A Prehistoric Friend
When I was a kid, my favorite dinosaur was the stegosaurus. I liked the Stegosaurus because it was an herbivore, like me, but it doesn’t immediately look like one. The dinosaur’s spikes make it look a little aggressive so other kids assumed the stegosaurus was a carnivore.
I was devastated when I accidentally left my stuffed Steggy at the park and lost him forever. He was my only vegetarian friend. I grew up vegetarian in a small town and didn’t know any other vegetarian children other than my younger sister. All the vegetarians I knew were adults. 20 years later, that’s not as likely to happen to children these days. Everyday, there are more and more vegetarian and vegan children.
Kids love dinosaurs. I don’t know what it is about dinosaurs, but kids love ‘em. Turns out lots of vegetarian and vegan kids like the herbivorous dinosaurs. Noemi wrote:
“There was a dinosaur that J was going to buy and he asks ‘you think this is a vegetarian dinosaur?’
now, how’s that for being the coolest.”
So cute.
In latest issue of Veg News Marla Rose encouraged veg*ns to get involved in the lives of children, both to inspire veganism, compassion, and peace in children (because they’re often much more receptive than adults). But adult veg*ns should get involved with kids for another reason: to be inspired by them. Marla wrote:
“It was from my son, for example, that I learned to see that clouds look like decorations in the sky, and have recently had the privilege of listening to him brainstorm a movie about herbivorous dinosaurs trying to advocate to their carnivorous peers that they adopt a peaceful, vegan co-existence.” p. 51, May+June 2008
Sounds like a good movie to me. What do you think?
By the way, here is an article about children who go vegetarian: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2006/08/08_hussar.html
Key quotations:
As someone who began the vegetarianism journey at age six because I didn’t want to eat my friends, I COMPLETELY relate to this study. And I agree with the assertion that omni kids treat ethical vegetarians more cruelly than kids who are vegetarian/vegan for health, religious, or personal reasons. And I agree with the finding that vegetarian kids don’t judge their omni counter-parts. (I think many omnivores often feel judged when they aren’t actually judged.)
Anyway, all of this is really just to point out the need that vegetarian and vegan kids have in finding others similar to them. Particularly for vegetarians and vegans who adopt a veg*n lifestyle at a young age, they incorporate it into their identity and they need to find community in order to feel a sense of belonging, support, and love.
I say this as a person who grew up vegetarian: veggie kids need veggie friends, even if that means a dinosaur friend.