Vegan/vegetarian babies?!

Everyone raises their children in a different way. Is it okay to raise your children Christian? Jewish? Wiccan? Atheist? Buddist? Everyone has their own values and morals, and they will push them onto their children because it's what they believe is best. I compare vegetarianism with religion because to me it comes with a set of values, like religion does.

I would personally disagree with humans being omnivores because I believe that all the facts point to humans being herbivores. So that would be one reason my future children would be vegan. Another is eating meat is cruel, destroys the earth, and a little more abstractly, I think it's bad for human mentality. You are what you eat and all that.

I haven't heard of a case where vegan children have suffered malnutrition. I'm sure so long as Mom and Dad see a registered dietitian with experience in vegetarianism, the baby will be healthy. It's all a matter of a balanced diet. Even if the baby weren't veg, he still can't live on cupcakes, chips, and soda (like one mom I know feeds her son >_>). The baby must have good nutrition.
Also, this is an off-the-wall suggestion, but maybe you could invest in a food processor to make your own baby food. You could puree rice and beans. =3 Or even if your son doesn't go veg, I still wouldn't trust the baby food companies with meat. I read an affidavit of a slaughterhouse worker being told by his manager to pick some rotten meat off the floor and put it back into line. It went on to become baby food. So...that's really disgusting. D=< If I were you, I would just buy the meat and puree it yourself.

ETA: Yay! Homemade baby food! =D You're a step ahead of me.
Okay, I went to the link. This is some seriously bad parenting. Wow. I didn't go through them all, but the first one - the "fruititarian" baby should have just been common sense. Ghandi went fruititarian, and that's when he got sick and was basically force-fed goat's milk. Fruititarianism is not something to mess around with.

The other ones "soy milk and apple juice", "wheatgrass, coconut water, and almond milk"....sigh. This is really sad. Common commercial soy/other plant milk don't have the nutrition to support the health of infants/newborns. Breast is always best as long as the mother's healthy, and if not - infant soy formula will do just fine. I think you're getting past that stage though. :)

I found these links that can give you some information:
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.htm
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/vegan-babies…
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_d…

Of course, I still encourage you to see an RD to help you plan appropriate meals. Try to find one experienced with vegetarian diets. :)

Vegan

YEh I don't agree humans are natural omnivores for so many reasons I won't go into.

If you take a human being, feed him the optimum healthy diet of plant foods- oils, fats, seeds, nuts, grains, fruit, veg, roots, all wholegrain, no refined sugar etc, you will have the most primed human being you can get. There would be no way to make that human healthier.
Dairy is so acid forming- humans die from erosion of organs and functions, and eating vegan can help your body to make a lot more alkaline.
As long as you get a good diet, this is the healthiest one you can eat- no meat, dairy, nothing from inside the body of a fleshy animal. It makes no sense.

Deer Hunter is on the troll again. He is obviously not including the population of India ( over 1 billion of them and mostly vegetarian) and major chunks of China - which are vegetarian and often vegan.
Deer Hunter, the cardiovascular disease is due to eating high amounts of Ghee. And diabetes is due to the sugary snacks and chai. You can have unhealthy vegetarians. That is not what the question is.


I'm not sure where the 6 billion he mentions are from, maybe his cosy wooky hole.

Raising one's child a vegan is no more "making them" anything,
anymore than raising them to eat meat is "making them" an omnivore.
All parents control their child's diet. That's kinda universal.

Naturally, humans evolved to be able to eat meat in times of scarcity.
It is not our ideal diet,
as proven by the fact that the more we eat, the sicker we get.

Vegan babies don't suffer from malnutrition, unless they're neglected.
There is no magical nutrient found only in animal products.

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."

Feed you babies kid what you think is best for them vegetarian, vegan or otherwise. That's your responsibility. It is also your responsibility to make sure that what you feed them is a well balanced diet.

There are no lifestyle vegan or vegetarian babies. There are baby human omnivores who are fed a vegetarian and vegan diet. Babies do not make lifestyle choices and being vegan and vegetarian are lifestyles that people choose.

Whilst I would query your statement that naturally humans are omnivores, there is no need to go into that discussion here.

I am a long term vegetarian with veg husband and two teenagers. Neither child has ever eaten meat and we have no milk and minimal eggs and cheese. Both are very healthy and growing well. When pregnant with my first child, I was regularly asked if I would be feeding him meat. People ask this as they have no concept of vegetarian nutrition, and I can understand their concern but definitely don't agree with it. Hundreds of generations of Indians have been born, lived and died vegetarian. Indians do eat dairy products, and together with a diet high in plant proteins from pulses and grains, they do get all the necessary nutrients.

As far as vegan children go, there are some issues with vitamin B12 and I'm not sure how they get around that. However, I used to work with a lady who was born and raised a vegan and she was one of the healthiest specimens of a human I've ever known!

