Let’s Do Some Micro-Activism For Kids
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A recent article begins:
A few days ago, my 5-year-old daughter, Paris, announced that she wants to be a vegan. I was surprised. We’re omnivores in our family. For dinner I often serve roasted chicken, ground turkey tacos, stuffed pork chops, the occasional flank steak. And I always have a bag of salami in the fridge.
“Why?” I asked Paris.
“Because I love animals and I don’t want to eat them.”
When I was a year older than Paris, I made a similar decision. I’ve been vegetarian or vegan for nearly three decades. My mother was COOL and open-minded. She let me go veg. Paris’s mother, not so much:
“That’s very noble of you,” I said, but I was really thinking, this is an unhealthy choice that will be inconvenient for the entire family.
The rest of the article does offer some hope for Paris’s future of a plant-based diet:
I checked in with registered dietitian Susannah Wallenstrom, who works at the outpatient clinic at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco. “I would not discourage parents from choosing to raise their children as vegans and I do think it can work, but it requires very careful planning,” Wallenstrom said.
But that hope comes with a huge side of anti-vegan hyperbole:
I went online to do some research–never a good idea–and discovered a New York Times op-ed piece titled “Death by Veganism” by Real Food author Nina Planck. She tells the story of an infant on a vegan diet who supposedly died from malnutrition and declares veganism “dangerous for weaned babies and toddlers, who need plenty of protein and calcium.”
Let’s set her straight. Leave comments at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?&entry_id=32054
PS – websites for vegan parents or parents raising veg children:
arrrgh!
It actually takes more careful planning to have a meat-centered diet that’s healthy – animal proteins should comprise no more than 10% of the total calories. And the whole myth about protein and calcium -ridiculous. It’s a shame that people like this don’t look at the actual statistics and instead point to a flawed single case – mainly because that’s what they want to hear.
Good find. There is a good discussion ongoing there.
~ Recent blog post: Taking sentience seriously ~
My comment is getting spam filtered. Here’s what I wrote:
I’ve been vegetarian or vegan going on three decades. I went veg at age six.
Age seven is regarded as “the age of reason” in many cultures. I see no reason why an intelligent five or six year old can’t participate in ethical decision-making. In fact, I think it helps foster a compassionate, community-oriented, ethical worldview.
Granted, you’ll need to ensure that she develops healthy eating habits that are nutritionally adequate. But… eating animal products is NOT necessary to good human health.