Veganism

Bbarb perhaps your GDs parents could look on line and get help with recipes, menus etc which would help them feed their daughter. It must be difficult for parents who have been brought up to believe in a certain way of eating to suddenly have to start to cater for a child who rejects that way of eating. Maybe they should embrace and support their daughters’ choices- there are plenty of vegan alternatives available now - sausages, bean burgers, hummus, peanut butter, Marmite, oat or almond milk, amongst many other foodstuffs can form part of a healthy child’s diet. If they feel anxious they could get a multi vitamin supplement for her, plenty of parents do that anyway. Maybe they could have a look at the Veganuary website which has lots of recipes and advice for beginner vegans all the year round.

I'm sorry, but I have to roll my eyes at the thought of teachers indoctrinating children like this.

Can't agree with this statement

My young grandsons have returned from school claiming to be vegan after a lesson similar to the OP's

Also they were told at the ripe old ages of 10 and 7 that Brexit was 'wrong'

Maybe it was but teachers should not be inflicting their opinions on young children

And let's not forget Greta Thunberg

It was her school classes that shocked her into action

Maybe that's a good thing

But please, teachers, don't dismiss the powers you have over young minds

I’m not sure that facts about industrial farming, climate change , species decline are “opinion”. Shouldn’t children know how food is produced? Farms aren’t picture book places with mother hen and her chicks, happy smiling cows etc. That’s far more brainwashing imo. How many teachers are standing in front of the class saying “ you must all be vegan?” I doubt there are any .A child’s interpretation might not reflect the reality as we all know.

Well done Felice! Those types of individuals really annoy me too! We have one in our social club who was coming to an afternoon tea event. Offered to pay half price because they didn't like ALL the sandwich fillings!!!!!! Bloody cheek! I have the greatest of respect for people's individual likes, dislikes, tastes etc but I don't want it taking over and spoiling things for everyone!

I consider my Granddaughter has an eating disorder as a result of being brainwashed in primary school at 6 years old children are not making informed decisions. I also have other concerns are regarding the education system today.

NO! teachers should keep their beliefs to themselves, however evangelical.

My 33 year old daughter came home years ago after just starting school saying she wasn't eating meat at the time she didn't eat vegetables. I went into the school and asked they had been to an assembly with older kids and she had heard the bits she wanted to hear not the whole assembly.

I tackled this many years ago. After half a term fo drip-drip-drip don’t kill animals, I told the school that following their ethos, I would refuse to kill the lice on my children’s heads, since killing thousands of living creatures merely to tackle a few itchy scalps was unethical. They got the message.

I have been veggie/vegan for 45+ yrs now and high and mighty vegans pushing their views down the throats of meat eaters give the rest of us veggies a bad name, no wonder people avoid us. The trouble is the extremists scaremongering. I had two kids, fed them meat, and then let them decide if they wanted to become veggie, one did, one didn't. I have seen on some veggie FB groups people saying they show their kids videos of animals being murdered, FFS, this is going to have a catastrophic effect on their mental health, you would not show a kid an 18 cert horror film. I know, as I myself became veggie after being taken to a farm in primary school , into a barn, and watched a pig being killed, this has affected my whole life as it was so psychologically traumatic for me. I now have B12 deficiency and related problems. Lets protect these poor kids, yes , if they ask what the sausage is , say it is a pig, they need to understand where their food comes from, not show murder videos, you do not show a kid a porn film if they ask how babies are made!

Are you sure it is indoctrination? And not education about where meat comes from? I remember my children being upset when they realised that lamb and chicken were actual lambs and chicken and that they didn't start as supermarket packets? If so I think its fine. Children do need to understand that meat comes fromactuak animals and vegetables grow in the ground etc.i can see that showing a film of an abbatiir is upsetting although I think I've seen simikar on TV. I don't think you can call it indoctrination though.

Firstly, I would suggest that their parents find out about what exactly has been taught at the school. If it is giving your GC nightmares, IMO that is a good enough reason to do so!

I have family members who follow a paleo diet along with vegetables. Their thinking is that animals were hunted and eaten by man long before all the vegan options were on earth. In some countries due to weather it may well be easier to eat plants and lugumes grown locally. In the UK an awful lot of these are flown here unless I am mistaken and the vegan diet consists of only food stuffs grown here. Schools should be informing of where food comes from, not giving young children nightmares. Would need to check out the whole scenario before complaining to school. Does seem unusual.

All comes under healthy eating in our school. The 6 year old will only drink water as thats ‘healthy’ school says. Lol tempted to take in a printout of all the chemicals in tap water.

