One document matched: draft-barnes-healthy-food-06.xml
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<front>
<title abbrev="Food">Healthy Food and Special Dietary Requirements for IETF meetings</title>
<author fullname="Mary Barnes" initials="M." surname="Barnes">
<organization>Polycom</organization>
<address>
<postal>
<street></street>
<city></city>
<region>TX</region>
<country>US</country>
</postal>
<email>mary.ietf.barnes@gmail.com</email>
</address>
</author>
<date month="February" year="2013" />
<abstract>
<t>This document describes the basic requirements for food for folks
that attend IETF meetings require special diets, as well as those
that prefer to eat healthy. While, the variety of
special diets is quite broad, the most general categories are described.
There can be controversy as to what constitutes healthy eating, but there
are some common, generally available foods that comprise the basis for
healthy eating and special diets. This document provides some recommendations
to meeting planners, as well as participants, in handling these requirements.
</t>
</abstract>
<!-- Abstract -->
</front>
<middle>
<section title="Introduction">
<t>While much of the success of IETF protocols can be attributed to
the availability of large cookies and readily available beer,
there are
some IETF participants for whom such items aren't compatible with
dietary restrictions or the choice to eat a healthy diet.
So, while the IETF Tao <xref target="RFC6722"/>
describes the IETF as "a place to go for 'many fine lunches and dinners'",
for folks
with dietary restrictions,
meals can require the most planning and be one the most stressful aspect of the meetings.
Certainly, the tao
clearly states that folks are on their own for lunches and dinners, however, the meeting fee
does cover (some of) the cost for the food provided at breakfasts and breaks.
The dietary restrictions are quite varied, but fall into
general catgories based typically on medical, religious, health and ethical reasons.
While <xref target="RFC6640"/>
describes some food considerations which are very useful for the average attendee,
it intentionally does not address
the dietary restrictions described in this document.
</t>
<t>Most folks are generally understanding of dietary restrictions for medical
conditions such as diabetes, celiac disease, and folks with severe allergies to foods
such as peanuts that cause immediate anaphylactic and often life threatening reactions.
In general, folks respect the special diets required for religious reasons and for
folks who have chosen to follow a healthy and vegan/vegetarian diet, which for some
folks also has a religious basis.
More subtle food allergies and sensitivies, as well as less common medical conditions (e.g., PKU)
can sometimes be more difficult to handle, both
in terms of the understanding by the general public and food service staff.
It is also important to note that these dietary restrictions are not just an inconvenience,
but rather they
can introduce a barrier to full participation by a subset of the population. The
logistics involved in obtaining the appropriate food can interfere with participation in the
meeting sessions, as
well as informal discussions. </t>
</section>
<section anchor="overview" title="Overview">
<t>In general, most folks on restricted diets are very resourceful in terms of researching the
meeting venue and determining availability of "safe foods". Folks with
these food restrictions
typically are proficient at managing these situations provided they have access to information
or are able to talk directly with food service staff, in particular the head chef.
However, in some cases, this can
be more difficult in terms of access to the "safe food" when folks are in
foreign countries where
their native language (or a language in which they are very fluent) is not widely understood or
when the meeting venue is in a more remote geograhic location. Indeed, many of the folks with
dietary restrictions arrive at the meetings early enough to scout out locations for
finding "safe food".
However, at times, the hotels modify their typical food service offerings,
such as ordering from menus
to just providing a more restricted subset of food choices,
to optimize the handling of the large crowds and limited time
during the lunch period. Typically, the extra food service areas
(carts, etc.) that
some meeting venues use to handle the lunch crowds do not offer any food
appropriate for several
of the dietary restrictions.
Meeting venues that are not co-located with the meeting
hotel, in particular those that are not located in the city center,
typically introduce the most problems
in terms of availability of safe food. The cafes that may be located at the venue typically
do not have any safe foods available and often the availability of food for
participants in the general area of the venue (i.e., close enough so folks can get back to
the venue for afternoon meetings) is very limited at these locations.
</t>
<t> Many folks with dietary restrictions compensate for the lack of readily available
safe food by
bringing food from home to the meeting. In the case where the meeting is in the home country,
there is likely no issue with this practice. However, many meetings require a large
number of IETF
participants to travel to foreign countries, many of whom prohibit the participants from
bringing outside food. Since the food from home often provides a large part of the
sustenance for
participants with restricted diets, this can introduce a large problem - either the participant
goes without or they violate the laws of a particular country and don't declare the food to
avoid confiscation.
While folks with restrictions due to medical conditions can bring a doctor's letter, there is
still a risk of the food being confiscated, since it is highly unlikely that the folks handling
the situation are able to make a decision outside the rules with or without the letter.
