vegan parents in Italy - grrr!

A good diet is a varied one. My children were introduced to practically all foods and the moto was 'try a little'. They have grown into healthy individuals. My GS is now being taught the same. There are fad diets, which declare war on certain food types which surely cannot be sustained for long periods. I certainly would not put vegan or vegetarian diet into that category.

My gransnet mantra, two wrongs dont make a right.

If some people are doing it wrong in both groups, they do not cancel each other out, or make 1 group right.

I have reservations about it for children, as varian says in her post 'it does require considerable knowledge and effort to ensure you are getting the nutrients required'
Whereas a normal diet will naturally and easily include a wide range of foods and therefore be so much easier and safer. Children require proteins and fat for their growth.

When my dgc, at about four months old was given some formula (cows milk) to "top up" after breastfeeding, she went into anaphylactic shock, stopped breathing and nearly died. This is a very severe allergy, not the same as dairy intolerence. She also is allergic to eggs so the whole family became vegan.

It does require considerable knowledge and effort to ensure you are getting the nutrients required but it is much easier now than it would have beem a generation ago.

I am pleased to tell you she is a very fit, healthy and energetic child

well, of course, feeding a young child on coca cola, sweeties etc is not good either!

Oh, it's GF as well! (the cake)

phoenix I had my misgivings too before I switched from vegetarian to vegan. The first few months were hard, I will admit, but after that i was fine. The reason I switched is because there is just as much cruelty within the dairy and egg industries as there is within the meat industry. I just can't bear the idea that i've contributed to the suffering of another creature.

Granarchist indeed it was made without fat or eggs, bloody lovely it was too! Here's the recipe: www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate-recipes/epic-vegan-chocolate-cake/

jamie oliver is surprisingly fab for vegan recipes

Jalima I'm not necessarily saying that raising very small children on a vegan diet is a good idea (i didn't)...as I said, it's the singling out of one specific group that annoys me, when there are plenty of omnivore perpetrators as well

There were a couple of cases at least of children in the UK who were found to be suffering from malnutrition and one child died because their parents thought a vegan diet was healthy for a growing child. Perhaps they didn't have enough knowledge about it, I don't know, but growing children's dietary needs are different to those of an adult.

Here is a different version of the story about the Italian child:
www.medicaldaily.com/vegan-diet-malnutrition-heart-surgery-391619

another story about British children:
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/how-our-vegan-diet-made-us-ill-848322.html

Eat what you like downdale but vegan parents need to be very careful indeed to feed their children the nutrients and calories they need to develop healthy minds and bodies, which they can get from a vegetarian diet but, according to experts, is practically impossible from a vegan diet.

and re that slice of chocolate cake - I assume it was made without fat or eggs?

I must admit I have some misgivings about veganism, but I would be interested in hearing why you have chosen to go down that road downdale

there have also been cases of children dying because of irresponsible omnivore parents - how is that any different?

There have been several cases around the world of young children dying because of irresponsible vegans. Perhaps he's just trying to stop that happening in Italy.

yes i do so agree that lots of people embark on diets without doing the proper research, vegan or not! personally, i raised my children as vegetarians until they were a bit older. when they were teenagers i let them make their own decisions about what they ate outside the house, be that meat or whatever (they remained vegetarian/vegan to my great relief, i must admit).

what i object to is this singling out of vegans. the article should have been simply about parents who feed their children bad diets - instead it's a piece about fanatical vegans

downdale I agree with sugary drinks and food.
A know a couple of vegans like yourself who are very well informed about their dietary requirements and cook really health meals.

However children do need certain vitamins and protein for their growth and healthy bones and teeth
If the parents can make sure the child is getting the required daily amounts
I see no problem.
But there are people who do food fads without really understanding their own dietary requirements never mind those of their children.

My DGS is having treatment for an eye condition at Birmingham children's Hospital. The consultant has asked that as well as the strong steroids he has prescribed, he is given 2 to 3 portions of oily fish a week.
Thankfully he loves fish.

There has been similar cases here regarding parents giving wrong foods (sugar burgers etc) and children becoming obese. I'm not sure if this has got as far as prosecutions.

i agree that parents who feed their kids sugary drinks etc are far more harmful. BUT i'm also slightly cautious about veganism for small children. I know too many parents who might jump on this now very popular 'trend' without doing proper research and the kids could end up malnourished as a result. It's hard enough feeding (some)kids - narrowing the options doesn't seem very helpful to me. I've met some responsible vegans, some pretentious ones is all I'm saying...

Yes I totally agree about the junk food and fizzy drinks. It makes my blood boil when I see tiny tots in prams eating crisps or Mcdonalds or drinking pop. I'm in two minds about the vegan thing though - I agree that as a knowledgable adult it can be a very healthy way to eat but I would worry about the calcium - of course I realise that there are other sources than dairy but babies and toddlers need so much this would concern me. My DD has a few vegan friends but all of them have raised their young children as regular vegetarians until they get slightly older

ah yes, that could be it. There's often an assumption that vegans are a very extreme sort of person. If only they could see me tucking into a slice of the big chocolate birthday cake I made at the weekend! Little of what you fancy and all that

To be fair, the Italian diet is usually healthy, and it is reasonably easy to eat a meat free, even vegan, diet there. The journalist is ill informed and maybe associates veganism with some hippy macrobiotic raw food diet which may not be suitable for a very young child. There have been a few cases in this country of this I believe.