If you are a parent considering raising your child plant-based, consider the case of a 12-year-old girl raised on a strict vegan diet. The girl ended up in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, Scotland suffering from a severe form of rickets.
The girl had already experienced multiple fractures and been diagnosed with a degenerated spine comparable to that of an unhealthy 80-year-old woman.
Fast Food Diet Better for a Child than Veganism
Say what you will about a child who eats junk food, if the diet overall includes animal foods like eggs, meat and dairy…even if from fast food joints…this type of bone degeneration simply does not happen.
For all the downsides of The Standard American Diet, it is shockingly still a better choice than even a whole food vegan diet (aka “plant-based”) that is devoid of numerous critical nutrients a growing child’s body demands.
Pediatrician Discredits Veganism for Children
Media reports indicate that the hospital doctors were under pressure to report the girl’s parents to police and social workers.
Dr. Faisal Ahmed, a pediatrician treating the girl, warned that the dangers of forcing children to follow a strict vegan diet need to be publicized. (1)
If raised strictly vegan, the child would almost certainly have severe deficiencies of Vitamins A and D, both of which are essential bone nutrients that can only be obtained from animal foods.
For example, using aquafaba instead of eggs and plant-based meat substitutes can prove very dangerous.
In all likelihood, the child would also be lacking needed calcium, zinc (the intelligence mineral), B-12 as well as other B vitamins, Vitamin K2, the EPA and DHA fatty acids, and the sulfur containing amino acids methionine and cysteine.
Although the human body is theoretically capable of converting beta carotene from vegetables like carrots into true Vitamin A, children are not able to do so efficiently if at all.
Sunlight could have provided Vitamin D but only if the family spent a lot of time outdoors year-round in a tropical area. Northern climes like Scotland simply do not offer the benefit of Vitamin D-producing sunlight for much of the year.
Other Cases of Child Vegans Suffering Severe Nutritional Deficiencies
Sadly, this is not the first time vegans have been accused of child abuse though it may be the first case involving crippling bone damage. More typically, vegan babies end up in the hospital from malnutrition caused by the use of soy milk instead of infant formula.
Given soy milk alone, babies end up with severe vitamin, mineral, fatty acid, and amino acid deficiencies, which is why soy formula manufacturers are required by law to add methionine and other nutrients that are critical for a baby’s growth.
In 1990, the FDA investigated after a two month old girl in California was hospitalized with severe malnutrition. Her parents had fed her soy milk instead of soy formula. Because of this and a similar incident in Arkansas involving the SoyMoo brand of soy milk, the FDA issued a warning on June 13, 1990. Since then, most brands of soy milk include warning labels in tiny print on their packages.
Clearly, voluntary warning labels have not been enough, and there have been deaths as well as hospitalizations of vegan babies fed soy milk. Vegan parents in Atlanta were found guilty of the death of their six-month-old baby. To supplement the mother’s inadequate supply of breast milk the parents had fed their son soy milk and apple juice. The baby was only 3 1/2 pounds when he died of starvation. (3)
The sad truth is that numerous vegans have been charged and found guilty of unintentionally starving their children from all across the globe, including parents in Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Australia, and the United States among others. (4-10)
Vegan Breastfeeding Dangerous Too
In France, a vegan couple was sentenced to 5 years in prison for the death of their 11-month-old daughter. The baby, who was only 12.5 pounds at the time of her death, had been exclusively breastfed by a vegan mother.
An autopsy showed her to be not only severely underweight and malnourished but severely deficient in Vitamins A and B12. (2, 11-12)
The mother had cared enough to breastfeed, but had an inadequate supply of poor quality milk because of the severe nutritional limitations of her plant-based diet.
While veganism for very young children can be catastrophic, the tragic case of the 12-year-old Scottish girl illustrates that plant based diets for older children are also dangerous. Although finally getting medical treatment, the child’s long-term prognosis for recovery and a normal life remains grim.
Sadly, the word about the dangers of veganism for children doesn’t seem to be getting through to the general public. The continual barrage of highly flawed propaganda-ridden, documentaries such as What The Health guarantees that more well-intentioned but seriously misinformed vegan child malnourishment cases are likely to follow.