Certainly, participants have a choice, although difficult in cases where the meetings are
required for their jobs, as to whether or not they attend a meetings. IETF is an open and
inclusive organization, thus facilitating accessiblity to safe foods should be a human factors
consideration for the meetings. In addition, laws in some countries (e.g., American
Disabilities Act in the U.S.) classify some medical
conditions as invisible disabilities (e.g., celiac disease, food allergies, hearing issues)
and thus require that accomodations be made for
dietary restrictions for medical reasons,
in the same way as accomodations are made for other disabilities.
The American Disabilities Act applies to non-profit agencies that serve the public. </t>
<t>The objective of this document is to summarize some common requirements for all
special diets. The focus of this document is to
provide information for individuals/organization that choose venues (<xref target="venues"/>),
meeting organizers (<xref target="planners"/>),
participants (<xref target="Participants"/>) and the meeting
venue staff (<xref target="venue"/>) to meet some basic requirements
for these dietary restrictions. It is recommended that these recommendations
be more formally adopted by the first two groups (i.e., those that choose venues and
those that organize and run the logistics for the meeting) into their procedures. </t>
<t> This document is not intended to provide comprehensive information about
any of these dietary restrictions, but rather the restrictions are described
in a
very general sense, with a few examples, to provide the context
for the recommendations
in this document. The references include cookbooks that are
representative of the special
diets discussed in this document. Most of these cookbooks provide a
basic overview of
particular dietary restriction, lists of safe ingredients, etc.
There are a plethora of websites with tons of more information on
this topic and specific dietary restrictions.
</t>
<t> In addition, this document discusses the importance of providing
remote attendance for folks whose
conditions limit their ability to travel. It is hoped that by
increasing the availability of foods
for folks with these restrictions could increase the ability for
some folks to attend the face to face
meetings.</t>
<t>While discussion of this document was originally targeted for the ietf-food@employees.org
mailing list, it has become increasingly clear that this is something that the
community as a whole needs to understand, thus the author is prepared to open
the floodgates again, in particular due to the decision to hold yet another meeting
in a remote location (IETF-86) in Orlando, without consideration of these requirements.</t>
</section>
<!-- Introduction -->
<section anchor="sec:terminology" title="Conventions and Terminology">
<t>This document uses the following terms:
<t>
<list style="hanging">
<t hangText="Celiac disease:">
A medical condition which requires a diet entirely free of
wheat, rye, barley and most oats.
The reaction, as in food allergies, is to the protein in
these grains, which is gliaden
or most often referred
to as gluten. Of particular concern for this dietary
restriction is that even the smallest
amount of the offending food can trigger the manifestion of the
illness. This website
provides an excellent overview: <http://celiac.nih.gov/>
</t>
<t hangText="Food additives:">
Anything added to food which is typically not natural in
origin, such as artificial flavors,
artificial colors/dyes, nitrates/nitrites, sufites/sulfates,
mono-sodium glutamate (MSG).
This list is
not comprehensive and some of these additives (i.e., the
latter three) are naturally
occurring in foods,
however, the levels/volume
of the substance is a fraction of what is typically added to foods.
</t>
<t hangText="Food allergies:">
Typically refers to a food to which one has a fairly immediate
and sometimes anaphylactic
reaction. These allergies are typically recognized in that folks
produced IgE antibodies to
a specific food. There are also foods in which the reaction is
delayed and one
typically produces IgG antibodies.
There are also acute mucousal reactions such as to gluten, in which
case IgA antibodies are produced.
It is not uncommon for folks with food allergies to also
have food intolerances.
</t>
<t hangText="Food intolerances:">
Food intolerances can be less severe than food allergies in
that the reaction is often delayed
and isn't typically life threatening. The reactions cover a
very broad range of symptoms such as
gastrointestinal
reactions (e.g., from dairy or gluten), oral reactions (swelling,
mouth ulcers, etc.)
flu-like symptoms such as overall muscle aches, headaches,
fatigue, sinus congestion, etc.
In a small subset of folks, there can be fairly severe
neurological impacts
producing ADD/ADHD symptoms, severe anger,
seizures, etc.
</t>
<t hangText="Halal:">
Halal is commonly used to refer to food that is permissible
according to Islamic law and is
special diet followed by most Muslims. One of the areas of most
concern for this diet is the
source and processing of meat. In one sense, the Halal
requirements are extremely close to
Kashrut standards followed by those who consume a Kosher Diet.
As with a Kosher diet, pork
is never acceptable.
</t>
<t hangText="Healthy:">
In the most general sense, healthy refers to a diet that is
typically void of processed foods,
highly processed sweeteners, food additives, food preservatives,
hydrogenated oils, etc.
