Fwd: [SoFlaVegans] A vegan diet is safe, healthy for infants

[Guest guest]

Note: forwarded message attached.

 

 

 

Ronald A. Fells

 

N3VPU

 

Amateur Radio Operator

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just the facts: A vegan diet is safe, healthy for

infants

Critics have misused case of baby's death to question

food

By DR. AMY JOY LANOU

June 25, 2007

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4919336.html

 

It was a horrific crime. Last month in Atlanta, two

parents were convicted of intentionally starving their

6-week-old child to death. As part of their defense,

the parents of Crown Shakur claimed that they are

vegan, meaning that they do not consume meat, dairy or

other animal products. Their conviction has brought

international attention to vegan child rearing.

 

As a nutritionist who testified as an expert witness

for the prosecution in the trial, I want to clear up

some disturbing misunderstandings about the case.

Vegan diets are not only safe for babies; they're

healthier than ones based on animal products.

 

Unfortunately, not everyone talking about Crown's

death is getting the facts right. Some are even

misusing the tragic and confusing case to question the

ethics and adequacy of vegan nutrition during

pregnancy, lactation, infancy and childhood.

 

Yet one thing about Crown's death is very clear. He

was not killed by a vegan diet. As the autopsy report

stated, Crown died of complications of starvation. I

was in the courtroom when the judge and jury were

shown photographs of Crown right after he was

pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The infant

was literally skin and bones. His parents had fed him

the wrong food for an infant — soymilk and apple

juice. But the real problem was that he was not given

enough food of any sort.

 

The other reason Crown died was that his parents did

not seek medical care or even advice from a relative

when it was clearly warranted. Astonishingly, the

father stated under oath that he didn't know anything

was wrong with Crown until right before he and the

infant's mother drove him to the hospital. That was

the child's first visit to any kind of health care

practitioner.

 

Parents have a legal and moral responsibility to

protect their children and keep them well-fed. And

doctors and nutritionists agree that the best food for

infants is mother's breast milk. The only viable

alternative for the first six months of life is infant

formula. Many nutrition experts recommend soy-based

formulas, which are plant-based.

 

Interestingly, the breast milk of vegan mothers has

been shown to contain significantly lower levels of

environmental contaminants, such as pesticides,

dioxins and bovine growth hormone, than the breast

milk of meat-eating mothers.

 

First weaning foods, which should generally be

introduced around six months of life, are nearly

always foods from plant sources — mashed cooked

vegetables, mashed fruit or rice-cereal thinned with

breast milk or formula if need be.

 

A few months later, more protein-dense foods can be

offered. Good choices include mashed beans, lentils

and peas. According to the American Academy of

Pediatrics, cow's milk is not recommended at all

during the first year or so of life. Its consumption

increases the risk of diabetes.

 

According to the American Dietetics Association, there

is no need to introduce any meats, eggs or dairy

products into an infant, toddler or child's diet.

Well-planned vegan and vegetarian diets not only

provide all the nutrients necessary to support growth,

they also promote good health in childhood and start

disease prevention early.

 

Just think about the advantages of raising a child on

a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes.

Limiting or avoiding consumption of fish sticks and

tuna sandwiches reduces mercury consumption and the

resulting risk of cognitive and behavioral problems.

Choosing nondairy milks such as rice, soy or oat milk

significantly lowers consumption of saturated fat and

growth hormones given to cows to increase milk

production. Substituting vegan sausage for bacon or

pork sausage increases healthy fiber and sidesteps

fattening and artery-clogging animal fats.

 

That all sounds pretty darn responsible to me.

 

How else can we responsibly promote the health of

children?

 

We can embrace the efforts of parents who are finding

creative ways to provide healthy, nutrient-rich foods

to their children. We can support government policies

that limit foods from animal sources and promote the

consumption of whole or less processed foods,

especially fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. And

we can demand that our medical system provide

high-quality care to everyone, including people

choosing a vegan lifestyle.

 

Lanou is a senior nutrition scientist for the

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and an

assistant professor of health and wellness at the

University of North Carolina-Asheville. She is also

the author of " Healthy Eating for Life for Children. "

 

VOICES OF HOUSTON

 

frost wrote:

Another apologist from a weird pressure group, friends

of Fidel Castro, among others. What she says is pretty

accurate, but, to try forcing down that lifestyle on

we mere mortals? Nah. Interestingly, most medical

doctors receive only a couple hours of solid

nutritional learnin'. It's the inuendo that's

troubling -- like, if you don't agree with her, you're

in serious need of help. Now, if you'll pardon me, a

breakfast of bacon 'n eggs awaits...

6/26/2007

 

benignmoderate wrote:

My daughter has never had an ear infection. I have

never seen her with a snotty nose. She's only been

sick once or twice in seven years. She is one of the

healthiest kids I've ever seen. She is in the upper

ten percent for height and optimum weight. Her infant

diet was exactly what the doctor above recommends, and

she is big, healthy, and beautiful. People always

commented on how alert she was as a baby.

