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. Beta carotene is not true vitamin A 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: 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 Veganism
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
It appears that almost half of the overall population is “flirting” with a B12 deficiency. A 2000 article on a website of the United States Department of Agriculture is titled “B12 Deficiency May Be More Widespread Than Thought.” Excerpts: “Nearly two-fifths of the U.S. population may be flirting with marginal vitamin B12 status… the researchers found no association between plasma B12 levels and meat, poultry, and fish intake, even though these foods supply the bulk of B12 in the diet. “It’s not because people aren’t eating enough meat,” Tucker said. “The vitamin isn’t getting absorbed”… Fortified cereals are a different story. She says the vitamin is sprayed on during processing and is “more like what we get in supplements.”
Reference: “AgResearch Magazine” agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/2000/aug/vita
Yes, much of the population is at risk for B12 deficiency, but vegans are especially prone for SEVERE deficiency since they have zero in their plant based diet.
Humans are animals with mammary glands, hence why we’re called mammals. The breast milk your body produces is in fact, NOT vegan because it’s animal derived. Eat as much tofu as you want, your breast milk will never be vegan. Sorry sweetheart.
I think the article is sensationalist. My midwife was impressed by my vegan diet and yoga practise. My son is 9 weeks old ..only bf and is healthy and strong most vegans I know are aware about diet and nutrients. I take a multi vitamin and use nutritional yeast and marmite for b12 as well as having fortified milks . I think your article is biased and doesn’t show the successful vegan parenting
Not true. Vegan foods are fortified with b12. Weird how I’ve met plenty of omnivores with b12 deficiency and not a vegan with it. I’ve been vegan over 16 years, mind you. I also had a perfect vegan pregnancy with no issues and I’m still nursing my 16 month old with my vegan breast milk.
Just wow. Vegan breastmilk? No words.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that 39% of Americans have low levels of B12. If only 1% of Americans are vegan, how can B12 deficiency be a vegan issue? Do you know how many vegan casualties occur from B12 deficiencies annually? The 4-letter answer begins with a “Z” and ends with an “O”! Do you know how many meat, dairy and egg-eaters die from heart disease, cancer and other preventable diseases annually? The 8-letter answer begins with an “M” and ends with an “S”, which means there have been MILLIONS of human casualties PLUS the billions of animals who were intentionally raped, enslaved and murdered to feed those immoral, diseased beings. A 2016 study from the Journal of the American Medical Association—which showed that substituting plant protein for animal protein is associated with lower mortality—undoubtedly proves the aforsaid point.
m.ajcn.nutrition.org/content/71/2/514.long
Vegans are much more at risk for B12 deficiency … MUCH more so than omnivores. This is because no vegan foods contain any usable B12 (no, not even algae contrary to vegan propaganda on the subject). Omnivores are at least eating some foods with B12, which is why omnivores are less at risk for this very serious deficiency that causes mental problems among other issues. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/vitamin-b12-critical-nutrient-found-only-in-animal-foods/
I doubt that the fact that the mother is a vegan, is the actual cause of what killed this infant. Very unfortunate situation, but I suspect there is more to it than the mother’s diet. Millions of babies throughout history have been nursed by vegan mothers, and grew up happy and healthy.
The animals that humans eat are routinely supplemented with B12 injections because they don’t consume enough of it.
With regards to your comment about speaking with vegetable farmers about learning how many animals are routinely killed in the process of growing vegetables, I wonder what your opinion is on how many animals are killed to produce non vegetable items (including the 150 billion land and over 1 trillion marine animals killed annually for food).
scidev.net/global/food-security/news/non-food-crops-lock-up-enough-calories-to-feed-4-billion.html
news.cornell.edu/stories/1997/08/us-could-feed-800-million-people-grain-livestock-eat
Could you please share your source of information that the baby died? Thanks
The sources are in the post and listed at the end.
Very good response!
Perhaps the heading could have been something like “Negligent mother with unbalanced vegan diet lets baby die of deficiency without seeking help.” ?
lalecheleague.org/llleaderweb/lv/lvjunjul97p69.html