2008 Woodie Awards
Controversy rises in vegan diet
Paige Nordeen
Issue date: 5/29/07 Section: Opinion
There tends to be different ends of a spectrum for every ideology, religion, belief and lifestyle. However, vegans, who consume no animal products, have taken the cake with the recent malnutrition related child deaths.
The vegan community wonders why they have such a black eye on their reputation. With bumper stickers such as, "save a cow, eat a vegan" and jokes regarding the excessive release of methane among the vegan population, it is no wonder enmity is a problem. Perhaps the past deaths among children due to a strict vegan diet have something to do with it.
In Atlanta, two vegan parents were recently sentenced to life in prison for the death of their 6-week-old son who died of malnutrition April 25, 2004, according to a report by the Associated Press. The baby was on a diet of primarily organic apple juice and soy milk and weighed three and a half pounds when he died.
In Miami, a 6-month-old baby died of malnutrition from her strict vegan diet on May 15, 2003. Her parents were sentenced with child neglect and face up to 20 years in prison, according to a report by Court TV News.
According to medical reports, both of these children weighed much less than an average child their age at their time of death. One can only question the morals of the vegan ideology and how far parents should take their beliefs.
Malnutrition is one of the many risks when raising infants on a vegan diet. Medical reports show that newborns should mainly be raised on their mother's breast milk, excluding both soy milk and cow's milk. The digestion of soy milk during pregnancy has become a growing controversy.
" A new study of babies born to vegetarian mothers showed that baby boys had a five-fold risk of hypospadias, a birth defect of the penis. According to research stated by Jane Phillimore in the "Guardian Unlimited," "The researchers suggest this was due to greater exposure to phytoestrogen rich-foods, especially soy. Inappropriate hormone levels such as that caused by a high intake of soy during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy can also cause damage to the fetus's developing brain."
The vegan community wonders why they have such a black eye on their reputation. With bumper stickers such as, "save a cow, eat a vegan" and jokes regarding the excessive release of methane among the vegan population, it is no wonder enmity is a problem. Perhaps the past deaths among children due to a strict vegan diet have something to do with it.
In Atlanta, two vegan parents were recently sentenced to life in prison for the death of their 6-week-old son who died of malnutrition April 25, 2004, according to a report by the Associated Press. The baby was on a diet of primarily organic apple juice and soy milk and weighed three and a half pounds when he died.
In Miami, a 6-month-old baby died of malnutrition from her strict vegan diet on May 15, 2003. Her parents were sentenced with child neglect and face up to 20 years in prison, according to a report by Court TV News.
According to medical reports, both of these children weighed much less than an average child their age at their time of death. One can only question the morals of the vegan ideology and how far parents should take their beliefs.
Malnutrition is one of the many risks when raising infants on a vegan diet. Medical reports show that newborns should mainly be raised on their mother's breast milk, excluding both soy milk and cow's milk. The digestion of soy milk during pregnancy has become a growing controversy.
" A new study of babies born to vegetarian mothers showed that baby boys had a five-fold risk of hypospadias, a birth defect of the penis. According to research stated by Jane Phillimore in the "Guardian Unlimited," "The researchers suggest this was due to greater exposure to phytoestrogen rich-foods, especially soy. Inappropriate hormone levels such as that caused by a high intake of soy during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy can also cause damage to the fetus's developing brain."
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
maija cantori
posted 6/23/07 @ 11:02 AM PST
I am vegan, was raised a vegetarian, and have two children. I was vegan during both pregnancies and 10yrs prior to them. Both newborns weighed in at 9lbs 4oz, and were 22in long each. (Continued…)
Brother
posted 8/02/07 @ 6:06 AM PST
Wow. I applaud this article. It's good to see someone making good points on this subject. Very well done.
nebras
posted 9/26/07 @ 1:26 AM PST
This article is dumb because the parents obviously didnt have the intellegence to ask their doctor what they should be feeding their kids and werent taking the right precautions in raising their kids. (Continued…)
owen
posted 12/30/07 @ 2:10 PM PST
Of far more concern, generally, should be the issue of B12 deficiency, which can lead to psychosis, paralysis, and ultimately death. There are no proven, reliable sources of B12 apart from animal products and such a deficiency can take years to make itself known. (Continued…)
Natural Cures
posted 4/15/08 @ 5:16 AM PST
Vegans are not against breastfeeding. Most of them breastfeed babies and many meat-eaters do not. There will always be vegans that are not very smart. (Continued…)
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