*photo is a 1950's advert by the American Meat Institute, promoting eating meat as an nutritious protein option
I am writing this post out of frustration, in hopes that I can enlighten people who are stuck in the mindset that children "need" meat, dairy and eggs to grow and thrive properly. When I was 9 years old, and much to my parent's horror, I decided to become a vegetarian. I had read no books on the subject, we didn't have internet access, and I knew absolutely nothing other than that I wasn't going to eat animals anymore. That was that. Mum continued to cook her normal meals and I ate the things that didn't have meat in them. My grades remained top of my class, I ran fast, I sang loud and my imagination was as rampant as ever. I continued on into my teen years where I got and kept jobs, I moved out onto my own and excelled in my places of work and volunteering. My point is, that with no food education for a base, I grew up and excelled on a plant-based diet.
Now I have a daughter of my own and I am raising her vegan. The number of family members and friends that question this decision is both incredible and in some ways insulting. I can positively guarantee that in the past five years, I have purchased and thoroughly read more books on nutrition and health than all of my raised eyebrow-ed critics
combined. My daughter's father, Shane, and I have dedicated hours upon hours to researching raising a vegan child, and are so passionate about this parenting choice we have stated the terms of our legal custody will that if we pass away, she shall be raised vegan until the age of 18 (at which point she is free to make her own decision). This is not something we decided on a passing whim. This is something that we are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about; let me explain.
The rates of child obesity, diabetes, cancer, and allergies are at an all time high. This is the first generation that has a lower life expectancy than their parents. These children are being fed meat, dairy and eggs on a daily basis.
Statistics don't lie, and as the consumption of animal based foods has increased, so have rates in obesity and disease. In our society, it is standard that you "have" to eat animal based foods to get enough protein. Yet do any one of you know where this information comes from? I do. This information comes from the popular Basic Four Food Groups pyramid created in 1955. The BFFG pyramid is now retired and yet it is still worshiped by North America's masses as "proof" that you need meat, eggs and dairy to survive. How many of you have researched
why this model was retired and is no longer considered a valid guide for the standard Canadian and American diets? Well again, I have.
This food pyramid was paid for and developed by the National Livestock and Meat Board and the National Dairy Council. To make it simple, it was created with a massive bias in order to gain a lot of profit for the meat and dairy producing alliances. Since this food pyramid has been retired, there have been numerous revisions, however the one thing that has not changed is its sponsorship from the meat, egg and dairy associations.
In the 1980's a 20 year study called the China-Cornell-Oxford Project was conducted, making it the most comprehensive human study ever completed. The study examined mortality rates from 48 types of cancer and their direct relation to the consumption of animal protein, concluding that people who eat a vegan diet will minimize and can actually reverse the development of chronic diseases.
Shane and I choose to raise our child vegan, based on the findings of the most comprehensive human study ever completed, as well as numerous studies after it which show extensive supporting research. And as I said earlier, THAT is why I find it incredibly frustrating and rather insulting that people judge us and make snide comments to us regarding our vegan parenting choice, when they are basing their "meat is best" opinion on an outdated food pyramid from the 50's that was sponsored by two industries that greatly profited by creating a meat/egg/dairy based food guide, with no unbiased/independent research to back it. My hopes in writing this, are to help our friends and members of our families who don't understand our reasons behind our choice; my hope is that you will understand that we have spent more time researching than you did when you raised your own children/us. My hope is that for anyone who has found this blog through an internet search, that you feel comfortable emailing me or commenting and asking questions if you have any. As I mentioned, I might know a thing or two about vegan nutrition ;)
The China-Cornell-Oxford Project was later condensed into a book called The China Study which is available for purchase if you are interested in reading it.
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