In some cases
folks such as those on Vegetarian and Vegan diets would add
animal fats to this list.
And, obviously,
foods with wheat are not considered healthy for celiacs,
even foods with natural
sweeteners are often
unhealthy and of course, any food to which one is allergic is
not healthy.
So, in this document, the terms is used to refer to a diet
based on vegetables
and some fruits, along
with appropriate proteins, grains, and healthy fats, all of
which are suitable for a variety of
special diets.
</t>
<t hangText="Kosher:">
A Kosher diet is based on specific rules for food source,
preparation and handling
that are typically
followed by many Jews. The strictest rules are around the
source and preparation
of meats. In particular
meat and dairy must not be mixed and in most cases utensils that have
been used to prepare non-Kosher
foods cannot be used. Pork is considered non-kosher.
</t>
<t hangText="Phenylketonuria (PKU):">
A medical condition requiring a low protein diet and avoidance
of any food containing
phenylalanine (e.g., aspartame). The diet for PKU is often comprised of
large amounts of fruits and vegetables in specific portions since the daily
intake of protein
must be monitored. Grains can be consumed in moderation. The manner in which the
food is prepared must be known as
ingredients used in cooking and added prior to serving (e.g., butter) need to
be identified as they can contribute to the total amount of protein.
</t>
<t hangText="Special Diet:">
Special Diet: Refers to any diet for which the source, method of preparation,
handling and serving of
the food must all be known. In this document, this term is used to
refer to any of the dietary restrictions
discussed.
</t>
<t hangText="Vegan:">
A Vegan diet entirely excludes the use of animals for food
(including animal by-products such as
cow's milk, butter, eggs, honey, etc.).
Many folks adopt a completely vegan lifestyle and eschew the use of
animals or animal
by-products for any purpose (e.g., no leather shoes). In terms of dietary
restrictions, one can
view a vegan diet to be a subset of a vegetarian diet.
</t>
<t hangText="Vegetarian:">
A vegetarian diet is one which excludes the consumption of meat products,
usually including fish.
Some vegetarian diets also exclude animal by-products such as egg and
dairy. Vegetarians that do
consume egg and dairy products are sometimes referred to as
lactoOvo-vegetarians and those that
consume dairy products, but no eggs, are referred to as lacto-vegetarians.
</t>
</list>
</t>
</t>
</section>
<!-- Conventions and Terminology -->
<section anchor="dietReq" title="Requirements for Special Diets">
<t>
In terms of the number of folks that require special diets, it is
estimated that anywhere from 3% to 7%
of the population has food allergies. The top eight allergens are:
milk (cow), eggs, peanuts,
tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts), fish (such as bass, cod,
flounder),
shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp), soy and wheat. It should be
noted that the allergic reactions
are to the protein found in the food. For example, an allergy to milk is
most often due to casein,
which is
the most common protein found in cow's milk. Thus, any other food product
that also contains
casein (e.g., butter and cheese) can also cause an allergic reaction.
While intolerances to specific foods
may not elicit a true allergic reaction, individuals with food intolerances typcially must
also avoid the offending food. For example, some individuals are lactose intolerant and thus
they also cannot consume cow's milk as described on the following website:
<http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/>.</t>
<t>
A wide range of research has shown that about 10% of the population
prefer to eat a healthy diet.
It
is quite often the more educated of the population that have a preference for
consuming a healthy diet.
Thus, it is estimated that at
least 10 percent of the IETF participants would take advantage of healthy food
offerings. A subset of
the folks in the healthy diet category may choose a vegetarian or vegan diet.
It's estimated that about
5 percent of the U.S. population is vegetarian and about 0.2 percent of the U.S.
Population being vegan.
Twenty-five percent of the population has the genetic predisposition
to develop celiac disease. It is estimated that as little as 0.3 percent of the
individuals with
celiac disease
have been diagnosed.
Both the U.S. and Europe are actively working to educate the medical community
on the high prevalence of undiagnosed celiac. In some countries, the rate of diagnosis has
doubled in recent years.
This trend is expected to continue, thus as time goes by the need for food accomodating this
diet will increase. As of 2009, about 15% of the U.S. Population were following a gluten-free
diet. Western Europeans and those of European
descent experience the
highest incidence of Celiac disease. Although, it is not specific to those ethnic groups
and has been found in all populations around the world.
A conservative estimate is that currently, at least 20% of the
North American and European IETF attendees
would need to follow a special diet of some sort. Note, that it is difficult to
find specific numbers in this area as very little of the medical research (typically
just celiac research) actually focuses
on the association of diet and health and as noted previously, there remain many
that still have not
been diagnosed with celiac disease. </t>
<t>
Dietary restrictions for religious reasons include those who follow Halal, Kosher
and some folks that
follow Vegan/Vegetarian diets.