Healthy eating is a hot topic in my GD's school .She worried about everything she ate for a whole term in case it was "unhealthy" had too much sugar or fat and in case she got fat .She was 7 ,in primary school they have the same teacher for a year so the message was being pushed all that time.

I do know healthy eating is a learned concept and that a lot of families need a lot of help but I do think drumming it into wee ones can be dangerous .I've always had weight issues ,even when I was a size 6 in my teens so I dont want to see my wee ones grow up to be the same .Food here is always cooked from scratch and we are very careful what we buy and how its cooked. Might be better if teachers promoted that attitude rather than just calorific values

I personally think primary aged schoolchildren are too young to be making decisions about their diet re: meat and would oppose any showings of abbatoirs which could upset them. Just let them be kids and enjoy their life!! I have vegans in my family and always cater for them, although I don't find it easy to find enough variety. Also, have just read about almond farming in California and how it is so vast it is providing a very toxic envoronment for bees and many bees are dying, - so no more almond milk for vegans!!

Totally with you Phoenix. It is the human species that is the problem. Too many of us consuming too much.

I don't know how old the poster's granddaughter is but in first schools most children do spend their day with just the one teacher, at least where I live.

G daughter in 8. I was very concerned by the fact that she cried - sobbed in the pub over this subject. It IS an emotive one, and one that many of you also feel strongly about, hence the fact that some of us have strong views and have stated them on here in spite of my asking PLEASE to start your own thread if you want to debate the pro's and con's of vegan diets. This one is about my Gdaughter.
I'd be the same if the subject was (say) homeopathic medicine.
I am concerned that whatever went on at the school it has given the child nightmares and has affected her to such a degree that she feels compelled to preach to everyone, and works herself up to the point of making a spectacle of herself in public.
Its not up to Grandma to interfere at the school, that's her mum's job and its up to her to decide. It doesn't stop me feeling worried.

What is really worrying is the lack of tolerance. Children need to be taught to have their own views and respect the views of others even if different to theirs. What has happened to live and let live? Vegan or not we should always accept other people’s views even if they don’t change ours.

I think the Original Poster should request an appointment with the teacher, Year Head, Deputy Head, or Head Teacher, and find out exactly what is on the curriculum and how this has been taught and express their concerns. No child should be going home distressed and upset about something they have been taught at school. I speak as an ex. teacher and married to an ex teacher. I taught young children so discussing veganism was never appropriate, just learning what a vegetable looked like before it has been cooked was the level I was teaching. My husband taught to A level, but taught French and Latin, so veganism wasn’t something he was involved with, but PSHE was something we both were aware of, and I taught. The current curriculum is doubtless different from when we were teaching. I do agree with GagaJo in that the majority of teachers just get on with the job, but there are some who are ‘enlightened’ and consider themselves perfectly entitled to preach their own views, both politically and re veganism. They’re not entitled to do this. Teaching children that Brexit is wrong, or right, teaching children that they shouldn’t or should eat meat is not acceptable. Children need to be taught facts, and given the ability to make up their own minds, not indoctrinated. That is education.

As a previous headteacher over 23 years, I used to say to parents tongue in cheek. "If you believe half of what they tell you about us, we will believe half of what they tell us about you." Previous wise counsel establish what has and is being said rather than jump to conclusions. Schools encourage children to think, this means hearing a wide variety of views. Talk to the head.

Teachers should try to be as objective as they possibly can which means not indoctrinating children but instead presenting clear information and reasoned arguments.Do you want the teacher to tell lies about cruelty to animals?

It is a matter of objective fact that food animals suffer appallingly. Children should be given the facts without lies and taught the facts in ways appropriate to the childens' ages.

I like your grandchild very much! If she were mine I'd agree with her and support her in her expressed feelings. My own very intelligent and popular grand daughter decided from early childhood to be vegetarian (her parents aren't ) and at the age of 26 remains a beautiful, popular, happy, and successful vegetarian.

Incidentally, it’s my opinion that veganism is absolutely not a faith. A belief system yes, a faith no. Faith requires belief in a God, so Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism; these are faiths, veganism is not a faith. Vegans do not worship animals, they respect them. It’s different.

Yes check first Bbarb,then if what you think is happening is true then you need to speak to head teacher about it,then possibly the education authority..Its a lifestyle choice that the children can make themselves if they truly want to,but its usually when theyre older isnt it? Old enough to have their own opinions/ feelings on such subjects? (unless its a family choice by their parents of course)

Find out what the topic was. Your GC might be focussing on one point and simply needs it explaining to her again. How old is she? I was quite brutal with my children and described farms as food factories so they had no illusions about fluffy lambs not ending up on their plates.