Vegan breastfeeding has caused an 11-month-old baby to die and the parents are charged with neglect after an autopsy indicated the baby suffered from severe deficiencies in Vitamin B12 and Vitamin A. Both these nutrients are known to be critical to a child’s development and sorely lacking in a vegan diet. This is why doctors strongly advise against nursing mothers and growing children following a vegan diet (1).
Vegans have long been advised to take B12 supplements as long term veganism runs the huge risk of serious B12 deficiency as well as other nutrients only found in animal foods such as true Vitamin A. Â Beta carotene is not true vitamin AÂ nor does it easily convert to adequate amounts of Vitamin A in the body to sustain optimal health.
While charging the parents in this tragedy is questionable as it smacks of too much interference by government into private life, it does communicate a clear message to other vegans:Â abstinence from all animal foods is a danger to one’s health and most particularly, your baby!
It also sends a clear message that what a nursing Mother eats definitely DOES affect the quality of her breastmilk, particularly with vegan breastfeeding. Many breastfeeding advocates insist that breastmilk will include all a baby needs despite what the Mother eats, but clearly this is not the case.
Traditional cultures took great care to ensure that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers consumed ample amounts of animal foods rich in vitamins A, D, E, K2 and of course B12. These foods included grass-fed butter, pastured eggs, liver, seafood, and fish eggs. Notice that none – NOT ONE of these traditionally sacred foods is plant-based!
Incidentally, the 2017 vegan film What The Health was unable to cite a single successful vegan population group either. Why? Because there are none. Ever.
If you are pregnant and breastfeeding and would like to learn what foods will maximally support the health of your baby while nursing, please check this link for the complete listing of traditionally sacred foods for optimal fetal and baby development. These foods will also ensure the preservation of your own health during pregnancy and lactation which can easily deplete a Mother’s nutritional stores leaving her vulnerable to exhaustion.
Vegan Parents Convicted
The vegan breastfeeding mother and father whose baby died as described in this article were convicted by a French court to 5 years in prison due to the imbalanced vegan diet the mother ate which led to nutrient-poor breastmilk and a failure to thrive child who eventually fell ill from severe nutrient deficiency and died without the parents ever seeking proper medical attention (source).
For more information on how vegan breastfeeding and also a vegan diet devastate the health of children, read about how a 12-year-old vegan was diagnosed with the degenerating bones of an 80-year-old.  Dr. Faisal Ahmed MD, a pediatrician treating the child, said that the dangers of forcing children to follow a strict vegan diet need to be publicized.
Unfortunately, vegan parents don’t seem to be getting the message quickly enough. The latest case involves vegans who nearly starved their 5-month-old baby to death feeding him potato mash instead of the doctor advised organic formula.
The child, who weighed just over 8 pounds and had sunken eyes and protruding ribs, is recovering but will likely suffer long-term damage from the experience (source).
References
Angelina Jolie says veganism nearly killed her
Supersize Me Girlfriend Quits VeganismÂ
Vitamin A Vagary
Vitamin B12: Vital Nutrient for Good Health
French vegan couple whose baby died of vitamin deficiency after being fed solely on breast milk face jail for child neglect
I am getting really tired of all diets at this point and the people pushing them. Guess what? You can extend your lifespan perhaps with this diet or that – or you might not. Genetics, people. They rule all. Every doctor on the planet knows this, every scientist.
Eventually you will die. That is certain. You can eat kale from sunup till sundown, you’re still going to die. Bacon, the same thing. Fish, eggs, bread, butter, flax seed, no matter what you eat, you WILL die. Something will take us all out. So wasting time in life arguing so vociferously about diet is almost farcical when life is too short to be arguing over it. Get your blood tested – if everything comes back ok on nutritional fronts? Whatever you’re eating is right. End of story.
Let’s shovel the BS out and examine one well known example of a Vegan diet and see how well it prevented or cured cancer. Steve Jobs the founder of Apple Computer and one of the men who pioneer the medium on which you are reading my words, was a life long Vegan.