References
(1) Parents of 12-Year-Old Vegan Girl Who Has Degenerative Condition May Face Charges
(2) French Vegans Charged with Neglect After Baby’s Death from Nutritional Deficiencies
(3) Vegan Couple Serving Life Sentences for Starving Baby to Death
(4) Vegan Couple Who Fed Child Only Raw Fruit and Vegetables Charged with Murder
(5) Sydney vegan couple starved 20-month-old girl leaving her toothless and with rickets
(6) Baby Death: Parents Convicted of Killing Son with a Diet of Vegetable Milk
(7) Swedish Parents Jailed for Almost Starving Vegan Toddler to Death
(8) Strict vegan parents starved their baby of nutrients so badly that the one-year-old developed cerebral palsy and was in intensive care for a month with rashes and internal bleeding
(9) Italian baby raised on a vegan diet hospitalized for severe malnutrition, removed from parents
(10) Vegan couple will serve life sentences for starving baby to death, Georgia court rules
(11) French Couple Sentenced to 5 Years in Jail for Vegan Breastfeeding Death of 11 Month Old Baby
(12) Vegan Parents Face Jail
I do wonder where all the trillions of articles are citing the terrible effects on individual children of the modern American diet! How many children visit doctors suffering from various deficiencies? I’ve heard tell of thousands of kids who never eat vegetables suffering from constipation so terribly they are vomiting up excrement! And you have the audacity to single out veganism as a form of abuse? Disgusting. Veganism, if combined with full-term breast-feeding and a proper understanding of nutrition is almost certainly the most healthy way to raise your kids!
yeah tell that to the parents charged with the death of their MALNOURISHED Exclusively Breast Fed child because the MOTHERS VEGAN diet left the baby seriously deprived of key nutrients and vitamins needed for healthy growth. a child at 8 months that was 4 kg below the average healthy weight for children that age.
Did you not bother to read the bit where I said “a proper understanding of nutrition”??
What does it mean vegan ? I’m vegan and I’m healthy. But vegan doesn’t mean that you drink Coca Cola all day and eat spaghetti. Vegan mean that you eat fruit all fruit, vegetables and some seeds. Correct vegan diet is not dangerous do you know Annette Larkins or Mimi Kirk ? 70 years old that looks like 40. Search on google. Vegan is ideal diet for body and mind.
Mimi Kirk inspires me so much as a vegan and she looks beyond amazing at her age!
We don’t need meat and dairy. It’s a myth that they are required for proper nutrition that’s been promoted by strong agriculture and dairy lobbies. You can get a well-balanced diet, nutritionally, from plant-based sources. In fact, in countries where dairy and meat are the highest proportion of the diet, there is also a high osteoporosis and heart disease rate. In countries where meat & dairy is smallest (or nonexistent) they do not suffer from these health issues.
The issues are most likely something beyond the vegan diet here, or it only serves as an example of a poor vegan diet at best, consisting of processed foods rather than whole fruits and veg. ANY diet that focuses on processed food products and not whole foods will be nutrient deficient.
There are many people who raise healthy, strong, happy kids who are vegan. Veganism seems to be the new villain. People have been forced to believe (against research to the contrary) that they NEED meat & dairy to eat healthy, when in fact, they do not. Vegans are immediately considered unhealthy, but tell someone you’re “low carb” and eat 3 pounds of bacon a day and no one blinks an eye.
I suggest that if you think that we need meat & dairy to survive that you do some real research into nutrition, what you find might surprise you.
I had a dear friend in high school that was and is a vegan, sadly he is in terrible condition
mentally and physically. I am also aware of several people who embraced the vegan lifestyle until they had a event of illness due not having enough b-12 in their system, such as chronic fatigue and cancers breast in particular. Read the book “Is IT B-12” available used on amazon for cheap! Excellent book! I am of a mind that some people may be able to be vegan for awhile, and even some, although very few for a lifetime. However children need
a full array of healthy food, preferable non GMO, organic fruits, seed, nuts,veggies and beans as well as grass fed meats and raw dairy! If the child is of a mind to try to be a vegan as an adult at least they have stores of b-12 to live on for awhile. I have read and researched tons of literature and studies due to trying to help my vegan friend gain some semblance of help and was surprised to see many studies stating that the IQ of children raised vegan is lower than those raised on traditional foods! And if you read about b-12 you will understand why that is so. Our bodies need natual grassfed animal fat to be healthy mentally and physically, chew the fat and change your life.