Halal is commonly used to refer to food that is permissible according to Islamic law and is
special diet followed by most Muslims. One of the areas of most concern for this diet
is the
source and processing of meat. In one sense, the Halal requirements are extremely close to
Kashrut standards followed by those who consume a Kosher Diet. As with a Kosher diet, pork
is never acceptable for a Halal diet. Fish with scales are considered both Halal
and Kosher.
Shell fish are controversial and are a common allergen, thus recommended to be
avoided as part of
planning for foods
to accomodate a broad range of dietary restrictions.
</t>
<t>
Dietary restrictions due to medical conditions impose very stringent requirements on the
food, in particular for allergies and food intolerances. Celiac disease is a good example
of a medical condition
that requires extreme care in the preparation and handling of the food.
In many cases, this requires that the food is not processed or prepared anywhere
near those grains.
For example,
it would not be appropriate to use the utensils,
bowls or pots/pans that have been used to prepare foods containing
those grains without thoroughly cleaning and only metal or glass should be
used since trace amounts of the grains
can attach to plastics and wood. For example, this means that neither plastic
nor wood cutting boards that have
been used for these grains can be used. Nor, can the foods be prepared in the
same area or even near an area where
the grains are being used for food preparation. In general, this requires
designating ahead of time a specific
area to be used for the preparation of these foods and ensuring that the food
preparer and anyone that handles
or serves the food uses appropriate methods to avoid cross contamination. In
terms of serving the food,
providing plastic utensils and dishes, while not environmentally friendly,
helps to avoid one
potential area of cross contamination for most of the diets.
</t>
<t>
In general, the same rules that are required for handling food for medically
restricted diets applies
to all other special diets in terms of avoiding cross contamination. Meat products
require special
consideration in ensuring that food suitable for vegetarians/vegans is not contaminated,
that appropriate
meat products are provided for folks on Kosher/Halal diets and that the meat products
are unprocessed and
thus suitable for most allergy/intolerance special diets, with the obvious exception
that folks that
are allergic to fish can't eat fish, etc..
</t>
<t>
There are laws in many countries and jurisdictions (e.g.,U.S., E.U.) that make it
illegal to
mislabel foods that are Halal or Kosher. At this time,
food manufacturers in many jusisdictions (e.g.,U.S., U.K, E.U.) must
include all ingredients on the labels of
any packaged food product. The following are examples of the requirements
for such: <:http://food.gov.uk:80/foodlabelling/>,
<http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/labellingnutrition/foodlabelling/index_en.htm>,
<http://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/default.htm>.
Many products also contain designations as to whether the
product is vegetarian
or vegan, however, the standards for these labels are not as clearly specified
or restricted. Manufacturers
are required to specifically label the food if it contains any of the top 8 allergens.
</t>
<t> In terms of detailed information available to food service establishments in order
to accomodate these
special diets, the (U.S.) National Restaurant Association <xref target="NRA"/> has
produced a comprehensive
guide for food service establishments
to ensure that they appropriately handle food specifically for allergies and
intolerance, but could
be used to avoid cross contamination and ensure that only "safe" foods are served. </t>
<t>The fundamental requirements for the provision of food to accomodate special
diets consists of the
following:</t>
<t>
<list style="numbers">
<t> The meetings should be held in a location
where markets that sell foods for special diets
are conveniently located. </t>
<t> The right food should be accessible to the participants at the meeting venue.
</t>
<t> Food that is served at the venue should be
prepared and served by appropriate methods as described
above.
</t>
<t> The meeting coordination and venue staff should be made
aware of participants requiring such food and should be willing
to accomodate such requirements. </t>
</list>
</t>
<t> The subsequent sections of this document describe the responsibilities of the
following organizations/individuals in meeting these requirements: </t>
<t>
<list style="symbols">
<t> The IETF individuals involved in selection and negotiation of the meeting venue as
described in <xref target="venues"/>. In general, this is the responsibility of the IETF
Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC),
but applies to anyone involved in this role. </t>
<t> The IETF organization and individuals that handle the coordination of the meetings
such as the meeting registrations and other
logistics, as well, coordination for the provisions at the meeting venue, as described in
<xref target="planners"/>. In general, these are the
responsibilities
of the IETF secretariat, but apply to anyone responsibile for this role.</t>
<t> The venue staff that are responsible for providing services during the meeting as
described in <xref target="venue"/>. </t>
<t> The attendees with specific dietary restrictions and requirements
as described in <xref target="Participants"/>.</t>
</list>
</t>
</section>
<section anchor="venues" title="Venue Selection">
<t> Accomodating the requirements for special diets starts with the selection of the venue.
