I can’t imagine what life would be like if I grew up without the privilege of being able to eat things like pizza, chicken nuggets, or fish sticks — you know, food that childhood is made of. But gone are the days of childhood naivety. In this day and age, parents are pushing for alternative lifestyles for their children.

One such parent is Ruby Roth, the author of the book, Why We Don’t Eat Animals, and the upcoming book, Vegan is Love.

Roth, who’s stepdaughter is being raised a vegan, grew up on an organic tree farm with a vegetarian for a mom. Her book, whicfh teaches about animal testing and eating habits, has been considered to be a controversial one.

“The main problem I have with this book is that children are impressionable, and this is too sensitive of a topic to have a child read this book,” says Nicole German, a registered dietitian in Atlanta. “It could easily scare a young child into eating vegan, and, without proper guidance, that child could become malnourished.”

The Vegan diet calls for NO milk, eggs, cheese, meat, or fish. It eliminates any type of food derived from an animal, but leaves the nutritious stuff – vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, etc.

Although I’m a fan of eating healthy, I can’t imagine being reeled into such a meticulous diet at the age of five. I mean, no chocolate milk? How can any kid function?

But Roth is not alone. Another mom, Sarah Creighton, who is the author of a blog called Veggie Kids, also raises her three sons as vegans. When asked how kids are getting their protein, and if they are drinking enough milk, she points out that, “Nuts and legumes and even veggies contain protein … and her kids do drink milk, except it’s made from almonds, hemp or rice.”

What do you think about children being raised vegans? Would you raise your children as a vegan?

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10 Comments

  1. My children are very happy having a plant based compassionate childhood. They eat pizza all the time , with vegan cheese. They also eat vegan chicken nuggets, coconut milk icecream on vegan cones, and cookies, cakes, candies and chips, etc…Childhood or a joyful childhood should no based on whether you eat a murdered animal.

  2. WTH??? I’m beginning to think this site is really anti-vegitarian and this whole frugivore thing is facade to convince vegetarians to give up their way of life. I try to stop by this site regularly because it seems to be aimed at African-Americans and I would like to show support. But some, if not many, of the articles(like this one) make me give pause.

    What do you mean “you can’t imagine life without chicken mcnuggets”?? I can’t believe you allowed yourself to type that. You can’t imagine a parent that cares enough about your well-being to not stuff chemical-laden dead chicken by-products down your throat? Oh, you poor soul. Cow milk is for newborn baby cows just like human milk is for newborn humans, cats milk is for newborn cats, and so on. There is absolutely no reason for a human to drink cows milk. Any so-called “benefit” is added later by the dairy industry. You don’t need cows milk for vitamin D, it is added to the milk and all you need to do is go outside and get a little sunshine. Milk and dairy products cause a host of illnesses in human beings because it was never intended for us to consume but here you are saying vegans are malnourishing their children because they aren’t getting something they’re not supposed to have in the beginning.

    Not surprisingly illness, being overweight, and very early signs of puberty are prevalent in the Black and Hispanic community. These are communities that lean heavily on WIC programs and similar programs that cause an unprecedented use of milk and milk by-products. Black girls that drink all that milk and cheese are fat, obese, and developing breasts as early as the age of seven because of all that milk consumption. Cows milk was meant to nourish and fatten up a newborn calf and since the institution of WIC, Blacks, Hispanics, and poor, rural white families have seen a sharp change in the health of their children(and not for the better). Yet here you are, a “vegetarian, pro-African American health site” promoting continued demise of our health and help pushing government agendas to keep people addicted to illogical, irrational lifestyles.

    Do some vegans go overboard with the way they eat? By all means yes. I do not agree with the concept that you have to eat greens all day. I do not agree that you have to be a raw vegan although it is certainly possible if you have access to all types of fruit. The vast majority of many Asian meals are meat-free, filling, healthy, nutritious, and delicious. It is the West’s influence on their lifestyle that they have started eating more meat. And one can see the correlation with increase of illness in Asian countries as they apply stupid Western eating philosophies.

