In the October 2009 issue of Parenting: Early Years magazine, there was a questions under the title "Mom Debate". It read, "Is it cruel to make your preschooler follow a vegetarian diet?" I wrote a letter to their editor, Susan Kane, at susan@parenting.com, regarding this question. I invite you to write the editor as well, if you wish. Here is what I wrote:
Dear Parenting: Early Years Magazine,
I am writing you regarding the “Mom Debate” question in the October 2009 issue. The question reads, “Is it cruel to make your preschooler follow a vegetarian diet?” The way that this question is phrased implies that “making” a preschooler follow a vegetarian diet is “cruel”. I am surprised that a question, seemingly loaded with bias, would be published. I think that the question, “Do you agree with having preschoolers follow a vegetarian diet?” would have been more appropriate.
I invite your staff and readers to read the book, Disease Proof Your Child by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. Both books specifically address the serious health risks of the consumption of animal products, and links animal-based diets to higher rates of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Michael Klaper, and Dr. Gabriel Cousens are just some of the medical doctors that advocate a vegetarian diet for children and adults.
My son’s plant-based diet consists of: vegetables, beans, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, healthy fats, a combination of breast and fortified hemp milk, a multivitamin, and nutritional yeast. It is a shame that a magazine as popular as yours, would imply that feeding my child a vegetarian diet, full of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, antioxidants…and yes, plenty of protein…is cruel.
My son has been raised on a vegetarian diet since conception and is the healthiest and happiest child I know. He is 16-months old and has never been sick and never been on any antibiotics or medication. I can not say the same for any of his omnivorous friends or family members. According to his pediatrician, he is not only the healthiest child in her practice, but cognitively and physically advanced for his age. I was raised on the Standard American Diet, and suffered years of health problems. It is my hope that my son will not have to suffer like I did.
It is questions like the one in the “Mom Debate” that are misinforming people about the benefits of a vegetarian diet for adults, as well as children. With the overwhelming amount of medical literature linking animal-based diets to disease, perhaps a more appropriate question for the October 2009 “Mom Debate” would have been, “Is it cruel to make your preschooler follow an omnivorous diet?”
I am considering looking for another parenting magazine. It is important to me to subscribe to one that is open and accepting of vegetarian and vegan families.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Amy from New Jersey
Dear Parenting: Early Years Magazine,
I am writing you regarding the “Mom Debate” question in the October 2009 issue. The question reads, “Is it cruel to make your preschooler follow a vegetarian diet?” The way that this question is phrased implies that “making” a preschooler follow a vegetarian diet is “cruel”. I am surprised that a question, seemingly loaded with bias, would be published. I think that the question, “Do you agree with having preschoolers follow a vegetarian diet?” would have been more appropriate.
I invite your staff and readers to read the book, Disease Proof Your Child by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. Both books specifically address the serious health risks of the consumption of animal products, and links animal-based diets to higher rates of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Michael Klaper, and Dr. Gabriel Cousens are just some of the medical doctors that advocate a vegetarian diet for children and adults.
My son’s plant-based diet consists of: vegetables, beans, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, healthy fats, a combination of breast and fortified hemp milk, a multivitamin, and nutritional yeast. It is a shame that a magazine as popular as yours, would imply that feeding my child a vegetarian diet, full of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, antioxidants…and yes, plenty of protein…is cruel.
My son has been raised on a vegetarian diet since conception and is the healthiest and happiest child I know. He is 16-months old and has never been sick and never been on any antibiotics or medication. I can not say the same for any of his omnivorous friends or family members. According to his pediatrician, he is not only the healthiest child in her practice, but cognitively and physically advanced for his age. I was raised on the Standard American Diet, and suffered years of health problems. It is my hope that my son will not have to suffer like I did.
It is questions like the one in the “Mom Debate” that are misinforming people about the benefits of a vegetarian diet for adults, as well as children. With the overwhelming amount of medical literature linking animal-based diets to disease, perhaps a more appropriate question for the October 2009 “Mom Debate” would have been, “Is it cruel to make your preschooler follow an omnivorous diet?”
I am considering looking for another parenting magazine. It is important to me to subscribe to one that is open and accepting of vegetarian and vegan families.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Amy from New Jersey
Wonderfully well written. It's amazing that they would have allowed such a question to be published in that manner. It really, really, really irks me when I see such blatant disregard for reason (ignoring all the studies done that link animal protein consumption - irrefutably - with higher rates of cancer and disease).