Jobs had more money than God, he could eat anything he desired. Jobs desired Vegan grub. Steve Jobs could also afford the best health care money could provide and plenty of it. Despite his Vegan diet (or maybe because of it since no research has been done on this) Steve Jobs was diagnosed with colon cancer. As stated earlier money was no impediment for Steve Jobs. Jobs could have gone into the hospital had his cancer removed, and because the cancer was discovered early, Jobs stood almost a 100% chance of making a full and complete recovery.
Sadly, this is when Jobs’ Irish kicked in. Jobs kept faith in his Vegan diet. Instead of having surgery to remove the cancer, Jobs chose to double his bet and adopted an even more radical Vegan diet that was touted to kill cancer cells.
Jobs should have listened to his doctors. His colon cancer continued to grow and spread, and now the richest Vegan of all times, Steve Jobs is dead from colon cancer. So it seems that a Vegan diet at best is only as good at growing colon cancer cells as an omnivore diet is.
Now it was Steve Jobs right to eat vegan if he so desired and that is what Jobs believed and what he did. However the people on this blog making statements about the unproven dangers of an omnivore diet, or the unproven benefits of a Vegan diet are no better than snake oil salesmen, and at worst they are murders.
There is more dis-information in this post than a benghazi hearing by tea partiers.
First of all, it was pancreatic cancer, not colon cancer.
Jobs also overdosed his glycemic index by eating copious amounts of fruits, and drinking way too much fruit juice. Hi glycemic intake can greatly stress the liver and pancreas, contribute to diabetes and many other blood sugar disorders, and have been linked to pancreatic cancer. So his own stupidity did him in, which had nothing to do with veganism. Everything in moderation as they say.
I think the fact that the parents were vegans should be completely set aside. The fact that the bad was exclusively breast fed at 11 months should be set aside. The reason this case is classified as abuse/neglect is because the parents failed to seek medical attention. They failed to notice that their child was malnourished and they did nothing about it. It doesn’t take a genius to tell when your child is hungry or under nourished. Why not ask a doctor or a naturopath how to make sure your baby was properly fed. It plain and simple was neglect!
It’s not just that the baby died, it’s not just that the mother was vegan. It also stated in the article that the mother was vitamin deficient from prolonged time on that type of diet. That is a huge part of this and we are all fighting about whether veganism is wrong. Be a vegan if you want; but regular checkups (which any mom-to be out there would have in developed countries) would have warned her about being deficient. That is where I see the neglect in this. If you know your diet choice creates such a large void in your health, then anyone with common sense would know that it would effect their baby more than them. They could have easily supplemented with formula (or taking some supplements to boost her own system) for a time until the child was older and on solid foods (again, optimal by 1 year, flexible to parents’ choice blah blah blah) when it would be safer. They got what they deserved and I’m sure there was more neglect than just this that caused the child to pass. It’s a sad story and I wish someone would have stepped in before it became a permanent situation.
I notice people commenting that many other children were breastfed by their vegan mother’s and turned out just fine. Well, like the beginning of the article states, “Vegans have long been advised to take B12 supplements as long term veganism runs the huge risk of serious B12 deficiency as well as other nutrients only found in animal foods such as true Vitamin A. Beta carotene is not true vitamin A nor does it easily convert to adequate amounts of Vitamin A in the body.” These other vegan mother’s with healthy babies more than likely were more concerned about their childs health and took their doctors advice as to how to supply the proper nutrients to their child, while still being vegan. The parents who were charged, obviously did not. And they were not just charged because she was vegan and breastfeeding, it was truely neglect. A child can’t just simply die of nutrient deficency out of the blue. There were symptoms the parents ignored which probably included but not limited to ; weakness, and lethargy.
