An
Irresponsible Attack
On Monday, May 21,
the New York Times published
an anti-vegan opinion piece
(e.g. "Children fed only plants
will not get the precious things
they need to live and grow.")
Below are three letters to the editor
submitted by Vegan Outreach staff
(there is a 150 word limit); you
can also read the actual
letters the Times
published. Vegan.com
also ran a podcast on May 21 devoted
to the issue, and Erik Marcus has
compiled
letters he's received.
Update (5/25): More
letters and comments have been added.
 Nina
Planck ("Death by Veganism,"
May 21, 2007) basically accuses
me of child abuse for having eaten
a well-planned, informed vegan diet
during pregnancy and breast feeding,
and for raising my
daughter on an equally
well-planned and informed vegan
diet. In seventh grade, though,
my daughter has an IQ over 140 (higher
than mine or my husband's), gets
straight-As in the gifted program
[at right, receiving her award
for a 4.0], and runs a 6:32
mile [below, leading the pack
at a track meet]. The death
of Crown Shakur, while tragic, implicates
the parents -- clearly woefully
ignorant of nutrition -- and not
the vegan diet per se.
-Anne Green, Ph.D.
Nina Planck’s piece
is a classic case of ignorant dietary
extremism getting "debunked"
by ignorant dietary extremism. Prosecutor
Chuck Boring said that it was not
because the child was fed a vegan
diet but rather that "The child
died because he was not fed. Period."
According to the American
Dietetic Association,
"Well-planned vegan and other
types of vegetarian diets are appropriate
for all stages of the life cycle,
including during pregnancy, lactation,
infancy, childhood, and adolescence."
(J Am Diet Assoc. 2003
Jun;103(6):748-65.) I have met dozens,
if not hundreds, of healthy children
who have been raised as vegans from
birth.
As with any diet, parents must
make sure their children are getting
all necessary nutrients. VeganHealth.org
contains helpful
information and links
for anyone considering a vegan pregnancy
or raising their children as vegans.
It also has a page showing numerous
thriving children who were raised
from birth as vegans.
-Jack Norris, Registered Dietitian,
Editor
VeganHealth.org
I was shocked to see
the irresponsible -- and easily
refuted -- attack on all vegan parents.
Ms. Planck may want to rationalize
her own personal failure to maintain
a compassionate vegan diet, but
according to the American Dietetic
Association and Dietitians of Canada:
"Well-planned vegan and other
types of vegetarian diets are appropriate
for all stages of the life cycle,
including during pregnancy, lactation,
infancy, childhood, and adolescence."
One child’s death condemns only
the parents, not a diet. Many thousands
of children thrive on a vegan diet
(e.g., veganhealth.org/articles/realveganchildren),
while avoiding the epidemic of obesity
and diseases facing most children
in the U.S.
All parents owe their children
the best. Feeding kids the flesh
of other animals -- although familiar
and easy -- is not the best we can
do. Raising kids on a well-planned
diet based on awareness and compassion
is a much better choice.
-Matt Ball
Executive Director, Vegan Outreach
I'm a little suspicious
of the timing of Ms.
Planck's op-ed, since she stands
to profit from this "free publicity"
when her book goes on sale at Amazon
on June 12th! In light of this op-ed,
some of my fellow vegans are receiving
emails recirculating this "Hallelujah,
what happened?" claim from
non-vegans they know. I guess the
anti-vegans are all trying to jump
on the bandwagon.
-KO, Katy, TX, 5/23/07
I wrote a letter to
their editor (not
published of course) pointing out
that Nina Planck is a disciple of
the Weston Price Foundation, a lobbying
group notoriously anti-soy, anti-vegan,
pro-meat and pro-dairy. To allow
someone with this type of personal
agenda to be the only op-ed contributor
regarding the Crown Shakur tragedy
is absolutely biased and imbalanced.
I've always noticed the Times
to traditionally be less-than
veg-friendly, so this really is
no suprise. We just have to keep
fighting even harder to inform the
masses, and expose the bias of those
the media allows on their pages.
