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 would still like a response to the question as to whether or not (and how) a vegan could produce the variety of foods needed to fully nourish himself either on his own homestead/ farm or in his community without added supplements/vitamins which are produced elsewhere and must be transported from a great distance. Also, how does one go about raising healthy plants without the use of animal fertilizers?
I say that an omnivore can successfully raise the variety of foods needed for good health on their own homestead or within their own community. Therefore, such a diet would be sustainable.
BTW, I don’t need to do blood tests on a regular basis to know that my children are getting the proper nutrients for good health. I think it’s interesting that vegans feel that they need to do that because they know that feeding a vegan diet is tricky at best.
Wow, if only sick kids being fed a diet of fast food and hamburgers got the same media attention then it would be easier to take this seriously.
Like any diet, vegans benefit from multivitamins and a balanced diet along with regular blood testing. In rare cases, parents do not do this and these problems occur.
Parents feeding infants soy milk do not represent vegans, they are simply morons.
We’re raising our daughter vegan (she’s 3 years old now), and she’s completely healthy. She gets her bloodwork done, and her doctor was impressed b/c her levels for zinc were higher than an ‘average’ omnivore’s. That was before she began vitamins at age 2. Since she’s 2, she gets a vegan children’s vitamin, which while I know you can do it w/o a vitamin, it’s not worth the risk. Parents need to be smart about it (and still gets her bloodwork done). The media also likes to shove all these anti-vegan articles in people’s faces, but what about nutritional deficiency in non-vegan children? Omnivore children who die (or end up in the hospital) from deficiency? That happens, too, but it’s never blown up in the media like this is.
Parents need to be smart and educated no matter how they raise their children, it’s simple.
I find this and other articles you have published about veganism to be one-sided. Many many people raise beautiful healthy children on a vegan diet. The difference is that they understand nutrition and take great care to make sure the children get everything they need. The world is full of irresponsible people. And yes, some of them are vegan. However, that is no reason to make sweeping claims against a lifestyle that can be the healthiest alternative on earth.
When looking for specifics about raising healthy vegan children, a good place to start is with the respected Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine. Have a look:
http://pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/vegetarian-diets-for-children-right-from-the-start
How many 90 year old vegans do you see walking around? I’ve never met one. Ever.
Sarah, maybe you should interview Dr Ellsworth Wareham. You have never met a 90 year old vegan but YOU should meet a 100 year old one.
Bet she didn’t eat vegan while she was growing up.
Bet she doesn’t have any grandkids either.
Dr. Ellsworth Wareham has been a vegan for 50 years. He and his wife had 5 children. Additionally, studies show that people on a plant based diet live longer than their omnivore counterparts.
“Barbara and Ellsworth raised their five children on a 40-acre apple orchard in Oak Glen, Calif., about 22 miles from Loma Linda University.
metro.co.uk/2015/10/15/101-year-old-heart-surgeon-reveals-vegan-diet-is-secret-to-his-longevity-5439590/
Key difference … he WASN’T vegan when he was growing up nor was his mother vegan when she was pregnant with him. Let’s see if his kids are so fertile. NOT.
Ok, I’ve been reading the responses to this article for months and decided to put in my two cents. First of all, my healthy omnivore diet can be produced locally in an environmentally sound manner. I don’t NEED to consume food that must be produced hundreds or thousands of miles away and then shipped to me. It does not REQUIRE me to buy supplements to make up for missing nutrients. My meat is grown on pasture that otherwise would not be suitable for crops (too hilly) and their manure is used to fertilize my gardens to grow fruits and veggies. The eggs are from free-ranging birds who fertilize and cultivate the ground they inhabit. My milk is from cows eating a variety of vegetation and I consume it raw in it’s health-promoting form. My question about a vegan diet is–Can you produce the abundance of food required to get the full spectrum of nutrients a human body needs on your own homestead or in your local region? And can you produce nutrient-dense crops without the use of livestock or chemical fertilizers?
I’ll happily address your questions, Maggiemoo! =o)
*Can you produce the abundance of food required to get the full spectrum of nutrients a human body needs on your own homestead or in your local region?*
As a vegan, I do this easily, and it’s confusing to me why this would even be a question. After all, the resources required to a bring a meal with animal’s bodies, secretions, or menses are *significantly* greater than what is needed for a plant-based meal. For example, depending on whose numbers you want to trust, each pound of edible animal flesh requires between four to thirteen pounds of plants to produce. In essence, all that protein/energy is being filtered through animals before humans consume it, and they’re doing so at a substantial loss. Putting aside for a moment the health, environmental, and social issues inherent to agribusiness, when folks do stop raising animals in order to eat their bodies and instead use that agricultural land to produce human-edible goods, we’ll be able to feed the world many times over with food to spare!
Sure, I understand that in your particular case you’re under the impression that a large portion of the caloric intake being consumed by your cows is coming from land which would be unsuitable for other crops. For myself, my experience in horticulture has shown me beyond any doubt that land which can sustain animals can also sustain crops, and hills are no obstacle at all to contemporary farming practices (e.g. “best-practices” in permaculture address this fairly directly).
As for consuming the range of nutrients needed, this is exceptionally easy for vegans to achieve. I’ve been vegan for a decade with very little effort, but I’m not the first to do so; as I mentioned earlier in this thread, there have been healthy, thriving vegetarians and vegans for as long as there have been humans. Some were so do to moral or ethical concerns, others due resource utilization issues, others due to cultural taboos. All other factors being equal, the veg(etari)ans have thrived, and continue to do so. For some more recent historical examples of vegans, we can look at Pythagoras, the “Pythagoreans” (as vegans were called for the following 1300 years). Buddhists, Jainists, et al., have been doing grand as veg(etari)ans since around the 6th century BCE. There are many more examples, but the point is as it effect this conversation is that vegans have been (and are) receiving their full range of nutrients all along, and do so at a lower cost (in terms of either money or effort) then their non-vegan counterparts.
