An Amusement Park? Has Gluten-free Gone Too Far?

Yes- "gluten free" has gone too far. Instead of raising awareness about an autoimmune disease that far too often goes diagnosed, the gluten free 'fad' will fade, but those of use with celiac disease will still have to manage this everyday. Anyone who has celiac disease, and/or has children who also have celiac, would likely embrace the idea of actually going on a vacation, or to an amusement park, without constant vigilance around not getting sick. Why would celiac.com publish an article written by someone who clearly believes gluten free is a silly fad? Clearly the writer lacks some insight into the true upside of offering celiacs a real vacation from the vigilance required to manage their illness. Let's not give air time to ignorance on a page for individuals living with celiac disease.

Great idea, and I hope it will be very successful. Gluten free diets are being demonized as just a silly fad, and are claimed to be harmful to the health of people who follow them. That is not true, and they are much healthier then the junk foods that a lot of people are eating.

I think the idea of teaching kids about healthy eating via an amusement park is fine but making the entire thing gluten free is over the top. Why not just have a generous offering of gluten free items along with regular foods for non-gluten free folks. This is the type of thing that is fodder for the late night comics who are already mocking the gluten-free "trend" thanks to the fools who have adopted the diet, not even knowing what gluten is, is the hope of losing weight, etc. This just makes it hard for those of us with celiac to be taken seriously.

This is absolutely not going too far. I agree with Dr. Rodney Ford that gluten needs to be eradicated from the planet: one amusement park, restaurant and whatever venue at a time. Read the books Gluten Zero Global, Wheat Belly and Grain Brain.

What a great idea! Once a year I go to a celiac walk... it's the only time of the year I can eat whatever there is there. It's great to go somewhere and know I can eat anything! I always hear kids say, mommy what can I eat here? Their mom will say everything here is gluten free and the kids get so excited!

I would love an amusement park that I could eat things- Maybe they will have fried dough!

I think it's a cool idea but that they ought to pay the most attention to making it a cool amusement park and downplay the gluten-free aspect, just make that known as a side note. Then it would be a fun place for everyone to go with the benefit that the gluten sensitive can really relax and have fun knowing that everything there is safe to eat. Those who don't need gluten-free food can enjoy it, too, because hopefully there will be good food that just happens to be gluten free.

Can't figure out from the article where it will be- I don't know of a 57 freeway exactly. Interstate 60 and 10 intersect and there's a state route 57 but it's further to the east. Maybe it qualifies as a freeway and maybe it's somewhere in between? If so, that's cool because it would be near my sister's home so hopefully we'll get to go someday!

I think it's a cool idea but that they ought to pay the most attention to making it a cool amusement park and downplay the gluten-free aspect, just make that known as a side note. Then it would be a fun place for everyone to go with the benefit that the gluten sensitive can really relax and have fun knowing that everything there is safe to eat. Those who don't need gluten-free food can enjoy it, too, because hopefully there will be good food that just happens to be gluten free.

It will be fairly near my sister's home in Whittier so hopefully we'll get to go someday!

I don't think it's gone too far. Everyone can at least eat a gluten free diet so no one will be deprived and they might see just how easy it is to adopt a gluten free diet. I think it's great. I hear how well other countries respond to gluten free diets is amazing compared to the US.

I like it! I hope they continue up the road to organics, non GMOs! This will open doors to what healthier eating is all about. For those of us with autoimmune disorders due to wheat gluten, let's pray they do it right!

Love the idea! It would have made going to an amusement park for my kids and me a whole lot more enjoyable and carefree. And what is wrong with eating healthy? Nothing!

This is a great start. It might become a kind of test lab for all the allergies and issues children deal with, since parents will come with the expectation that it's "safe." Lots of learning curve will happen, I'm sure. I hope this takes off and duplicates itself, as new industries learn that it's good ethics and good business to support people's wellness and health.

Yes- "gluten free" has gone too far. Instead of raising awareness about an autoimmune disease that far too often goes diagnosed, the gluten free 'fad' will fade, but those of use with celiac disease will still have to manage this everyday. Anyone who has celiac disease, and/or has children who also have celiac, would likely embrace the idea of actually going on a vacation, or to an amusement park, without constant vigilance around not getting sick. Why would celiac.com publish an article written by someone who clearly believes gluten free is a silly fad? Clearly the writer lacks some insight into the true upside of offering celiacs a real vacation from the vigilance required to manage their illness. Let's not give air time to ignorance on a page for individuals living with celiac disease.

If I remember correctly (having read somewhere), the author's sister has celiac disease, and he himself also eats gluten free. I think they are rhetorical questions he posted; he does not believe celiac disease is a fad or that people living with celiac disease don't deserve a real family vacation. Perhaps he could have thought a bit on how what he wrote would be perceived.