So there is one child who is not well and she happens to be vegan! WOW. Every time I leave the house these days I see obese children everywhere – sometimes they are just toddlers. This is child abuse. I see obese parents walking around with obese children and I am disgusted and horrified at their abuse of their children, who will no doubt develop diabetes and other life threatening illnesses. They are obviously feeding their children massive amounts of animal fats and processed foods. These people are EVERYWHERE. How about we focus on this epidemic instead of one case where a child in sick who happens to be vegan. We don’t know what genetic issues may have been present in this case as there are millions of very healthy vegan children. I have met a few children who have been vegan since birth and they are some of the healthiest, brightest, and happy children I have seen.
When we see obese children, yes it is child abuse, however both sides here are missing the cause. The number one dietary mishap that is killing children and adults worldwide is not meat or animal products nor is it caused by veganism though both diets have their challenges which I will address after.
The culprit is SUGAR! Sugar causes heart disease, diabetes osteoporosis, cancer and contributes to many autoimmune diseases. To blame the wholesome diets of 80% of the world that evolved the human species is absurd and dangerous. Sugar is dangerous as is refined veggie fats that have REPLACED animal fats in the american diet. Contrary to common belief most children in America rarely eat animal fats, they eat lean meat that causes methlyation issues and disease.
They eat denatured salts and sugar that is added to EVERYTHING. Aspartame and MSG is added to many foods as well. Beyond any doubt or debate these are the abuses that EVERYONE together (despite vegan vegetarian omnivore or carnivore based diets we choose ) needs to look at and fight in solidarity.
To give you my background I am a practicing wellness coach and counselor, nutritionist, herbalist, masseuse and midwife with a undergrad in sciences and more. I use vegetarian and vegan diets therapuetically in my practice for detox with great sucess. Vegan diets are great for treating cancer, ulcers and diabetes however I recommend using them for no longer than 2 years in extreme cases.
I teach healthy vegetarianism for those who are doing it for digestive and or ethical reasons and for those who plan on permanent changes to their diet. I have helped over 50 teens recover from vegan childhoods that have caused early infertility and other chronic conditions. I don’t subscribe to the typical American or Canadian recommended diets as they are largely contributing to death and disease.
A uncommonly known fact is yes flesh meats can cause illness if eaten excessively and without proper balance of organ meats fats and college/glycine. Just as eating a diet of to many veggies without proper salts and fats and unprepared properly can cause thyroid dysfunction.
No matter our choices most Americans and Canadians need to learn how to eat well again. Meat eaters need to learn too and I truly believe that this is what this site is dedicated to.
As a midwife my clients who come to me as vegans are very responsible and understand that during pregnancy they need organ meat, eggs and bone broth as well as raw milk to bear and nurse healthy children. Before I began promoting such a diet many vegan clientd were having considerable difficulty in conceiving, childbirth and with breast feeding. After I began applying such practices and getting father’s on board before conception my client outcomes became far more healthful blissful and desirable.
Theses mother’s and father’s took ethical responsibility for their children, their children were and are raised on the parts of the animals that today get wasted but that our ancestors cherished. They ate ethically raised and slaughter animals therapeutically for the sake of their children and have none of the other problems like infertility, childhood tooth decay, or any other forms of degeneration.
When their children were weaned the parents went to a healthful vegetarian diet that is balanced and ethical. And until their children grow up they will eat a balanced omnivorous. Then the children can decide what kind of diet they want for themselves.
To find balance is to regard extremes with care. It is undesirable to be to extreme. To say that vegan parents of children who develope dangerous conditions are due to their not doing it properly is fair but also not so because in truth what causes these problems is misinformation on both sides. I have spent hours today reading all the comments from this article, the biggest thing I have seen is a lack of education and the perpetuation of false information.
The key is successful diets, for many ancestral diets have been successful as have many been unsuccessful.
To learn to find balanced truth brings balanced health.
Remember folks when looking at our civilization and the health concerns of its citizens we must also look to the past to find what has changed or deviated from the well being of our ancestors. The biggest change is additives and sugar consumption.