 

Being vegan is easy. What's hard is dealing with all

the questions from people that wish they could be, but

limit themselves to sarcastic commentary. (I'm looking

at you, Uncle Bill.)

6/26/2007

 

yt1300inHtown wrote:

Who wishes they could be??? I like to put the pointy

sharp meat tearing teeth we were all born with to good

use. To not do so is unnatural and elitest nonsense.

6/26/2007

 

glide625 wrote:

Ever wonder what these people do for fun? No drinking,

no smoking, no food with flavor, now no meals of

animal product. No fish? No Salmon fillets? Makes me

wonder, do they play card games without cards?

6/26/2007

 

lcgarret wrote:

As the article states, vegans do not consume meat,

dairy, or other animal products. Humans are mammals, a

class of warm-blooded, vertebrate animals. So,

wouldn't human breast milk be considered an " animal

product " and thus not part of a vegan diet?

6/26/2007

 

braesbayou wrote:

Thanks to this nutritionist for setting straight the

facts about vegan diets. (I am not a vegan, but a

fish, dairy and plant eater) The NYT opinion piece on

this story was grossly inaccurate and extrapolated

from misinformed (bad) parents to indict all who

eschew animal products. For the record, mother's milk

is considered vegan as feeding an infant human is the

sole purpose for breastmilk. Once a child is weaned,

animal milk is no longer required for complete

nutrition and would necessarily be derived through an

exploitative process. (Not that I didn't sometimes

feel exploited as a nursing mother by my little

suckling!)

6/26/2007

 

tomsgirl wrote:

What do vegans suppose we do with all the cows,

chickens, deer, hogs, fish, etc? Shoud we just let

them all breed continuously until there is no room for

us? Why do you think that God gave us these creatures?

They are for our use for food and clothing.That's just

my opinion, and I had to state it.

6/26/2007

 

lcgarret wrote:

braesbayou, I appreciate your point of view, as I was

a vegan for many years. However, I have worked in the

medical field for many years, and no matter how you

define it, human breast milk is still technically an

animal product. Humans are mammals - just because

breast milk is for feeding human infants doesn't make

it a non-animal product. Vegans eat only vegetable and

mineral foods, thus classifying human breast milk as

non-vegan is incorrect. This is probably why this

infant's parents chose soy milk over breast milk - in

order to adhere to a vegan diet.

6/26/2007

 

benignmoderate wrote:

Quite apparently you just want to argue with a vegan

because you couldn't hang. Yes, humans are mammals.

Yes, breast milk is the product of an animal. Since

the consumer and the producer are homogeneous, you

see, however, your point is totally moot in terms of

the ethical considerations of vegans.

 

Other moronic posters: who said I don't drink? Who

said my food doesn't have any flavor? What we're

against--ethically, mind you--it's not really about my

very healthy levels of cholesterol, or that my 7 yo

daughter apparently has a higher IQ than yours--is the

UNNECESSARY killing and brutality to satisfy some

moron's taste for greasy, overcooked, salty remains. I

don't have to kick the dog, so I don't--get it? BTW,

dairy is disgusting. And meat, well, let's just say

you couldn't handle a trip to a slaughterhouse or a

factory farm, and you damn sure wouldn't take your

kids there. Nuff said about YOUR food.

 

The argument about animal overpopulation is a funny

one--since it's vacuous, and could be taken care of

humanely--I don't have a problem with population

control, (to the contrary...) I have a problem with

idiots. Most hunters are sadistic idiots. Most meat

and potatoes men couldn't stomach eating a dog or a

horse, or an insect. What they love is shooting

graceful, magnificent GRAZING animals and harmless

birds with high powered firearms.

6/26/2007

 

Live Simply So That

Others May Simply Live

Yoga-With-Nancy/

SignSoFla/

SoFlaVegans/

SoFlaSchools/

 

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[Guest guest]

I SO feel for everyone who believes what this " expert " shares. It is a

horrendous idea to begin weaning babies at 6 months. Our species is designed

to breast feed exclusively well past one year, as long as possible, in fact.

And when weaning begins, it should be onto foods that the baby can eat with

zero preparation ... and that would be fresh, whole, ripe, raw, organic or

better fruits ... period. All that nonsense about mashed cooked vegetables,

legumes, grains ... what terrible advice!!! Yikes!

 

Best,

Elchanan

 

 

 

 

 

On Behalf Of

R Fells

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 5:04 PM

raw soul

Fwd: [soFlaVegans] A vegan diet is safe, healthy for

infants

 

Note: forwarded message attached.

 

 

 

Ronald A. Fells

 

N3VPU

 

Amateur Radio Operator