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My parents are vegetarian, so am i, so are my kids and their cousins. None of us have ever suffered cognitively or athletically for not eating a hamburger.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlKaMyst
A vegan diet is not child abuse, however, there are many people who do not understand how to go about having a vegan diet that is healthy.
Most americans don't understand how to go about having a diet that is healthy.
Crazy people are crazy people. It doesn't really matter what their diet is. I'm sure 99% of the infant deaths due to poor diet in this country were at the hands of parents who eat meat and I don't hear anyone talking about how irresponsible meat-eating parents are.
If one really wanted to be self-righteous one could say that formula feeding is child abuse or that starting a kid on solid foods before they can sit up on their own is child abuse. Or introducing kids to highly allergenic foods (cows milk, wheat, peanut butter, strawberries, etc) before a certain age is child abuse.
After reading the article and watching the news video it seems the mother has more issues than just her vegan lifestyle. She was uncooperative with the doctor(s) and the police. Obviously the child was not thriving as he/she was dehydrated and losing weight. Hopefully, the mother will be psychologically evaluated, provided proper nutrition training, and monitored in the future.
While I am a vegan, I would make sure to know that what I was doing was in the best interest of my child before implementing a strict vegan diet. Outside of crying, an infant is fairly unable to tell you something is physically wrong.
As far as the "vegan for religious beliefs" I am a Baptist pastor, and a vegan due to coronary problems, yet I find that reasoning inexcusable. Our children are, or at least should, be our greatest gift from a loving God. To purposely disregard physician's directions and withhold medication is prideful and lacking in love.
A vegan diet is child abuse but McDonald's and other junk marketed to children isn't? Based off one anecdotal example, of course.
A vegan diet can be very healthy, but only works if it is well-rounded and provides all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Raising a child as a vegan takes even more diligence, and shouldn't be undertaken unless parents are willing to put in the work (and research from reliable sources).
I'm not understanding what exactly happened here. A 12 day old infant should not be consuming ANYTHING else but breast milk or formula. It could be my computer, but I can't pull up an article that states exactly what she was feeding the child.
Managed to pull up the article, and it's still not clear what she was feeding the infant. I'm puzzled.
She refused to take the child to the hospital stating she "didn't think the child was dehydrated" and wanted a second opinion from a "natural" doctor. She also stated how she purchases organic formula for the baby to take in place of the medicine the doctor prescribed. When the cops asked if it was safe for a newborn she said "well its organic so it must be".
I think this woman is a wingnut that's lost her threading, but veganism has little or nothing to with it.
"Organic" doesn't mean healthy. I have organic tobacco products. Poison Ivy is organic.
As a dedicated meat eater, who thinks that veganism falls under the umbrella of "silly Moderator cut: language ," I can't see how its child abuse, either, provided the kid gets all the calories and nutrients he needs.
I believe so. I view it little differently than those that push their religious views on their children. Humans are carnivores and have the teeth necessary for meat-eating for a reason. Whether one chooses to be vegan/vegetarian should be something the child decides when they are old enough.
For me, I like nice juicy burgers and steaks FAR too much to become one personally.
No. Humans are NOT carnivores. Most of us are omnivores but we are not obligate carnivores like many animals.
That being said, with regard to the OP, it isn't the veganism that is abusive it is the mother refusing to seek medical help. Btw, I have never known a vegan to deny their newborn breast milk in the name of veganism.
I mean, is soy formula that unusual? I was on it when I was an infant due to milk allergies.
I think there is something going on. I see nothing wrong with raising your child to be a vegan - if that is what the parents' are. BUT, they have to make sure that the 12 day old INFANT is receiving sufficient nutrition. Should't breastmilk do the trick?
There is no way for a baby to get its proper nutrients via a vegan diet. Some of the very basic nutrients that children need are found only in animal products (especially D vitamins and B12) or are only supplied adequately from animal products (especially EPA and DHA fatty acids). All are vital for brain and nervous system development. While it is possible for the body to derive EPA and DHA from the alpha-linoleic acid supplied in plants, it requires supplementation and a lot of metabolic work for that to occur. An infant/toddler is not really capable of that kind of metabolic expenditure, so they quickly deteriorate if not provided the composite animal sources. Considering that the average child doubles in size over its first 2-3 years of existence and that its brain develops much of its cognitive ability during the first 5-6 years, how is it even a question whether depriving him or her of the basic building blocks required for sustained neural development is child abuse? It most definitely is. Vegans and vegetarians are very good at convincing themselves that this isn't the case but, as always, mother nature wins.
My parents are vegetarian, so am i, so are my kids and their cousins. None of us have ever suffered cognitively or athletically for not eating a hamburger.
Most americans don't understand how to go about having a diet that is healthy.
Crazy people are crazy people. It doesn't really matter what their diet is. I'm sure 99% of the infant deaths due to poor diet in this country were at the hands of parents who eat meat and I don't hear anyone talking about how irresponsible meat-eating parents are.
If one really wanted to be self-righteous one could say that formula feeding is child abuse or that starting a kid on solid foods before they can sit up on their own is child abuse. Or introducing kids to highly allergenic foods (cows milk, wheat, peanut butter, strawberries, etc) before a certain age is child abuse.
This. ^^^^^
I'm as omnivorous as you can get (or "carnist" if one who reads this is of that bent) but there is nothing wrong with a vegetarian diet. There's nothing wrong with a vegan diet either, necessarily... It's just easier to "do it wrong".
No. Humans are NOT carnivores. Most of us are omnivores but we are not obligate carnivores like many animals.
That being said, with regard to the OP, it isn't the veganism that is abusive it is the mother refusing to seek medical help. Btw, I have never known a vegan to deny their newborn breast milk in the name of veganism.
Maybe. Until about 10,000 years ago humans were probably obligate predators. The domestication of grains, legumes, greens and fruit was a pretty huge development and, until then, there just weren't any local ecosystems that would support any number of humans through four seasons without killing heterotrophic organisms to eat.
I agree that I haven't known a successful vegan who would undertake childcare in a questionable manner. To attempt to imply that one crazy vegan means all vegans are crazy is like trying to apply the Westboro Baptist Church platform to all Baptists, for example.
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