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
Sarah, there is plenty of beta carotene in carrots, pumpkin or sweet potatoes to eat small amount of it and satisfy the amount of retinol needed that it converts your body into. Please educate yourself!
Unfortunately not. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/beta-carotene-vitamin-a-myth/
Sarah, please educate yourself on the subject. B12 has nothing to do with meat. If the animal that you eat is not fed B12, there’s no B12 in the meat. Since none of the food fed to farmed animals contains B12, they have to be get the same B12 supplements you can take and skip killing the poor sentient being for no reason.
True B12 that the body can actually use (not analogs like in sea veggies) is only found in animal foods. This would include dairy, eggs etc not just meat. It might be a good idea to talk to a vegetable farmer and learn how many animals are routinely killed in the process of growing vegetables! https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/vitamin-b12-critical-nutrient-found-only-in-animal-foods/
B12 is in soya milk.
If it is in soy milk, it is added and it is synthetic. Synthetic B12 is highly ineffective at resolving deficiency.
Since you seem to place a lot of stock in the age of the vegan-raised child: I am in my 20’s. Born to a vegan mother, never fed formula always breast fed. Raised vegan my whole life. VERY healthy! Top 96th percentile in school. Active in sports. My sibs and cousins also have no problems (and we’re all grown now, so you can’t use the excuse that it’s too early to tell). What should be emphasized is, if you are vegan, you need to eat a very carefully balanced diet. It wouldn’t hurt for mothers to include things like yeast flakes or marmite (high in B12). Often new vegans don’t know how to cook and eat a properly balanced diet. Your diet needs to include more than just veggies (which is stereotypical all people think we eat) but doesn’t need to include animals or animal products. Being raised vegan, I can cook a wide variety of food and eat very balanced w/o endangering myself or any future children.
I am glad to see you noted at the end that the mother was convicted for an *imbalanced* diet. But you should be aware that being vegan does not automatically equal an imbalanced diet.
I think you also missed that the mother is probably more guilty of not seeking help when her child began to suffer, not for being vegan. Death from vitamin deficiency wouldn’t have been immediate; she should have sought medical advice or help from a feeding coach when her child began to suffer.
I have been vegan 15 years, had a perfect pregnancy, and my 6 month old is very healthy and over 19 lbs (85% percentile). He meets all his milestones. I’ve met healthy adults who are vegan since conception. If you made articles for all the children who died pr were taken away while in the care of omnivore parents, you would have millions of articles to write. Just stop. Veganism doesn’t hurt children, ignorant parents do.
I’m glad you’re baby is healthy. 6 months old is hardly enough to judge anything though (my oldest is almost 18). You have LOTS of development to still occur. He isn’t even walking yet!
Thank you for this article! I wish more people would question Veganism instead of blindly following it. Too much misinformation being spread by that crowd, it’s keeping people terribly ignorant.
Everyone should take a B12, Vegans, Vegetarians, Meat eaters alike, everyone! B12 deficiency has to do with poor soil quality not meat. (They inject B12 into meat and add B12 to milk, Skip the nasty animal products and just take the supplement)
Your entire comment is false. B12 is not injected into meat or added to milk. Just wow. Sometimes I cannot believe the vegan propaganda that people fall for to justify this very unnatural way of eating. Unfortunately, terrible tooth problems is what wakes many of them up several years down the line.
Hi, I commented on your fb page before about veganism and I just want to say that that mother makes vegans like us look bad.
Human breast milk is vegan btw because it comes with consent, plus it is important for the baby. As an ethical vegan I feel really sorry for the poor baby that had to die all because of the mother’s ignorance and stupidity.
Babies need breast milk, end of story. Thanks for sheding a light on the story. It’s important that people know that breast milk is in fact vegan and that mothers like that do not know any better.
I hope the mother spends a long time in prison.
The baby WAS being breastfed! Breastmilk from a vegan mother is nutritionally deficient.
Um, vegan mother here breastfeeding an exceptionally healthy 13 month old. Your statement is absolutely incorrect. Diet is very important no matter what you’re eating and vit b12, which you obviously don’t understand, doesn’t come from animals. It comes from soil or when consuming animals, from a supplement given to them. There are plenty of us healthy vegan mamas out there who properly plan our diets and are growing perfectly healthy humans all while NOT consuming animals. Thank you.
B12 is ONLY found in animal foods my friend. The B12 in kelp is not the type of B12 that the human body can utilize. Also, 13 months old .. the child’s teeth aren’t even fully in yet! This is where a vegan child will suffer the most … with very poorly developed, cavity prone teeth. Please get your facts straight, else your child is going to suffer the consequences!
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/vitamin-b12-critical-nutrient-found-only-in-animal-foods/
I don’t understand parents who impose their believes on their children. Not giving your baby what he/she definitely needs is unforgivable. Every mother is responsible for her child. She must think about health of her baby first of all. And though people here talk about meat-eaters eating not healthy, I agree that this is wrong, but don’t see how vegetarian mothers who don’t let their child get enough vitamins are better. Do you really believe that those pills give you 100%? They are synthetic, our body can consume only part of them. So don’t lie to yourself, listen to your body and eat what it is necessary and not what the world fashion tells you.
Vegans are angry in comments, hahaha.