I would agree with you. I'm not sure if humans were "originally" omnivores but I am pretty sure that to specifically remove meat and animal products from his diet would probably not be good for his health. Vegetarians are known to suffer from, not so much deficiencies, but more from a lack of the normal quantities of proteins, iron, and other substances found in animal products. The majority of foods designed for 1> year olds are usually relatively low in animal products anyway. However, I don't think it is right to immediately associate all of your new personal policies on your kids. I would be naturally inclined to take the view that all decisions similar to this should be left completely for the individual to decide when ready. However, if you would wish to bring up your son in an environment that encourages a vegetarian approach to diet, I have nothing to say in 'disagreement'. If I had children, with regard to eating habits, I would probably wish to encourage responsibility for the amount of fats, syrups, and Industrial products that they eat.

Wow, now.. infants have a very narrow spectrum of food they can digest healthily at that age. The majority of meats are not included as they contain larger protein, fatty acid, and some lypid structures. Not, trying to sound too critical, you should probably do some research before you go making baby foods if you haven't already.

1. Yeah, why not? It's healthy.
2. How are humans "naturally omnivores"? Are you referring to breastfeeding? If so, you should know that that decision is totally optional. I think it would be better to raise a child vegan or vegetarian. It helps them to recognize what's good and bad for them as they grow.
3. I've heard of people raising babies vegan, but I've never never heard of them having malnutrition. It could be a valid or invalid statement.
4. That's completely up to you! But you should know that becoming vegan is one of the greatest life decisions- ever!

Raising your child as a vegetarian or a vegan is no more objectable than raising your children to consume meat. My children will be vegetarians to start with, and if they wish to eat meat later on in life, they may decide to do so. I'm not going to confine them to a diet, I only wish to raise them on a vegetarian diet, inform them on where meat comes from, and allow them to make their own decisions when the time comes

exsft actually summed it up pretty well, human beings are omnivorous by nature but given that the child is provided with a nutritious and balanced diet there should be absolutely no problem health wise.

Humans are not natural carnivores, our bodies are not designed to digest meat. Babies can be fed on a healthy vegetarian/vegan diet and as long as it well balanced including an healthy range of foods and the right nutrients. My three children are all healthy young adults and they have never eaten meat, my 3 year old grandaughter is vegetarian and is in perfect health. There are good books you can buy on how to raise your children veggie or you can look on the vegetarian society web site.

This should help:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/…

These guides are also great

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-guid…

Most babies are breastfed, and are therefore vegan by default.

Humans are indeed omnivores, and as such can survive and thrive on a plant based diet if they have to - or if they choose to

Deer hunter almost had a point there, until he forgot that there's a whole country full of millions of Indians ; and no dude, she's not talking about the American Indian.

All parents make choices for their children, that is what parenting is all about. Just b/c something is the default choice, does not mean it is the correct one, and one that everyone should fall to. You will be "forcing" many decisions on your child, from what they eat(veggies, meat, fast food, organic, etc), to religion, to ethics, etc.

Most children are raised with the beliefs of our parents. When we mature into adults we either keep these beliefs or shed them and replace them with out own. I was raised a certain way by my parents. I have held onto some of what I was given, and found my own path in other things(food, religion- or lack there of, parenting, etc).

You need to make the choice that you are comfortable with. There is nothing wrong with raising a child vegetarian, many children grow up without meat in their diet, and are perfectly healthy.

If you are feeding your child a balanced diet, he will not be malnourished. There is nothing in meat that cannot be obtained from a veg*n source. The American Dietetic Association, which is the worlds largest organization of food and nutrition professionals has stated that am appropriate planned vegan or vegetarian diet is healthy for all stages of life(1).

If you are curious on vegetarian/vegan nutrition for children there are some great books and internet sources.

Websites
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_d…
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.htm

Books
Raising Vegetarian Children : A Guide to Good Health and Family Harmony
by Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina

Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right
by Joel Fuhrman

(1) http://www.eatright.org/About/Content.as…

Yes humans are omnivores but for the humans that have luxuries like money and grocery stores, they can live healthy on a vegetarian diet. Believe it or not there actually are people that believe humans are herbivores. Of course we and 6 Billion other people know this is false.

Sheila, I assume you are talking about American Indians. They were not vegetarians. They hunted animals and ate meat.

Actually I have been to India peetr, yes there are vegetarians there but I sure saw a lot of people eating meat. So lets say she was talking about People from India.

UN statistics on longevity shows Japan, the largest consumption of meat (fish/seafood) per capita is the healthiest society (out of 194) on earth. India on the other hand, with approximately 35-50% of the population being vegan/vegetarian ranks 134th. The US, with its "typical unhealthy diet" ranks 23rd. By the way, also in India, the number one killer in rural areas, where you would find the highest density of plant based diet because of poverty, is cardiovascular disease. Even more ironic, India has one of the highest diabetic cases in Asia. Vegetarian healthier? No, definitely not.

If you don't like my answers friendofchip, well then don't read them. Apparently though my answers somehow get to you. Does the truth hurt that much? lol