The following describes some criteria and suggestions that can significantly impact
the availability of foods
for special diets relative to the venue. It is recommended that these critera and
suggestions, in order of priority be considered as
part of the evaluation and negotiation process in the selection of a venue. </t>
<t>
<list style="numbers">
<t> Accessiblity to "healthy" food:
Meetings that are located in the city center of large metropolitan
areas significantly
increase the accessibility to foods for special diets. Food markets are generally
within walking distance
and the number of restaurant options improve the potential for a healthy meal.
In addition, the opening
hours for food markets don't entirely overlap with meeting times,
thus allowing the attendee to
find healthy/safe food without having to miss a meeting (which is the primary
objective in attending
the meetings for most attendees). </t>
<t> Onsite accomodations: While the location of the meeting dramatically impacts the
availability of food
near the meeting venue, the logistics of the meetings do require the accessibility to
healthy/safe food
during the meetings. The folks that negotiate the contract should ensure that the
venue is willing and
able to make accomodations for basic requirements in <xref target="dietReq" /> .
Information as to the number of attendees for whom the accomodations
are required can be based on the information available from previous meetings, with
updated information
provided once the majority of the registrations for the meeting have been completed.
In addition, folks that negotiate the contract should ensure that attendees are allowed
to bring in outside food and beverage. This is a necessity in the case that the venue
fails to provide adequate food onsite. More importantly, it is a medical necessity for some
folks to always have specific types of food and drink
readily available (e.g., for diabetics or others with blood sugar issues).
</t>
<t> Repeat venues: Meetings that are located where previous meetings have been held can
greatly faciliate (or dramatically inhibit) the accessiblity
to safe/healthy foods.
The attendees from previous meeting (s)
already have the information on accessibility to the healthy/safe foods which should influence
venue selection. If the post-meeting surveys include questions as to the availaability
of foods for these
specific diets at the venue, the folks that select the venue know a priori whether
the venue is suitable
in this respect. For cases of first time attendees for a specific location,
relevant information can be gathered from attendees that have previously
visited the city. </t>
</list>
</t>
</section>
<section anchor="planners" title="Meeting Coordination">
<t> IETF meeting coordination staff are typically pro-active in meeting the needs
of folks with special dietary restrictions when they've been made aware.
The meeting registration form includes a field for participants
to indicate dietary restrictions. Accomodations including the following have
been provided:</t>
<t>
<list style="symbols">
<t> At one venue that served many cookies with nuts, the meeting staff was able to
ask the food service
staff at the meeting venue to have some nut free cookies available and labeled as such. </t>
<t> The staff
are very accomodating in ensuring special meals are provided to participants that attend
meetings where meals are provided in cases where they have been made aware (e.g.,
WG chairs lunch). </t>
<t> The availability of safe/healthy foods at the breaks has increased.
For example, frozen fruit bars have been available at the traditional Thursday
ice cream social and veggies have been available at some of the afternoon breaks. </t>
</list>
</t>
<t>
The following summarizes the recommendations for special diets that
meeting planners should be able to accomodate with some pre-planning, and as noted above
have already been pro-active in accomodating:</t>
<t>
<list style="numbers">
<t>
Ensuring that specific foods for special diets is available at
the IETF meeting hotel restaurants, along with information on the
accessiblity to such in nearby markets/restaurants. These
accomodations should be available starting on the Friday nite prior to the meeting week,
since some folks arrive early
for pre-meetings and the
tools session.
</t>
<t>Determining special dietary needs of participants during registration and
communicating any
additional requirements to the venue staff and to the meeting hosts that are sponsoring
the Sunday evening reception and social event who may be directly planning and coordinating
the food for those events. </t>
<t>
Providing information about the provisions for special diets in the participants
IETF registration packet and on the IETF meeting attendee mailing list.
</t>
<t>
During the meeting, responding to the concerns raised by participants in terms
of the problems encountered. In general, this requires serving as a facilitator
between the participant and the venue staff. It should be noted, that in general
this situation intervention should only be required in cases where the participant
has done their part with regards to the necessary accomodations for their special
diet per <xref target="Participants" />.
</t>
</list>
</t>
</section>
<section anchor="venue" title="Venue and Food Service Recommendations">
<t>
Since IETF meetings are typically held at full service venues,
accomodating special diets is a service that can typically be provided, in
particular with advance notice that allows the venue to properly plan. Planning
is required to ensure that the basic requirements identified in <xref target="dietReq" />
</t>
<t>
The following summarizes the recommendations for special diets that
the venue coordinator and food service staff should be able to accomodate
with some pre-planning and meet all the requirements:</t>
<t>
<list style="numbers">
<t> Agreement with meeting planners during the contract negotiation phase
that they can at least
meet the basic requirements in <xref target="dietReq" />.</t>
<t>
Providing information about the provisions for special diets on check-in
and readily available at all food service locations within the venue.
