veganism: I had lunch today with a couple of friends and their baby daughter. She's 5 months old and soon ready to have solids. My friends are hardcore vegans concerning food,lifestyle etc,and I've always admired them for their convictions. They told me they plan to raise their baby on a vegan diet. Obviously, I have no right to comment on the baby's up-bringing but it does intrigues me. Certainly, Veganism is a strong diet and you have to be careful to have enough nutrients and proteins to stay healthy. But a baby? Do you know any baby on a vegan diet? What are your opinions?|||Actually, we are omnivores, not carnivores! we can eat a wide diet. It is possible to raise a healthy baby on a vegan diet but it also incredibly difficult- especially when it comes to calcium. Protein is easier to replace. But, if she is being breastfed, then there is no issue. Her mum will be making enough calcium (and other nutrients) to meet the baby's needs. Without breastfeeding it would be very difficult and they would need to keep a close eye on her growth and development and be prepared to change her diet if necessary. Personally, I don't agree with forcing your children to be vegan or vegetarian. A choice like this should be there own. However, I don't believe there is anything wrong with simply only providing the food which fits into your belief system, in your home. As long as the baby continues to grow well and healthily, there should be no problem. |||As a vegetarian -- who was a vegetarian baby and who now has a vegetarian baby -- I am reluctant to dump on bringing children up vegan, but. As succinctly put here: "I鈥檓 not against adult or older-child vegan lifestyles but nutritionwise, babies are not meant to be vegans" http://www.babyreference.com/BeyondBreas鈥?/a> Even Dr Spock didn't advise veganism for children under 2 after he went very pro-vegan... Is baby breastfed, will baby keep nursing through the toddler years? That would make the matter of less concern if yes.|||yes, i know a mother of 7 and nowadays the youngest is lik 12 years old, and they are all very healthy. you just have to be really careful and make sure you eat all the nutrients to be healthy. and the baby, they should just breastfeed her until she's 2 or so and she will be good. |||They are sick, the human body is a Carnivore, weather we like it or not, we are just like any other animal on this planet that is Carnivore Thats why our teeth are the way they are. To me, they are guilty of neglect. Once the child grows up he/she can make up there own mind, it is not for any parent to choose for their child NOT to follow nature *edit* lol Laura@FYP, love your answer!!!!|||As long as they do this in coordination with the baby's doctor and get regular advice and check-ups, I don't see why not. I would not do it myself as I'm not vegetarian, I have no experience of veganism (would probably only succeed in starving the whole family) and basically, we all love a good steak at times! Baby too.|||Paul C is 100% right, it is not for a parent to force their child to go against nature and impose their own views on the baby|||i was veggie for ten years, but i would never have brought my baby up as one. i believe that it is a personal choice and when the child is old enough to understand then they can make their own decisions then. i think that a vegan diet for a baby is too extreme.|||I have 3 nieces who are being raised vegan and they're happy, healthy and doing fine. When you're vegan or raising your children as vegans you have to be sure to take extra care and make sure all their nutritional needs are met. Calcium is found in plants, not just dairy. Green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, collards, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and bok choy or Chinese cabbage are good sources of calcium. As for protein? Beans, nuts, legumes. So raising a child as a vegan can be done. And why is it considered natural to eat animals to begin with? I don't have a problem with people who choose to eat animals but I have a problem with people putting down those of us who choose not to and who choose to raise their children not eating animals. You never hear of "mad vegetable disease" or any other life threatening disease as a result of eating vegetables. But it seems like every other day there's some sort of disease found that makes animals unsafe. And how many vegetarians do you know that are morbidly obese? Just some of the advantages of being a vegetarian. But we MUST be wrong to even consider raising our children that way. We're depriving them of the many diseases that could potentially ruin their lives and possibly kill them. My bad. And by the way, humans weren't always carnivores. The fact that our teeth are the way they are is an adaptation. We used to be vegans but that's a different topic... |||Humans are not carnivores!! We are omnivores- we can survive on a meat or plant based diet. And yes, I see Pauls point, our teeth are EXACTLY like a lion or dogs *note the sarcasm* I was vegan throughout my pregnancy, and we are currently raising our daughter as a vegetarian. However, raising her as vegan is something we are considering. She is still breastfed, and I consider her diet to be a very healthy one. Humans were never designed to need the milk of another species. We are the only species to consume the milk of another on a regular basis, and the only species to comsume it after infancy. That is a cultural habit that has developed during civilisation. Cows milk is not necessary for nutrition. The calcium factor is one that has been engrained and pushed on us by milk companies. And as for cooked meat, well dont even get me started! lol If we are really carnivores as Paul suggests, why dont we eat flesh in the raw a the other carnivores do? No, we have to cook it first, killing off any nutrients it may contain anyway. When was the last time you chowed down on a raw steak Paul? It is perfectly possible for an infant to thrive on a vegan diet, I would say it is very important that she is being breastfed however, which I am guessing that she is.