So…I went ahead and swallowed my pride and did some research on this whole “vegan” thing. Honestly, it’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard of. I understand there are probably several health benefits to it. However, the vegan diet only works if supplements for B12 are taken. That’s only if a properly planned diet is eaten every meal. In theory this may work for many individuals—but for most—it’s too much work to make sure you’re getting enough necessary nutrients every day.
In children this is so much more difficult to do. Besides the obvious “taste” difference between most imitation foods—if all the nutrients are not being had each meal—they can get very sick. In some severe cases, children have actually died because their parents were not planning their diet properly. In these cases, the parents were actually charged with negligence for their child’s death(s).
According to the numerous articles I read: Vegans do not eat animals of any kind, dairy of any kind, they don’t use leather, they don’t even have pets (including cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, etc)! True vegans do not visit zoos or aquariums…It’s too much to fathom. I cannot imagine taking away things like the zoo from my kids.
I looked at a very graphic photographic exhibit online of the cruelty many animals suffer—and I must admit—it is indeed very sad. However, it has been something we (most of us) have kind of uhhh, accepted. They kill animals to make our food. Here in the US, certain animals are considered domesticated, and we generally don’t eat those.
Anyways, I did my research, picked up the girls yesterday from school, and had a talk with them. Ashleigh started by saying that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to do it or not. I told her most everything I wrote up above, and she said something like “yeah, mom showed us a bunch of pictures of dead animals.” Anyways, Ash said “So, I really don’t know what to believe, because mom’s been a nurse for a long time, and she’s worked in hospitals, but you’re really smart and you looked stuff up for us too. I think I just want to eat like a regular kid. Maybe when I’m older I’ll change my mind, but for right now I just want a hamburger.” 🙂
“So did you eat like a vegan today,” I asked.
“Yeah. we had to pack our lunch. And we had to eat like one yesterday too. Can we go to Mc
Donald’s?”
Anyways, they told their mom on the phone, and she didn’t ask to speak to me. So she’s either upset with me, or she’s ok with the girls not wanting to be vegans just yet.
Anyways, that’s the update…
Dad Of Four Girls (Plus One)! 