    How can any kid function without chocolate milk? Real easy, let me tell you that. Had I known what I know about milk when I was a child, I wouldn’t have spent so much time in the emergency room from asthma attacks. It wasn’t until I was older and dealing with my own asthmatic child that I discovered milk was the root cause of many of our asthma attacks. Dairy was the root cause of my children’s sore throats and ear infections. Once I removed dairy from their diet, many problems subsided. The number of people who are having heart attacks from eating dead animals is through the roof. Heart attacks amongst women are on the rise as more women increase meat-eating. I can’t believe the carelessness taken in writing this article.

    Please stop spreading the protein myth and aiding the industries that profit from it. I’ve lifted weights in the past and all that protein isn’t necessary. The human body sends excess protein out as waste. But people are eating so much of it these days they overwork their kidneys. Troll bodybuilding websites and you will hear the number of people that have gone to the doctor because they have damaged their kidneys from too much protein. The necessary amounts of protein for humans are found in fruits. Fruits also contain all the necessary nutrients vital human well-being.

    This article is highly disappointing on some many levels considering(for awhile) I was happy to see what I thought was website encouraging African-Americans to return to their vegan roots. Do the authors work for government and are really using this space to encourage African-Americans to continue their downward spiral into a lifetime of illness? Yes, I’m being sarcastic and at the same time hopeful that is the case because I truly hope no one would wish, let alone teach, the nonsense written in this article on/to another human being.

  3. Kids don’t know that they are missing chocolate milk until they have some that crap. Most parents turn their kids out before the age of two on refined sugar, hydrogenated fats, and table salts so it’s pretty much a wrap for most people in general.

    But vegans will have to pay attention to their kids diet the way ALL parents should pay attention to their kids diet. The main problem with Americans, who are hypnotized by consumerism, is that they allow the food industry and their abundance to of processed foods feed their children. Then when the parents want to feed their kids an alternative, the kids can’t stand the healthy food.

    Seriously, forget veganism, you can’t get a child to eat a piece of meat without bbq sauce or some seasoning salt. There are plenty of disgusting and poisonous vegan foods so it seems as if it would be imperative to pay close attention to their food. But it should be like that for whatever way you feed your child.

  4. I’m about to write a few articles on this on my site, but you can check out what I have so far. Basically, just being vegetarian can be challenging at times, let alone vegan. As a vegetarian I can’t fathom raising a vegan child. It would be very challenging indeed.

    Now, I don’t actually believe consuming meat is a bad thing either. Animals eat one another in the wild. My issue is with the volume in which it is done and the unhealthiness of it. I actually became one after a stint in the hospital, but these additional reason have led me to stick to it.

    With that said, it can be done. Just difficult indeed.

  5. I’m not even a vegan and I know that’s healthier. I hope to transition into full veganism by the time I have children (5-7 years from now. lol) How is feeding your child hormone- laden junk food full of fat better than fruits and vegetables? Better question- how the hell will you be malnourished if you a eat a balanced diets of whole foods and no animal products? Side eye to you Frugivore.

    Some people don’t want to be vegan. I respect that. Food is an addiction in this country. But don’t spread lies. Nuggets and fries is not better than fruit and veggies- and once you do your research the fast food won’t even taste that good.

  6. My concern with this article is that the writer did not discuss the benefits of a vegan diet for a child. He jumped right to criticizing veganism for children. Also, I find it problematic that the writer framed eating pizza, chocolate milk, and chicken mcnuggets as a privilege. Many of us would be in better shape holistically had we not been introduced to that type of “food”. Furthermore, how meticulous is veganism if you’re born into it or raised that way? Why not ask kids who are currently being raised vegan?

  7. I think a lot of you are missing the point. The child is going to eat whatever the parent eats and/or makes for them. Point, blank, period. The thing is, how is that child going to feel once he or she goes to school and all of the other children around them are eating things that look appealing, but they can’t have and don’t know why they can’t have it. And that goes for anything veganism, food allergies, basically anything that the majority is doing that they can’t partake in. They’re gonna want to know why. This is when good values can be instilled. If you want to raise your child in a lifestyle, explain to them why (in a manner they understand and won’t terrifyed). But also teach them not to be judgmental of others who don’t live the same way as them. I’m an organic omnivore and I don’t see anything wrong with raising a child in a vegan lifestyle. You always want to do what you think is best for your children. Just know that children do grow up and have minds of their own and will eventually go their own way. Whether it’s the way you want them to go or not, you have to live with it and believe what you instilled in them when they were children is still in the back of their head somewhere….

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