Most people have never even heard
of the Weston Price Foundation,
these people are the ones who were
instrumental in spreading all the
anti-soy propaganda a few years
back that placed much confusion
in the minds of the public and scared
many away from tofu, soymilk, [see
this
page -- Editor.] etc.
Though people are finally starting
to slowly trickle back again. Thank
you for all that VO does for the
voiceless.
-TW, Bangor, ME, 5/24/07
To the Editor:
As a registered dietitian and the
parent of two healthy vegan children,
I join thousands of other vegan
parents in taking issue with recent
comments on vegan diets. I'd like
to share some up-to-date information
on sources of key nutrients for
vegan babies and children. In early
infancy, babies, whether vegan or
not, thrive on breast milk, with
infant formula an option when breastfeeding
is impossible. Vegan toddlers get
adequate protein from a variety
of foods including dried beans,
whole grains, nut butters, and soy
products. Vitamin B12 sources include
fortified foods and supplements.
Calcium comes from greens and from
fortified foods like orange juice
and soymilk. Interested readers
can learn more about vegan diets
from reputable organizations like
The Vegetarian Resource Group. Yes,
it's important to be aware of what
you're feeding your vegan child;
but this awareness is not limited
to vegan parents. In view of the
epidemic of childhood obesity, perhaps
more parents should be focusing
on the quality of their children's
diets.
-Reed Mangels, PhD,
RD
Vegetarian
Resource Group
A healthy pregnancy
and a healthy baby are possible
when eating vegetarian.
For years, the official position
of the American Dietetic Association,
the largest association of nutritional
professionals in the world, has
asserted that "[w]ell-planned
vegan and other types of vegetarian
diets are appropriate for all stages
of the life cycle, including during
pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood
and adolescence." This is based
on research dating back 20 years
showing that vegetarian and vegan
diets can support healthy pregnancies
and healthy children. In fact, Dr.
Benjamin Spock, who was perhaps
the world's most esteemed pediatrician,
embraced vegan diets in his final
edition of Baby and Child Care
-- described as the best-selling
book in history (second only to
the Bible). Dr. Spock wrote, "Children
who grow up getting their nutrition
from plant foods rather than meats
have a tremendous health advantage.
They are less likely to develop
weight problems, diabetes, high
blood pressure and some forms of
cancer." For more information
on raising healthy children on plant-based
diets from birth to adolescence,
see:
- Dr.
Spock's Baby and Child Care,
by Benjamin Spock, M.D. and Steven
Parker, M.D.
- Pregnancy
and the Vegan Diet, by
Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D.
- The
New Becoming Vegetarian,
by Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D.
and Brenda Davis, R.D.
-Michael
Greger, M.D., 5/22/07
This case was
not an appropriate case
to discuss the merits of feeding
infants a vegan diet. According
to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
this child never saw a doctor in
his life and was born in a bath
tub. His parents did not send him
to a doctor because they had some
phobia of hospitals. There is much
more to this case than feeding children
a vegan diet. It is inappropriate
to use this child’s short life as
an indictment of vegan diets for
infants. Many non-vegan children
would face the same fate if they
did not see a doctor.
-PW, Atlanta, GA, 5/23/07
Ms. Planck's ...
bolsters her faith-based science
with anecdotal feelings and a massive
syllogistic fallacy: "Vegan
parents commit grossly ignorant
act, therefore Veganism is grossly
ignorant and deadly." Yikes,
life for us vegans can be tough!
As a group, we have to be perfect,
because our compassion-based diet
must bear the burden of all our
potential character flaws. If one
of us is stupid or tells a fib,
it's conclusive evidence that our
diet is a big dumb pack of lies.
If a vegan kills someone, well,
then, Soy is Murder. If only non-vegans
were held to similar standards!
("Carnivore Mugs Old Lady in
Doorway: FDA Nutritional Scientists
Perplexed." Or better yet:
"Carnivore Op-Ed Writer Logically
Impaired: Egg-and-Cheese Intake
Questioned.")
-CB, Beijing, China,
5/24/07
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