raising your kids meat-free

what do you think? what about vegan kids?
eace:

 

If somebody is a vegan and never buys meat then their kids aren't going to be eating it, and that's fine as long as they get enough vitamin b12 and protein from other sources. I don't believe in indoctrinating kids to become vegans though. It's as bad as teaching them to be religious at a young age.

 

I plan on raising my kids vegetarian, but not vegan. Vegan is a major choice that I want them to make for themselves if they choose to. Also, if they decide they want to eat meat, that's fine, but they're going to have to learn how to cook it themselves and buy it themselves while they live under my roof.

 

people who raise their kids as vegans are practically begging them to grow up gay

 

...and frail, annoying, etc.


I see this kind of like religion or anything else - it's not your choice. Sure, have a vegan household, but don't presume to indoctrinate your kids into being vegan/vegetarian. If you force it, they'll just eat meat in spite/experiment when they hit their teens and escape you anyway.

 

Well... So I don't want kids. So I don't really have a personal opinion on this...
but as a vegan, I could never give my money to any company that harms animals, so if I ever had kids, they'd be vegan by default.

It's touchy to say that raising them eating vegan or veggie would be pushing your beliefs on them, as I could say the same about my parents raising me omni and not really have any other options available for me.

The parents pay for the food, the kids eat what the parents paid for.

Now... if a 10 year old kid goes, "ma, I want a hamburger" to her vegan mother... what's she to do? I personally wouldn't be able to bring myself to pay for the meat... but... I wouldn't stop her from doing it herself.

I agree with the overall sentiment to not force your beliefs on your children... at the same time, my parents freaked out when I wanted to go veggie as a kid...and when I wanted to separate myself from organized religion.

And nothing horrible came of it. I turned 18, I made my own decisions. Went vegan, stopped going to church. No harm was done. Maybe I'm old fashioned but kids gotta deal with what their parents raise them with. You're not allowed to make a LOT of decisions for yourself until you're legally an adult... I highly doubt that whether or not you eat meat as a child, is going to scar you for life.

And as far as nutrition goes... I wouldn't be any more worried about a vegan kid than an omni kid... I can say with ease that I grew up eating Chef Boyarde and Hot Dogs which is HARDLY healthy...so just 'cause one eats meat, doesn't make them healthier by default...

but like I said, I don't know much about kids/parenting, don't have plans to do so, so my outlook on this might be horribly skewed.

 

I've told this story in another thread, but it seems appropriate here.

As soon as my animal-loving daughter realized that meat and fish come from dead animals, at age three, she stopped eating them. She's now 16 and doing fine, very healthy.

 

All three of my kids became vegan by choice,but they didn't choose to be until each was about 14..My ex and I were vegetarian and did not bring meat into the house,so we had to watch their diets closely when they were very young.One is now omni,one is vegetarian and one is still vegan at 29.They all are healthy.

 

My kids will be raised vegan, and I think that if vegans and vegetarians try to rationalize not raising their kids veg because it's a "personal choice", well, not that they aren't entitled to their opinions, but, would you let your kid choose to eat a bunch of junk food, too? That's a personal choice that isn't particularly good for a body, either. Just my view.

 

If I were vegan, I'd make my hypothetical kids vegan meals in my own house, until they are old enough to make the decision on their own whether or not they want to be vegan. But I wouldn't control what they ate...I wouldn't buy them any non-vegan food, but other than that, I would want them to feel free to eat what they want in this aspect..Like, I'd hate for my kid to go to a sleep over and feel bad because he or she coudln't eat was everyone else was...or eat it, and feel guilty still.

So basically, I'd provide vegan meals for them, but allow them to eat what they wanted (in terms of animal products or not) until they made the decision on their own.

 

Not counting breast milk?

If I can be a healthy vegan than my child can be, too. It's already been said and I agree with a vegan household that doesn't force those values upon the kids. Hopefully that will be the path they continue down once they're grown up, but...!

 

I still can't really grasp why anyone would want to be a vegan, news flash: the world isn't gonna stop slaughtering cows / chickens / pigs / goats / any animal that happens to be tasty when eaten (for every vegan there are 20 people eating a cow). I mean I could see a bunch of peta ppl going to kill the Mexicans that are slaughtering horses and shit, but other than that your accomplishing nothing but making yourself less attractive by giving your skin a weird tint. Plus, unless you grow your own veggies chances are it still has nasty shit in it.

 

Wow, you have no idea what you're talking about!

But congratulations for having the balls to be so, so very wrong. And kind of an ass.

 

Lol okay, I'll consider myself wrong when no more animals are being mass slaughtered for food.

 

Sure, why bother with anything? Everyone knows that no one person can make a difference!

 

I wrote the fucking longest reply to that, and right as I was pressing 'send' my internet closed down, and this crappy computer just shut off.

Oh well.

 

humans are meant to be omnivores
kids need nutrients only found in things with heartbeats
sorry, it's fact. It may be a moral choice, but endangering your kid for your own philosophy is morally questionable in my opinion

 

since im a vegetarian i would raise my kids as them but if they wanted to eat meat then id tell them exactly what it is and whats in it. then let them make the choice but when they were too little to really understand theyd just be vegheads with me

 

That's simply not true and I'm a little surprised to hear you say it. Usually the first thing out of people's mouths when I tell them I'm veggie is "Is that for ethical or health reasons? ... Oh, that's nice. I know I should do it but I can't seem to find the willpower."

Most people, at least in my experience, know that vegetarianism is the healthy option. I do it because I love animals but I'm trying to be vegan for my health and it seems to be working.

It's not a fact that people need to eat things with heartbeats. It's your opinion. Which I respect, but don't accuse vegetarians of willingly endangering their children.

 

Grim, don't say things are facts when they aren't. You are wrong, MaccaByrd is right.