It comes as no surprise to any thinking person that our feelings about animals are largely influenced in childhood by our parents and by society in general. But rarely do we get to see academic research that specifically examines how cultural biases for and against animals are formed. Free From Harm shares one such piece:

“In an eye-opening new research paper called The Conceptual Separation of Food and Animals in Childhood, University of Bristol researchers Kate Stewart and Matthew Cole explore how we, as a society, teach our children a separate morality for food animals that intercepts a child’s natural tendency to protect and empathize with all animals. As the paper points out, when we explain to children for the first time where meat comes from, their first reaction is often revulsion. Parents confront this moral quandary by explaining to children why farm animals have a different role in our lives than other animals.”

Read more about the research here >>

But if you’re a vegetarian or vegan parent who wants to nuture compassion and health in your little one, here are some children’s books that do just that >>

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Sections: Vegan Resources
Topics: animals, children, compassion, culture, nurture, society, sociology, teens, veg, Vegan, vegetarian