</t>
<t>Ensuring that specific foods for special diets is purchased in time
to meet the dietary requirements
starting on the Friday nite prior to the meeting week, since some
folks arrive early for pre-meetings and
tools session.</t>
<t> Training chefs if necessary to ensure food for special diets is
properly prepared. Noting, that
the majority of chefs
receive training to accomodate special diets. There is a food service training guide
published by
the National Restaurant Association (the other NRA) <xref target="NRA"/>
that provides explicit details
for restaurants in accomodating food allergies that applies generally to other
dietary restrictions.
</t>
<t>
Training waitstaff on the need to clearly document the special dietary
requirements when food is
ordered.
</t>
<t>
Training waitstaff to effectively communicate with the food preparers and servers
(which are not always the
waitstaff in some food service locations) to ensure that the preparation,
handling and serving of the food
for the specific dietary restriction is understood.
</t>
<t> During the meeting, ensuring food that is available at
evening reception,
breakfast and
snacks
is arranged to avoid cross-contamination.
Items of particular concern are ensuring that
products with nuts are clearly labeled and not co-mingled
with nut-free products, meat products
are separate from dairy products, wheat products (e.g., bread, bagels, muffins, etc.)
are separated from safe food items such as fruit
and ideally a list of ingredients is readily available for any prepared foods.
</t>
<t> Allowing outside food and beverage. While all the items listed above dramatically
increase the accessiblity to safe food, there will still be times that an attendee
cannot ascertain whether certain foods are safe and thus cannot be consumed. In
addition, certain medical conditions require that attendees always have specific
types of food and
beverages on hand (e.g., diabetics and others with blood sugar issues). </t>
</list>
</t>
<t> While this list might seem quite onerous, a similar approach is
used by a
variety of organizations including
public schools, overnight summer camps for kids, airlines that
still provide meals for international
flights and a broad range of other conferences from small to large. </t>
</section>
<section anchor="Participants" title="Participant Recommendations">
<t>
The following summarizes the recommendations for special diets for
which the participant is responsible. These recommendations
allow the individual to pro-actively ensure that adequate
food
is readily available during the meeting, for lunch in particular:
<t>
<list style="numbers">
<t>
Ensuring that the accomodations booked for the meeting can accomodate
any food or medication which requires special handling such as
refrigeration (e.g., insulin for
diabetics and any other supplements, medications or foods which are important
for other special diets). Many hotels will provide a refrigerator in the room.
Some hotels have microwaves in the rooms or in common areas. In many cases,
it can be a really good idea to stay at a hotel near the venue, where
food preparation items and refrigerators are standard. For example, there
was a Marriott Residence Inn right next to the meeting venue in Philadelphia.
The room rate was identical. There were also two Whole Foods markets within
walking distance. Thus, for folks on special diets, we really had an optimal
setup. Typically, the Marriott Residence Inns and Hilton's Homewood Suites
will also do shopping for you (with a list provided in the room).
</t>
<t>
Bringing special dietary items (including medications, etc.)
that are typically not generally available, especially in airports or when
arriving off hours in an unfamilar location, in
carry on luggage. It is often very, very helpful (and sometimes necessary) to
have a letter from your healthcare provider documenting the need to travel
with these items. Also, this will typically allow you to go through security
with a freezie pack in a lunch cooler.</t>
<t> Indicating the dietary restriction when registering for the IETF meeting.</t>
<t>
Monitoring the IETF "food" mailing list for information as to availability of
specific special diet foods, including food markets, nearby food service
establishments, as well as at the venue.
</t>
<t> Gathering the available special diet information upon arriving at the venue.</t>
<t>
Sharing information on the IETF "food" or IETF meeting specific mailing list
as to local food service establishments and markets near the venue during the meeting.
</t>
<t>
Communicating effectively with the food service personnel your specific
dietary needs.
While the expectation is that the venue and meeting planners
have done their job, ensuring
that one gets the right food requires effective communication every
step of the way. Thus,
the same approach that one uses elsewhere should also be used
at the meetings. One can never
assume that everything has been taken care of by someone else. And, as
with anything that
involves many people doing the right thing, there is always room for human error.
A very effective tool for communicating this information are food allergy cards available
on several websites, some of which allow you to enter all your restrictions and print
them yourself. Others are pre-printed and purchased from the vendor.
