Veganism is all the rage in Hollywood and among the new age crowd. They think they are saving animals by cutting out all meat and dairy from their diets, but in reality, they are killing themselves in the process. Take this 12 year old girl, for example, whose parents put her on a strict Vegan diet. She now has severe rickets and the spine of an 80 year old. This is irresponsible parenting at its worst:
A 12-YEAR-OLD girl in Scotland brought up by her parents on a strict vegan diet has been admitted to hospital with a degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old woman.
Doctors are under pressure to report the couple to police and social workers amid concerns that her health and welfare may have been neglected in pursuit of their dietary beliefs.
The girl, who has been fed on a strict meat and dairy-free diet from birth, is said to have a severe form of rickets and to have suffered a number of fractured bones.
The condition is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which is needed to absorb calcium and is found in liver, oily fish and dairy produce. Decalcification leads to the bones becoming brittle and can cause curvature of the spine.
Dr Faisal Ahmed, the consultant paediatrician treating the child at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, declined to discuss the specific case. He said, however, that he believed the dangers of forcing children to follow a strict vegan diet needed to be highlighted.
One leading nutritionist, who asked not to be named, said: “In most instances, the parents who are imposing this very restrictive and potentially hazardous diet are not themselves brought up as vegans. They are imposing on their children something . . . which we do not know enough about to know it is safe.”
These parents are idiots. I don't think this little girl can recover from this. Sickening. I hope this little girl is saved from the ignorance of her parents.
Human beings are omnivores, meaning we eat both plants and animals. That's what our bodies require because that's how we evolved; it's what our various systems need to function. Trying deny what our bodies need because we don't like it, and forcing our bodies to adapt to a diet of our own choosing is ignorant beyond belief.
Tags: Veganism, parenting, starvation
I feel sad for the author for two reasons:
1. Her choice of using an isolated incident to define an entire social group is misguided as well as her actual knowledge on the subject appears to be extremely limited. It does her discredit and poses her as a ignorant person, which I am sure she is not. How do you think an animal based diet would look if we counted up all the deaths from listeria, salmonella, food poising, heart disease, diabetes, etc. How would that article read "When meat eating is forced on children".
2. She feels somehow pressured by veganism, which I am wondering if it is more of a mechanism to cover up her insecurities as a parent maybe brought on by her kids wanting to live a more compassionate life. She should not feel bad, but should definitely seek to understand things more. We are parents, we all make mistakes - don't beat yourself up over the past, take this time to change and make a positive difference for you and your family.
The truth for those of you out there is that a Vegan diet is by far the healthiest, simplest, most comppasionate ways you can live and raise your child. Admittedly it can be a challenge when you first start because our society is not necessarily geared towards that type of lifestyle. Trust me, it gets easier and you will find yourself happier for making the switch.
Key things to remember is feed your child healthy, whole foods, organic, natural, keep processed stuff below 10% of the diet, listen to them - their bodies know what they need, and keep it varied (try something new at least once a week).
I personally know over 26 vegan families with children of all ages and by no means are any of them starving or lacking in anyway. Approximately 80% of them are exceeding their omni counterparts and the other 20% are at the same level with their omnis.
One last note, humans are not omnivores we are herbivores. If you take a moment to study the traits of carnivores, omnivores and herbivores you will clearly see that we do not possess the necessary equipment on our bodies to be omnivores or carnivores. We are only equiped to be herbivores. That is not to say that an herbivore cannot process animal proteins - currently cows and other factory farmed animals are being fed animal proteins on an alarming level. What does happen is that this animal protein reacts in our bodies.. Please read the China Study to understand the carcinogenic effects of animal protein in the human body.
I will agree with the author: "Trying deny what our bodies need because we don't like it, and forcing our bodies to adapt to a diet of our own choosing is ignorant beyond belief". That is why I encourage you to switch to a Vegan diet as for to many generations our society has been trying to force an unhealthy animal protein diet on us - now society is dying of preventable diseases at an alarming rate.
Posted by: Charles | March 05, 2009 at 07:40 PM