I am not either currently, but exploring plant based diets. I am just trying to understand why it is sustainable for an adult to have a plant based diet but not children. Would an adult be missing the things that are essential for children with this type of diet?
In: Biology
I know of several children on vegan diets (so I believe it is actually OK) but I have no personal knowledge of thier health.
It’s fine for anyone so long as nutrition is properly balanced. Children have different dietary needs that adults but mostly just needing more calcium and protein.
As long as what you are feeding them has the appropriate calorie count and nutritional balance then you are fine.
Most likely the reason why you might hear it’s a problem is because most adult vegan/vegetarians aren’t eating properly balanced diets because when they switch they simply cut out meat without replacing it with suitable meat replacements and because vegan/vegetarian diets are often of lower calorie counts than ones that include meat. Less calories is great for adults who tend to eat too many calories but not great for a growing child who may not be eating too much or may not be eating enough calories as it is.
It’s perfectly fine for kids to be on vegetarian or vegan diets provided their parent or carer knows what they’re doing and is nutritionally competent. However, it is much easier to mess up a vegan diet because there is less choice or convention around it – any idiot can manage bacon and eggs or mince and potatoes. Planning a vegan diet takes a bit more thought.
A vegan diet is perfectly fine for adults and children. Malnourished vegan children make headlines, which is why there’s a lot of misinformation on the subject. But on the flip side, the tons of malnourished children on omnivorous diets are just statistics, not headlines. The problem is idiotic diets, whether they be omnivorous or vegan.
[It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned
vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide
health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are
appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy,
childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes.](https://eatrightpro.org/~/media/eatrightpro%20files/practice/position%20and%20practice%20papers/position%20papers/vegetarian-diet.ashx)
Similar statements have also been made by the Dietitians of Canada, The British National Health Service, Harvard Medical School, The Mayo Clinic, etc.
I think it’s because a lot of people don’t know proper nutrition for themselves and for children it’s even harder. Drinking milk and eating eggs is such an easy way to give children the vital vitamins and minerals, and you’d have to feed them a lot of different types of foods to get the same vitamins and minerals. Children tend to be fussy eaters as well.
Vegan diets tend to be lower in fats as well, which are incredibly important for growing children.
The only reliable vegan sources of B12 are yeast extracts and supplements and too little B12 can cause nerve damage, fatigue, anaemia etc.
So basically I think it’s just easier to give them a diet including animal products – it’s hard enough trying to find things to eat for me, an adult, and children’s nutritional needs are so important.
If you do it right it it’s perfectly fine for children to be vegetarian or vegan. The issue is that it can be hard to ensure that the diet has the proper nutrients and energy for a growing body, so parents are advised to make sure their diet fits the child’s need.
There are more vegetarians in India than there are total citizens of the United States. Excluding those that are malnourished due to poverty, who can possibly make an argument that those Indians that grew up vegetarian are unhealthy because of it? I believe this is more driven from fear and inexperience with meatless diets in the western world than anything else.
Children are growing and need a diet that can accommodate that growth. An extreme example of this is infants, who, if they’re not going to eat breastmilk for whatever reason, need a diet with a similar nutritional composition. It’s not impossible for a child to survive/thrive on a vegetarian or vegan diet, but it requires more effort to ensure that diet is sufficient for the child. The recent news stores about a toddler who died on a vegan diet say that he was only being fed raw fruits and vegetables. Even a vegan diet can involve much more protein than that.
Well, if we assume the person doesn’t require specific diets for medical reasons, i’d think that veganism/vegetarianism is sustainable regardless of age.
A vegan/vegetarian diet is perfectly fine as long as they get the proper nutrients required for good growth and development…..same as adults (though you’re mostly done growing so specific requirements will be different).
The problem is in a strict unmonitored diet, most children and even the parents of those children won’t be paying attention to proper nutrition that kids need, so they won’t be getting all the necessary nutrients.
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