Breast milk is a very healthy way top keep your child healthy living for 5 years. I started my son on a “soft” solid diet at 2 months old. As a good parent you are supposed to give them such a diet. My son grew to be one of the most intelligent and strong children you will ever meet. He was breast fed till he weened himself at 7 months. But we still pumped and gave him his glass to drink. Soft solids are good for the child. like banana, oats and fruits. You mash it and make it into a thin smoothly. Breast milk was not taking away his hunger. Feeding only breast milk and formula was not giving him his fill of food and nutrients. If you realize all babies are vegans till the day you decide as parents to make a chicken meal. You get all the TRUE nutrients from all vegetation this Earth provides. Vegans live 15 years longer than meat eaters and live healthier if they actually eat a proper diet. They should have been feeding their child blueberries with the breast milk. Kids love smoothies. People are unaware of facts when they become parents. Ive seen worse parenting and not one state official will correct the issues. So much abuse and neglect in todays modern day child. I firmly believe that for every person that wishes for a child, they must have classes and training before conception is allowed. Also, a good pyske exam would be best with it. If you dont pass, Then you are not allowed to have children.
I seriously doubt that autopsies are performed on deceased formula fed infants http://boycottnestle.blogspot.ca/ “It is welcome that WHO has come out against PAHO linking with the food and beverage industry. Nestlé is desparate to undermine controls on its marketing practices, which contribute to the unnecessary death and suffering of infants around the world and to the global rise in obesity and non-communicable diseases. As I speak, it is attempting to undermine strong baby milk regulations introduced in the Philippines. Nestlé invests heavily in trying to promote itself as a “health, nutrition and wellness” company to distract from its unethical marketing of baby milks and the high sugar, salt and fat content of many of its junk foods”. Hence, I feel terrible for these poor parents who have sustained one of life’s greatest tragedies, and seem to be singled out and punished…I mean really how many grossely neglected, malnourished children in the world, actually survive??
My mom is a lacto-vegan. She gave birth to my baby sister. She’s 13 years old – vibrant & healthy.
WHO recommendations:”Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed1 for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health2. Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond. Exclusive breastfeeding from birth is possible except for a few medical conditions, and unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in ample milk production”.
So, I flipped through oh about a third of the page or so of comments, and I really feel like I’m back in grade school. All that’s missing is whining for mom and hair pulling. Wow.
First off – most “diets” aren’t healthy period. Vegan, vegetarian, non-vegan/vegetarian, raw foods only, meat only – it really doesn’t matter what you eat. We’re in such a chemical based society that absolutely nothing will give us the proper nutrition our bodies have evolved into needing. That’s why we have vitamin supplements (both human and animal). Sucks yes because nature provided for us for thousands of years without needing extra help but hey… welcome to the modern world.
Now… with that being said – in regards to the article sans the “vegan is bad for you” parts… those parents had to have known something was wrong with their child. Being a GOOD parent means you take your child for their regular check-ups as babies (there’s like 4 of them). If after the first 3 months they seem to be more lethargic than they should be – go to the doctor! It’s what a good parent would and should do. Blaming the diet – which in this case yes was the cause because the mother was not providing what her child needed through breastfeeding – based solely on what it is is kind of wrong, but kind of not either. If a mother chooses to breastfeed their child (no matter how long they choose to) – then they should learn what foods/vitamins they really need to eat in order to provide proper nutrition for both themselves and their baby. That is easily found out through a dietician or your doctor.
Should the parents have been charged with neglect? Absolutely. Any parent who apparently deliberately keeps their child who is too young to fend for itself malnourished -should- be punished for it. Sorry but when you have a child it becomes your responsibility to provide everything they need to survive. However, sometimes even the best parents lose children. It does happen. Should they be punished? Not really no. If they’ve done everything possible and it still happens, they have my deepest sympathies. Unfortunately we live in a world where crazy people exist who think “Well it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for them” or “I don’t go to the doctor because I don’t believe in it so my child won’t either” and that’s when we have serious issues. Children require different nutrition than an adult. Children are able to consume vast amounts of things that would cause major health issues in adults. And no, doctors aren’t perfect, yes they make mistakes on diagnosis… yet more often than not they save more lives than they hurt. They’re human like the rest of us.
Good, better, best, bad, ugly, worse, and worst… this is the world we now live in. And for the record………… I’m not giving up my steaks. Cows are delicious!