These cards can be given to
the food service staff. This is very helpful for staff that are unfamiliar with handling
special dietary requests, as oftentimes these cards trigger a visit from the chef. In
virtually all cases a discussion with the chef on your dietary requirements results in
the precise food that you have require.
</t>
<t>
Thanking the folks that do take the effort during the meeting to accomodate your
special dietary needs and
ensuring that the food service staff are adequately tipped in locales for which
this is a custom.
</t>
</list>
</t>
</t>
</section>
<section anchor="Sample" title="Specific Food Recommendations">
<t>
While specific foods for the special diets can be quite diverse
and sometimes contradictory
(e.g., meat for vegans/vegetarians, seitan for celiacs, etc.),
there are also sufficient readily
available
foods that can meet the requirements of the majority of the special diets.
There are a plethora
of recipes in cookbooks and on websites that address all these various diets,
including many that combine the diets,
such as <xref target="kosher-veg"/>. The Cornucopia
restaurant in Dublin <xref target="cornucopia"/> is a perfect example
of how this can be done
in an extremely cost-effective
efficient and gastronomically appealing manner. Stores such as Whole Foods,
with locations in
virtually all major U.S. cities, as well as in the U.K., typically handle
this in an
exceptional manner, as well, as they often have a salad bar section that
consists of very plain and
clearly labeled foods. Most Whole Foods stores also have lists of
specific foods in the store
that are safe for a variety of special diets. Many airlines that
provide special meals typically use
the same basic meal to accomodate all special diets, in many cases just substituting
an alternative protein
such as the ubiquitous portobello mushroom for the meat to accomodate a
vegetarian/vegan diet.
Also, many restaurants do have a subset of their menu that can typically
accomodate special diets and in many cases the menus either label the items
as such or include
a note indicating that dishes can be prepared to accomodate dietary restrictions.
</t>
<t>
The following summarizes some basic foods that can accomodate the majority of
special diets that
the venue coordinator and food service staff should be able to accomodate
with little pre-planning since they are the foods that provide the basis for
most healthy diets. In addition, almost all of these items require very little
preparation, thus the potential for cross-contamination is fairly low by observing
the basics of a clean prep area and clean utensils, etc. Also, many of these items
can be delivered by the food service distributors ready for serving
(e.g., salads and even some meats). Virtually
all the foods can be served cold, as most folks find a cold meal acceptable
for breakfast and
lunch since dinners at IETF meetings tend to be larger, hot meals:
<t>
<list style="symbols">
<t> A variety of fresh fruits available at breakfast, lunch and for
breaks, when cookies, etc.
are served. The fruit must be kept separate from the cookies, etc.
to avoid cross-contamination.</t>
<t> A variety of fresh vegetables, either served raw or steamed and served plain,
available at lunch either on a buffet or on the menu.</t>
<t> At least two greens (without preservatives) for a salad base available at lunch
and dinner - e.g., Romaine and spinach -
served separately
as some folks cannot tolerate the oxalates in fresh spinach.</t>
<t> Lean proteins such as beans, steamed fish and steamed, grilled or deli
meats such as chicken or beef,
with at least one kosher option and ensuring that the meats are unseasoned
and without fillers. Note, that
the meats can be served cold, thus prepared the night before
and actually this may be very economical
for the food service establishment where fresh foods are typically
more desireable - e.g., fish spoils
most quickly, thus cooking what's left from the dinner
the night before is economical and efficient.
For some
folks, these foods are eaten for both breakfast and lunch.
</t>
<t> Also, to accomodate folks that can handle
various spices and seasonings with their food, a range of condiments such as
the basic salt and pepper, ketchup, mustard,
mayonnaise and Tabasco sauce, as well as minimal salad dressings such as
vinegar and oil.
These items are readily available at virtually any food service
establishment.</t>
<t> Within the food preparation environment for these foods and in the case of
buffets, avoiding dairy
altogether is recommended as it is a common allergen, not eaten by vegans, has
special rules for a
Kosher/Halal diet, 50 percent of celiacs cannot tolerate dairy and the
most health conscious
of people typically recognize that cow's milk,
pastuerized in particular, is not a particularly healthy food.</t>
</list>
</t>
</t>
<t>
The following food options would be nice to have available, but
may require some pre-planning
depending upon the venue, but in general can be purchased/prepared
ahead of time, thus should
not be particularly difficult to support:
<t>
<list style="symbols">
<t>
Alternative grains such as Quinoa - can be served as a hot
breakfast cereal or served
as a side dish as an alternative to rice or cracked wheat salad (Tabbouleh) - the
latter could be made using
leftovers from breakfast. In the case of breakfast, side options such as
maple syrup and dried fruits like
raisins can be used to sweeten (in the same manner as these items are
served with oatmeal).