Remember that being vegan but eating GMO or pesticide/herbicide/fungicide covered food will kill you just as fast as eating big macs.
Also many studies on meat consumption and illness was done using commercial hormone enhanced meat products from unhealthy animals, same with studies on milk, all of the studies are done using homogenized and or pasteurized milk from cows fed GMO corn and cow meat!
Of course the results are endlessly bad.
Still a vegan diet IS and can be (when done right) therapeutic and not IDEAL for preconception, gestation, childbirth or nursing, nor is it IDEAL for any part of childhood development. It can be done but the question is why would one be ethical to animals yet put their child at risk for a life of illness if it could be avoided. There is nothing ethical about that. Still some do fine others not so much. One needs to decided for oneself. Just make sure you are well informed.
As with vaccination, some children will be fine, others will get sick or die, and some will get the illnesses they are being vaccinated against regardless… They question is why are you taking a Usk with your child life?! That question can only be answered by the parent, to each their own.
And for those out there with children with good sensitivity and allergies funny thing is that rich bone broth seals the gut of babies preventing and treating such imbalances. Vaccinations contain animal DNA and cause many allergies and sensitivities as well as disease and degeneration.
In nature much is simple, we are the ones that create complications.
Be kind to one another and stand in solidarity with one another trust that each way has is purpose.
Stay curious and open-minded cause there is always more to learn. Many folks on here have missed the point of this article.
The message to me is clear, vegan lifestyle is a choice, make that choice informed, don’t disregard information or evidence just because it doesn’t fit into your world veiw or the next gen MAY suffer. If you still choose to do so, be ready and willing to deal with the consequences.
If you choose to consume animal products do so with informed choice, eat a variety of animal parts and eat ethically raised and slaughtered animals and if you can, NEVER feed your children sugar or refined foods and additives, if you choose to feed your children refined veggie fats sugar msg aspartame or other chemicals do so at the risk of yourself and your children.
Take responsibility for the health of your children and don’t take unnecessary risks. If you choose to vaccinate look at the risks and ALL the evidence.
Blessings and good health to you all.
Vegan 21yrs and raising two very healthy energetic vegan boys with no health concerns, perfect teeth and my last bone density test was as high as could be. This article stinks of Western Price. I wonder what is so fearful about veganism and ethical eating that is causing this organisation to be throwing everything at the vegan/ethical movement.
As a previous child protection worker i have seen way too many cases of ‘meat eating’ kids with a number of health issues but its never reported in the media but one very rare case of a vegan child is affected it is front page news everywhere.
I can understand that veganism can cause many to face their ethical choices and be uncomfortable or want to bury ones head but dont understand the hatred that is espoused by those that get so very defensive with it. I especially dont understand the cult like movement of WP and the efforts both financially and time that is spent trying to attack veganism.
Nothing we say is going to change opinions on this site.
Better to just leave the “traditional” people to themselves and go look for some delicious veg*n chocolate recipes. 🙂
Great job on raising vegan children as well as being vegan yourself 🙂
Omg a sick child who eats a plant based diet as opposed to an entire generation that is expected to not out live their parents. A whole generation who are already the fattest in history. A generation who is already riddled with diet related cronic sickness like type 2 diabetes and a stroke at 21, completely normal.
Thanks for this meat and dairy industry advertisement, but I am happy to keep eating plants!
Hey there, I’m 18 and I’ve always been strict vegetarian. I don’t eat meat or eggs, either directly or indirectly,ie not from chocolates,biscuits,cakes,ice creams etc. Infact, I don’t even use silk,leather or shampoos and makeup that contain animal products. I’m healthy,according to my doctor and yes, I do have a healthy weight of 112 ibs for my height. I neither look fat nor anorexic but fit. It’s all about balance and having healthy meals. I’m a lacto veg. There is no such thing as all vegetarians or vegans being unhealthy. It’s all a common misconception. If it happens so,its because the person isn’t having healthy balanced meals. Infact,I have non veg friends who have certain vitamin deficiancies,whereas I don’t have any.
Yep, the author of the article is right!! We MUST feed meat to babies and especially formula from Nestle – everything that comes from nature is unhealthy, MUST be, because the industry teaches us so 🙁