What Is Our Societal Responsibility To Food Allergies?

Many of you may have read that the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases just came out with new guidance specific to peanut allergies and the introduction of peanut containing food to infants and small children.  This is HUGE!  With my previous three children, I was told, because we weren't classified as high risk, to go ahead and introduce peanut containing foods once I was well along the solid food path, between 9-12 months.  Now, new guidance is suggesting as soon as solids are started you can start peanut products as well (of course, based on the guidance of your pediatrician).

Hopefully, this introduction of the allergen early and often and in small quantities will help reduce the number of folks who manifest an anaphylactic peanut allergy later in life.  But for those folks who already have a severe food allergy or who are among the unfortunate few who develop one, what is our societal responsibility for those persons?

Recent, at BigSis's gymnastics gym there was an incident where one of the athletes had an allergic reaction from peanut oil residue that remained in viewing gallery following someone presumably consuming a peanut containing product.  The gym, in response, sent out an email reminding parents that there is to be absolutely no food in the viewing gallery and that the gym as a whole is a nut-free zone.

I have friends with children with severe allergies so I in no way want to minimize the seriousness of the situation but how much can we be forced to contort our lifestyles in order to prevent exposure for a select few individuals?  That gymnast who had the reaction could easily come into contact with peanut residue in any other public setting.  Does that mean that we have to eliminate all peanut products from public areas or is there some level of responsibility and risk that any allergy affected individual must assume in order to function in daily life?

My kids' school is not a "nut-free" area and neither of their classrooms have been deemed "nut-free" because of a student's allergy however when I send in snacks it is asked that we don't send in nut containing items since the classrooms may be used by other students, teachers and clubs at different times.  I can send a PB&J to the lunch room with no issue but I can't send PB snack crackers for snack.

I don't know the answer to this conundrum and I would not want to be the responsible party for causing an allergic reaction but I suppose I am pondering how much we, as a society, should be expected to prevent exposure for individuals above and beyond their own personal onus?