Dietary Restriction Disclosure Tribunal Requires 90-Day Advance Notice for Vegan Announcements

DENVER — The Allergen and Diet Accommodation Board issued new disclosure rules Tuesday requiring guests to declare dietary restrictions no fewer than 90 days before Thanksgiving, a move the Board called “the end of the November surprise.”

The Board, which mediates between hosts and guests with dietary needs, acted after a record 340 “day-before declarations” last year — including one guest who announced a gluten intolerance via text message while the host was literally pulling rolls from the oven.

“Ninety days is not unreasonable,” said Board Chair Dr. Susan Park, 52, a nutritionist who speaks about meal planning the way air traffic controllers speak about runways. “It takes time to source alternative ingredients, test recipes, and emotionally process the fact that someone you love will not be eating your mashed potatoes.”

The new rules establish a tiered disclosure system. Tier 1 (allergies with medical consequences) requires 90 days’ notice and a doctor’s note, “not because we don’t believe you, but because the host needs to show it to their mother.” Tier 2 (lifestyle diets: vegan, keto, paleo) requires 90 days and “a good attitude about the turkey.” Tier 3 (preferences: “I don’t love pie”) requires no notice but “will be remembered.”

The Board was careful to distinguish between legitimate restrictions and what it termed “Thanksgiving-specific conversions” — guests who adopt a new diet in the two weeks before the holiday. “Every November, someone’s cousin discovers they’re ‘mostly vegan now,'” Park said. “Mostly vegan is not a dietary restriction. It is a personality development. The host is not required to accommodate your journey.”

Hosts, in turn, face new obligations. Under the rules, once a restriction is properly disclosed, the host must provide “a genuine alternative, not a sad plate of sides.” The Board defined “genuine” as “something the host would eat voluntarily on a non-holiday” and “sad” as “undressed lettuce presented without comment.”

The Board also ruled on the contentious “separate dish vs. adapted recipe” debate, finding that hosts may choose either approach but must label all dishes with ingredient cards, “because nothing ruins grace like a whispered interrogation about the gravy.”

A 24-hour hotline opens November 1 for last-minute disclosure emergencies. “We can’t stop the November surprise,” Park admitted. “But we can give the host someone to call who will say, ‘I know. I’m so sorry. Here’s what you do with the cauliflower.'”

The Board’s data shows Tier 3 disclosures — “I don’t love pie” — are the fastest-growing category, up 30% in three years. “We don’t regulate preferences,” Park said. “But we track them, because patterns matter. If three guests independently report not loving pie, the Board recommends the host consider whether the pie is the problem.” The hotline’s most common November call, per last year’s logs: “My mother-in-law just announced she’s raw vegan. The turkey is already in the oven. What do I do?” The official answer: “Breathe. Make the salad bigger. Call us back in an hour.”