*And can you produce nutrient-dense crops without the use of livestock or chemical fertilizers?*
Yes. We’re doing so on our 100 acres without any problem whatsoever. But we’re not the only ones! Organic-vegan farming practices are well established, low cost, and highly effective.
*A Question In Return*
I thank you, Maggiemoo, for being willing to raise and discuss these very pertinent concerns. In earnest, I respect that it’s a tough decision to consciously decide to eat other beings, but I’m hoping you won’t mind if I ask a question about that in particular. To be clear, I’m not seeking to be confrontational *at all*, but rather am curious what thought processes you’ve come to, since it’s clear that you’ve considered these issues, though have arrived at different conclusions than myself.
What puzzles me is what would make it OK to forcibly take the life of a sentient individual, especially when it is clearly not necessary for humans to do so, and when he or she being would so obviously rather not be eaten (let alone killed)?
Again, no offense is intended whatsoever by this inquiry; I merely seek to better understand how a moral person such as yourself can come to make such a choice. Fair enough?
Thank you for responding, Sean. No offense taken! I think the first thing to point out is that I firmly believe that God gave us “dominion” over the animals–they are not on the same spiritual level as humans. They were not created “in the image of God” but were given to people for their use. But I also believe that we are to treat them with respect and great care and as such I could never consume meat and eggs and milk from CAFOs. I want my animals to live (and die) in the most humane way as possible.
Many years ago, I attempted to eat a more vegetarian (not vegan) diet and after a few years I was pretty non-functional. It was very frustrating for someone as physically active as I had been to be unable to do what I was used to doing. It took a lot of studying about nutrition–I had to change my diet to include much more naturally raised animal products as well as avoiding things (especially soy) before I got my life back.
You mentioned permaculture. As it turns out, I have a veritable library on gardening and several books on permaculture. Funny thing is, my books all include livestock as a part of the system. I suppose you could have the animals simply to supply fertilization but I, for one, really need the protein and other nutrients they can supply. The other thing about permaculture for me is that I don’t have the resources to build the tiers that are needed to go down the hillside. I would LOVE to be able to do it but the rocky ground we have would definitely require a bulldozer at great expense. But I dream about it! Oh, btw, organic gardening is so important to me that I also have an aquaponics set-up where the fish fertilize my veggies.
Lastly, I still am not sure how one can raise all the food necessary for optimal health on a vegan (not vegetarian which may contain eggs, dairy, etc.) diet. What is your primary protein source? I cannot consume soy and it seems as if that is the main plant of choice. What kinds of plants do you grow to round out your diet? I really am asking out of curiosity, not judgementalism.
Just one more point I forgot to add…I cannot find any evidence that the Pythagorians did not consume dairy or eggs. I know that they ate no meat or beans. The term “vegetarian” (not “vegan”) was applied to them later.
LOL @ Matt e! =o)
My goodness — I’d totally forgotten about this old thread!
FWIW, I actually *do* have an agenda, and it’s the exact same one as every other civil liberties activist: I want for there to be less needless killing, injustice, and suffering in the world. Why do you join me in that fight, Matt e, and we’ll leave the world a better place than we found it (ref vimeo.com/40717873 ).
You know… you can *always* tell the people who feel insecure in their position in these online conversations. They’re the ones who start calling people “liars” and dismissing their points out of turn without providing a bit of counter evidence. There’s no convincing people like you of anything — they’re the quintessential example of the extremist mindset. In reading your other posts in this thread, it’s obvious that you’re just trolling for reaction from people, and are clearly pushing forward an agenda of misinformation using vague, unfounded, and utterly unprovable claims claims. As such, I’ll give you exactly as much attention as any troll deserves. =oD
It’s funny–You still have not addressed my concerns.
And BTW, I would also like to see ” less needless killing, injustice, and suffering in the world”, I just do not believe that veganism is the way to achieve that. Getting rid of CAFOs would be a good start, though.
No whey! 😉 That’s awesome you’re a vegan body builder. I’m working on it myself!
My grandmother drank 7 glasses of milk a DAY before she died. She passed from severely injuring herself because of her osteoporosis. I will never believe that milk is good for you. I’ve been vegan for 8 years now and have never been healthier. I make sure I get tests done once in a while to make sure my b12 and other vitamins are in check.
I am 32 years old and almost died at 11 months from a mother who was vegan. I was exclusively breast fed at that age, because i was to weak to eat and had thrush making eating very painful. I needed a blood transfusion to survive. Luckily my mother changed her diet immediately. I have never blamed my mother because she was young and doing her best, but she carries a lot of guilt. As adults we can make our own choices, but children rely on their parents. since their has never been a third and 4th generation vegans, we do not know the long term impact it will have on our biology, do we really want to try this experiment on our children?
Hahahaha!! The article is trolling so hard.
So tell me, do the 90+ year old vegans who remain more functional than their peers 10 years younger also suffering from the weak bones of 80 year olds?
I know many children that have been raised on a vegan diet and they all appear well. It is about making sure that when you are providing a meal that you have all the proteins , nutrients etc in that meal.You can get vitamin A from green leafy veg amongst other foods and Vitamin D from sunlight and soya milk etc fortified with vit D .so to say you can only get it from animal products is rubbish.