would think it was worth the time not to plea this out. Why would you charge a college girl with a felony who didn't have any intent to hurt anyone and doesn't have some looming criminal record?
Pretty sure op can't sue for the medical costs unless her felony is proven.
No no, they can always sue but as stated in post the likelihood of succeeding is much higher with a directly related conviction to lean on.
Well you should be smart enough to tell your roommate that you are allergic to soy or tell her you'll prepare your own breakfast that way there's no mistakes. When you have a food allergy like that, it's your responsibility to take care of yourself and make sure you don't eat the wrong things.
Yep. You don't lie about what you're serving to prove a point or try to force your dietary choices on others. Should the OP have told her about the allergy? Absolutely, especially since she said she was vegetarian. As a vegetarian... I don't eat soy, especially when it's been done up to be like meat. I personally find it vile, but to each their own. A felony charge does seem a bit much, but maybe that was the only way? I'm not familiar enough with the American legal system to make a call on that one.
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