</t>
<t> Rice crackers as an alternative to wheat based grain products.</t>
<t>
Hummus as a protein alternative for breakfast and lunch. Hummus keeps quite well,
thus the food
service staff would only need to prepare a large enough batch to last the week.
</t>
<t> Sprouted beans as a salad/protein alternative for breakfast and lunch.</t>
<t>
Soups that would accomodate all diets such as non-dairy Squash or
vegan lentil soup.
As with the meats, this soup
could be made with leftovers served from the previous evening.
</t>
<t>
Nuts and seeds (e.g., pumpkin, sunflower, etc.), including nut butters,
as alternative protein sources for folks. These are suitable for
all meals and snacks.
</t>
<t>
Snack bars as an alternative to the cookie option at breaks. There is
a wide range of
healthy snack bars available, with many being either free of all allergens,
vegan and kosher or
at least accomodating 2 of the 3 main restrictions. For example, bars with
honey are not vegan,
but may be suitable for all the other special diets. Many of the manufacturers of
these snack
bars will provide a certain number to non-profit organizations for their events
for marketing and
as a public service.
</t>
</list>
</t>
</t>
</section>
<section title="Security Considerations">
<t>This document neither defines nor extends any Internet protocol,
thus there are no particular
security considerations. One could consider the information as to which
participant requires a special diet to require some level of privacy,
but in general, this isn't considered
particularly private for most folks.
</t>
</section>
<!-- Security Considerations -->
<section title="IANA Considerations">
<t>This document requires no IANA registrations. </t>
</section>
<section title="Acknowledgements">
<t>The authors appreciate the feedback from the individuals who considered
the discussion on the IETF-72 attendee list to be constructive and provided
good input.
In addition,
we also appreciate the feedback from folks that considered this topic to be only of
concern for a small subset of participants and an onerous task and expectation
for consideration by both meeting planners and the meeting venue.
Feedback from these folks provided the motivation
for this document.
</t>
<t>The author appreciates the support from Dan Wing in setting up the ietf-food
mailing list. The list
has been very helpful in identifying restaurants, markets, etc. and allowing folks with similar
food interests to meet and dine together at recent meetings. </t>
<t>
The author appreciates the feedback from Dan Romascanu, Teemu Huovila and Ran Atkinson.
This document was provided to Ole Jacobsson (as an IAOC member) as input to the meeting hosts
(Kaori Maeda and Akira Kato) for planning purposes for IETF-76 in Hiroshima. </t>
</section>
</middle>
<back>
<references title="Informative References">
&rfc6722;
&rfc6640;
<reference anchor="NRA">
<front>
<title>
Welcoming Guests with Food Allergies
</title>
<author fullname="Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network" initials=""
surname="Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network">
<organization></organization>
</author>
<date day="" month="" year="2008" />
<seriesInfo name="ISBN" value="1-882541-21-9">
<t> ISBN 1-882541-21-9 </t>
</seriesInfo>
<abstract>
<t>
A comprehensive program for training staff to safely prepare and serve food to
guests who have food allergies.
</t>
</abstract>
</front>
</reference>
<reference anchor="kosher-veg">
<front>
<title>
Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World
</title>
<author fullname="Gil Marks" initials="G."
surname="Marks">
<organization></organization>
</author>
<date day="12" month="November" year="2004" />
<seriesInfo name="ISBN" value="978-0764544132 ">
<t> ISBN 978-0764544132 </t>
</seriesInfo>
<abstract>
<t>
A Celebration of classic Jewish vegetarian cooking from Around the World
</t>
</abstract>
</front>
</reference>
<reference anchor="cornucopia">
<front>
<title>
Cornucopia at Home
</title>
<author fullname="Eleanor Heffernan" initials="E."
surname="Heffernan">
<organization></organization>
</author>
<date day="1" month="October" year="2008" />
<seriesInfo name="ISBN" value="978-0955226144">
<t> ISBN 978-0955226144 </t>
</seriesInfo>
<abstract>
<t>
Cookbook containing recipes served at Cornucopia restaurant in Dublin.
</t>
</abstract>
</front>
</reference>
<reference anchor="GFgourmet">
<front>
<title>
The Gluten-free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy</title>
<author fullname="Bette Hagman" initials="B."surname="Hagman">
<organization></organization>
</author>
<date day="1" month="June" year="2000" />
<seriesInfo name="ISBN" value="978-0805065251">
<t> ISBN-13 978-0805065251 </t>
</seriesInfo>
<abstract>
<t>
Excellent GF cookbook - includes chapter with vegetarian recipes.
</t>
</abstract>
</front>
</reference>
</references>
</back>
</rfc>| PAFTECH AB 2003-2026 | 2026-04-23 16:46:32 |